Hulu's Pam & Tommy has its two leads, but the names may surprise some people. The limited series will star Sebastian Stan as Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, and Lily James will play supermodel Pamela Anderson. Seth Rogen is also onboard as the man who got his hands on the celebrity couple's infamous sex tape.
It's worth noting that Pam & Tommy is only the working title for Hulu's latest project. The series will profile one of the most iconic scandals in recent memory as it relates to the privacy of stars. I, Tonya director Craig Gillespie will helm the project, which makes sense considering the parallels between this saga and that of his previous work. It also means Pam & Tommy marks a reunion of sorts for Gillespie and Stan, who appeared in I, Tonya as Tonya Harding's ineffectual ex-husband.
Gillespie and Stan may be familiar with one another, but the casting is still an odd choice. Stan is undoubtedly a great actor, but there is nothing in his body of work that suggests he can pull off the sort of "bad boy" aesthetic that Tommy Lee's has carried with him throughout his career. Even Lily James, while similarly talented, has appeared in much more lighthearted roles, often playing the innocent or naïve type. Her characters have been the polar opposite of Pamela Anderson. Gillespie and the rest of his team seem to have ignored much stronger and much more obvious options to cast as Tommy and Pam.
Pam & Tommy marks the second effort in recent years to detail the events of Lee's life. Netflix's 2019 film The Dirt told the story of Motley Crue, capturing the band's over-the-top lifestyle. Rapper Machine Gun Kelly played Lee in The Dirt, and perfectly captured the drummer's crude swagger. Kelly was so well-cast as Lee, it's difficult to imagine anyone else taking on the role, particularly someone like Stan, who is so heavily associated with the MCU's Bucky Barnes. Not to mention, Kelly is much closer to Lee's height, while Stan is shorter. Gillespie's familiarity with Stan does suggest that the director sees potential in casting Stan as Tommy Lee, but he likely could have garnered much more excitement for the upcoming series by casting a talent like Kelly.
Kelly is also in a relationship with Megan Fox, who could have been an intriguing choice to play Anderson. Like Anderson, Fox has been unfairly sexualized throughout her career, with exploitation by directors like Michael Bay continuing to define her to this day. Fox, alongside her boyfriend, could have made this role very personal, allowing Pam & Tommy to resonate on multiple levels. In Lily James' defense, she has dealt with her own controversy as of late. After being caught cozying up to The Affair star Dominic West, rumors swarmed that he and James were together. Of course, West is still married and confirmed as such just weeks later. The entire debacle unfairly implicated James, and could allow the actress to connect her work on Pam & Tommy to her own personal life. Still, it is difficult to imagine her as Anderson. Gillespie could have even considered Margot Robbie, who he also collaborated with on I, Tonya.
Stan and James may not make complete sense to play the leads in Pam & Tommy, but there is certainly potential for the duo to shake their established personas and introduce new versions of themselves to viewers, sharing a fascinating slice of Hollywood history along the way.