Who Else Could Have Played David Foster Wallace Besides Jason Segel?

Hulk Hogan? Jonathan Franzen?

[protected-iframe id=”02c65e4cc37dd77dd9eb851cd6db42f5-35584880-46107883″ info=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/fqUa5sYHC9s” width=”635″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]

 

Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter

By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime.

See all of our newsletters

Well, it’s finally here. The trailer for The End of the Tour, the forthcoming David Foster Wallace biopic, just hit the internet. Jason Segel plays the author, who killed himself in 2008, and he has all the Wallace trademarks: glasses and a head bandana and long hair and a generally schlubby aura. The resemblance is pretty close, but Mr. Segel certainly isn’t the only person who could portray Wallace. Here are some contenders.

1. Jonathan Franzen

He was a friend of Wallace’s, and if he grew his hair out and put on a bandana, he’d be set. Not clear if he can act, though. Although he is very convincing at playing a curmudgeonly author named Jonathan Franzen…

Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images

2. Hulk Hogan

The photo kind of speaks for itself.

Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images

3. Roger Federer

Wallace published what is perhaps the greatest piece of tennis writing in the Times‘ now-defunct quarterly sports magazine Play. It was about Roger Federer, and it isn’t a stretch to say the two looked a little alike, too … sort of?

Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images

4. Robert Redford

But only as Jeremiah Johnson.

Screen shot 2015-05-27 at 1.25.08 PM

5. Nas

Yas?

Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images

6. The bassist in my high school jazz band.

(I don’t have a picture of him, but take my word for it.)

 

 

 

Who Else Could Have Played David Foster Wallace Besides Jason Segel?