7 Actors Who Should Play Jim Henson in the Upcoming Biopic

The Muppets creator Jim Henson is the latest beloved figure set to receive the biopic treatment. A recently announced film titled Muppet Man, written by Michael Mitnick and produced by Henson’s daughter Lisa Henson for The Jim Henson Company, will explore Henson’s struggles to find a television home for his Muppet creations. Disney has owned the rights to the Muppets since 2004, so there’s some question as to what form a Henson biopic might take with the studio’s involvement (the negotiations between Henson and Disney to secure rights for the Muppets in the last year of his life were notoriously difficult, and Disney scrubbed many of the nastier elements of its history with Mary Poppins creator P.L. Travers from the 2013 biopic Saving Mr. Banks). However, the real question is who will play the groundbreaking filmmaker?

Henson is one of the most beloved icons of the past five decades, and his creations have seen a new life with The Muppet Show recently being made available on Disney+. Henson’s desire to bring respect to the field of puppeteering and his notorious workaholism certainly have the makings for a compelling biopic. Finding a lead that can embody Henson’s joyful spirit and emulate some of his most iconic characters will be essential. It’s not an easy role by any stretch of the imagination, but here are some people who would excel in the part, including some unlikely candidates.

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Justin Theroux

Perhaps a slightly outside-the-box choice, but Justin Theroux ticks a lot of the right boxes. His impressive history of voicework would certainly come in handy embodying Henson characters like Kermit the Frog. Theroux’s dramatic chops shouldn’t be in question thanks to his work on The Leftovers, and he’s adept at playing playing oddball roles judging by his underrated work in Maniac and Mute. Perhaps Disney will look for a more well-known star, but Theroux could see an uptick in popularity with the upcoming Apple TV+ series The Mosquito Coast.

Jason Segel

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Here’s one potential star that has the benefit of having already worked in the Muppet world. Segel wrote and starred in 2011’s The Muppets, and he’s continuously cited his love and appreciation for Henson’s work and creations. Segel would be able to capture a clumsy romantic spirit within Henson, and he’s shown that he can nail dramatic roles with his work in The End of the Tour and more recently in Our Friend. He doesn’t physically resemble Henson in any way, but a great makeup team might help him be more convincing.

Jason Sudeikis

Jason Sudeikis is currently on a hot streak with the success of Ted Lasso, and his earnest persona may be exactly what Disney is looking for. Ted Lasso has been able to ground even its most absurd jokes in a semblance of reality, and Sudeikis could go either raunchier or more sincere depending on how sappy the project ends up being (an earlier draft of the script was reportedly very raunchy). He also has a solid track record of underseen dramatic work in films like Race and Colossal, so an awards-friendly biopic wouldn’t be completely out of the question for him to tackle.

Bill Hader

Okay, so there would need to be a fair amount of prosthetic work to give Bill Hader the Henson facial hair, but he has the perfect slender build and vocal capabilities to pull off the role. Hader’s clout continues to rise with the near-universal acclaim for his HBO series Barry, and after getting a taste of blockbusters with It: Chapter Two a prestige biopic would be a logical next step in his film career. Like Sudekis, Hader has enough range and capability to find the right mix of comedy and drama. Frankly, his interpretation of Kermit the Frog would be fascinating to see.

Wyatt Russell

He’s currently getting notice for playing the unlikeable John Walker on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but Wyatt Russell has made a career out of playing charming, eccentric goofballs in Lodge 49 and Everybody Wants Some. Playing Jim Henson would be his biggest and most challenging role to date, but Russell has been able to disappear into a diverse selection of roles despite his striking resemblance to his parents. If Russell is up for the training it would require to master playing Henson’s beloved characters, this could be his leap into a starring film role.

Ben Foster

This one is definitely a long shot, because Ben Foster hasn’t done a lot of comedic work, but it’s unlikely a project like Muppet Man will be a straightforward comedy. Foster is a consistently underrated actor and actually looks a lot like Henson, so he could certainly slip into the role and deliver a sensitive, nuanced performance without the baggage of being too famous for audiences to suspend their disbelief. Henson was described by some as a quiet, unassuming guy when he wasn’t performing, and Foster has done tear-jerking work in Leave No Trace and Lone Survivor. He’s no stranger to biopics, and getting a more dramatically-seasoned actor like Foster would signify Disney’s respect for both Henson and the project.

Adam Driver

Adam Driver is a more obvious choice than some of the others on this list, and the script would need to be very strong in order to attract someone as busy and selective as him to sign up. That said, Driver is one of the best actors working today, and his track record of picking films destined to be classics is pretty much unrivaled. It would be an understatement to say that Driver has range; he can sing, he can dance, he can do voices, he can be funny, and he can be a romantic lead. Driver has been working exclusively with great filmmakers, but maybe a filmmaker like Marielle Heller or J.A. Bayona could spark his interest in the project. Would Jim Henson be the role that finally earns him the Academy Award he should’ve had by now?

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