He was the Hollywood star known for playing the everyman, working with Alfred Hitchcock and John Wayne throughout his incredible film career.
Now Jimmy Stewart is getting the movie biopic treatment with Riverdale’s KJ Apa set to star alongside Jason Alexander as Louis B Mayer, Max Casella as Frank Capra and Jen Lilley as his wife Gloria.
The new film “chronicles Pennsylvania-native Stewart’s rise in Hollywood, including winning an Academy Award for his work in The Philadelphia Story, before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a combat pilot at the beginning of World War 2. Not long after his return home, he starred in Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life in 1946.”
Speaking with Variety, Stewart’s daughter – who executive produces on Jimmy, said: “My family and I are delighted and excited that KJ Apa has agreed to play my father in this film. In addition to his considerable acting skills, KJ’s enthusiasm for the project will only add to the energy and depth he will bring to the role.”
Director and producer Aaron Burns added: “Jimmy Stewart is universally beloved as an actor. He truly embodied the everyman. We all know him from It’s A Wonderful Life, but as I discovered his real-life story as a World War 2 military hero, I realised Jimmy’s life makes for an amazing movie. I’m truly honoured that Kelly Stewart-Harcourt and the Stewart family have entrusted Burns & Co. to share Jimmy with the world, and I’m excited to see KJ Apa and the rest of our amazing cast bring this story to life.”
Jimmy is set to hit US cinemas in November 2026.