An upcoming biopic on fitness guru Richard Simmons will star comedian and actor Pauly Shore.

The 1990s MTV and movie star says he’s excited about playing the 1980s pop culture legend.

Talk about sweatin’ to the oldies!

Shore is ‘Really Excited’ for Role

The film is in the development stage at the moment through at Warner Bros. subsidiary The Wolper Organization, who are currently doing additional casting.

“I’m really excited about sharing Richard Simmons’s life with the world,” said Shore in a statement. “We all need this biopic now more than ever. Simmons represented mental health, getting people in shape and being his authentic silly self!”

“Whenever he was on TV you could never take your eyes off of him and he brought such a joy to his appearances that represented nothing but a good time,” Shore added.

Variety reports:

Simmons was one of the biggest fitness celebrities and exercise gurus ever, and made frequent appearances on talk shows like “Late Night With David Letterman,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “The Howard Stern Show.” He became a household name due to his flamboyant, eccentric personality and his successful line of “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” aerobics videos. In his later career, Simmons turned to political activism, advocating for a 2008 bill mandating noncompetitive physical education in public schools. In 2014, he mysteriously disappeared from public life, causing widespread concern among his fans and followers. In 2016, via a phone interview with “Today,” Simmons assured that “no one is holding me in my house as a hostage” and he simply preferred privacy.

Pauly Shore is the Perfect Choice to Play Richard Simmons

Mark Wolper of The Wolper Organization said of the project “There is an amazing, dramatic and uplifting story to tell about Richard Simmons. My company has been making historical dramas and biopics for over 50 years now … we know what works.”

“We have been dancing around the idea for years, but it never coalesced until several months ago when I saw the press about Pauly Shore being touted by social media as the ONLY person that could play Richard,” Wolper said. “I saw the picture of them and realized these two are very similar, they both lived or died by how the world perceived them, they both fought to give their fans what they wanted and they both deserve an amazing comeback story!”

Indeed. Pauly Shore is the perfect choice to play the legendary Richard Simmons.

To chronicle a man’s life that many of us grew up with.

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