Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's PREACHER Casts Arseface
(Very slight spoilers for Preacher ahead.)
When Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg - yep, the same guys behind This is The End and Superbad - announced that they would be adapting the seminal '90s comic Preacher as an AMC series, they promised that they were going to be faithful to the source material. One of the elements that Rogen promised would be there - even before the series was officially announced - was Arseface, the comic character who, inspired by Kurt Cobain, tried to shoot himself in the head with a shotgun, but failed to kill himself and ended up becoming a rock star in his own right, despite not being able to speak intelligibly.
Deadline reports that they have now found the guy who will bring this character to life, and that is Rake star Ian Colletti. I've never heard of him before, but I doubt he'll be recognizable in the show, since after the shotgun blast to the face, he's hideously deformed. The report seems to indicate that the suicide attempt will be some kind of reveal in the show, and that the character's name will be Eugene (I don't remember him having a name in the comics):
Even with his horribly disfigured face and severe speech impediment, Eugene’s still the nicest kid you’ll ever meet and really looks up to Jesse. Stomach-churningly difficult to look at, Eugene’s the town’s reviled Frankenstein’s monster, but that won’t change his earnest, sweet and pure outlook on life. However, he is troubled by something terrible he’s done in the past — something he fears might have turned God himself against him.
This is the second piece of casting for the show, following the addition of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Ruth Negga as Tulip yesterday. Still no word whether Dominic Cooper is still in contention for the lead role of Jesse Custer, but I imagine we'll be hearing more very soon.