CM Punk continues to add to his Hollywood resume. The WWE star who starred in indie horror projects Rabid, Girl on the Third Floor and Jakob’s Wife is set to board writer/director Ryan Prows’ Night Patrol, according to The Hollywood Reporter. According to the report, Punk (whose real name is Phil Brooks) is set to have a major role in the film. Justin Long, Jermaine Fowler, RJ Cyler and Dermot Mulroney are also on board to star.
Currently slated for a 2025 release, Night Patrol follows the LAPD — more specifically an officer within the force (played by Fowler — who is forced to set his differences with the local street gangs. He uncovers a local police task force is harboring a horrific secret that endangers the residents of the housing projects that he grew up in. Punk is set to play the right-hand man of the sergeant (Mulroney) — also the father of Long’s character.
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Punk’s most recent acting projects include several episodes of Mayans M.C. and STARZ’s Heels where he played Ricky Rabies. He will also have a role in an upcoming indie comedy from Dark Sky Films set for release late this month. Punk is a full-time wrestler, having returned to WWE last fall after a tumultuous run in rival promotion AEW. He just wrapped a huge feud with another top star, former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.
He recently spoke to fans live on WWE Raw, admitting that he doesn’t know when he’ll see them again, but he promises to come back soon. In hindsight it appears that has to do with his filming schedule, so he very well may be returning at next year’s Royal Rumble in February. He’ll have no shortage of enemies to circle back to when he returns: Seth Rollins is still waiting in the wings after threatening the veteran wrestler and he called out Gunther following Bash in Berlin.
Fellow professional wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista recently gave high praise to Punk, explaining that he believes Punk has “unlimited potential” as an actor.
“You know who I think I really overlooked as an actor? I don’t know if he hasn’t pursued it as much as he’d like to because he’s still heavily pursuing professional wrestling, but it is CM Punk, Phil Brooks,” Bautista told Buzzfeed Celeb. “His potential in acting is pretty unlimited. I really want to see more from him in acting. I’d actually love to work with him because I think he has a passion for acting, but I think still his heart is in professional wrestling, and until he’s able to let that go a little bit, he’ll never be able to fully envelop himself in acting. But I think Phil Brooks is a great actor.”
