WWE Hall-of-Famer Kevin Nash has revealed that he would love to play Herman Munster in Rob Zombie's upcoming film adaptation of the classic sitcom The Munsters. The Munsters ran for 70 episodes from 1964 to 1966 and followed the eponymous Munster family — the members of which were riffs on classic horror monsters — as they lived happily in small-town America. The show satirized suburban life at the time. Herman, based on Frankenstein's monster, was the patriarch of the family and was portrayed by Fred Gwynne. Since the film's announcement, Zombie has shared a great deal of pre-production information on social media, recently sharing photos of the clay mold for Herman's head and the designs for The Munsters' house on his Instagram.
Nash, who wrestled in WWE (then known as WWF) from 1993 to 1996 under the ring-name Diesel, is no stranger to acting. He previously played Super Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze all the way back in 1991. More recently, he appeared in both Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL as a stripper named Tarzan, and as a Russian bouncer in John Wick. Nash also appeared alongside a number of his wrestling cohorts in Adam Sandler's remake of The Longest Yard. He is currently signed to a Legends contract with the company and makes sporadic appearances.
Speaking to former fellow WWE star "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on his Peacock series The Broken Skull Sessions, Nash discussed his acting career as well as his numerous accolades and his time wrestling. As reported by MovieWeb, Nash specifically brought up that he would love to appear in Rob Zombie's The Munsters, specifically as the family patriarch, claiming that there's "a sensibility and a femininity" to the character that he always been drawn to. You can read Nash's full statement below:
"I love to act. Like right now, Rob Zombie's got the rights to The Munsters. I'd love to play Herman. The thing is, there's a sensibility and a femininity in Herman Munster. That would be if I had to pick the perfect role that I've always wanted to play."
While Nash certainly looks the part, standing at an imposing 6'10", it's currently unclear if the role of Herman, and indeed the rest of the Munsters, has already been cast. Rumors claim that previous Zombie collaborator Jeff Daniel Phillips has taken the role but Zombie has been very tight-lipped on the matter. However, if molds are already being made for the prosthetics then it would suggest that they have someone in mind to fit them to. Still, that hasn't stopped Nash's fans from backing the actor for the role, with Nash even retweeting a fan who had tweeted Zombie specifically asking the director to make the casting happen.
It wouldn't be out of character for Zombie to cast Nash, however, as the director has previously worked with a number of former wrestlers before on his films. He cast Diamond Dallas Page in The Devil's Rejects alongside Danny Trejo, and perhaps most notably Zombie cast Nash's former tag-team partner Tyler Mane as Michael Myers in his two Halloween remakes. Interestingly, Mane also played Sabretooth in the original X-Men trilogy but the role was originally intended for Nash.
Even if it turns out that the role of Herman has been cast, Nash's enthusiasm should definitely be noted. He clearly cares a great deal for the property and has a deep understanding of the characters, so it would be interesting to see what he would potentially bring to the table. For the time being, however, we will just have to wait for Zombie to offer any more information on The Munsters.
Source: The Broken Skull Sessions via MovieWeb