Popular Tamil character artiste Napoleon, best known for playing sickle-wielding, dhoti-clad and moustache-twirling characters over the years, has landed a pivotal role in a Hollywood film titled Christmas Coupon. The film is directed by independent filmmaker Daniel Knudsen.
The actor was in Chennai to promote the film along with his co-star Sheena Monnin, a former Miss Pennsylvania beauty pageant titleholder. The story revolves around a famous ice hockey, played by actor Aaron Noble, and Napoleon will play Kumar, his agent. The flick is produced by Napoleon’s friend Ganeshan.
Last seen in Sivakarthikeyan’s Seemaraja, this is the second Hollywood project for Napoleon. His first Hollywood film was Devil’s Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge, directed by Sam Logan Khaleghi.
Talking at the trailer launch of Christmas Coupon about how he landed the project, the actor was quoted by Sify saying, “A lot of Tamil film offers are coming my way but as I’ve moved to the US for my son, couldn’t accept so many projects. Last year worked with Sivakarthikeyan in Seemaraja, planning to sign another big Tamil film this year. An official announcement will be out soon.”
“My first English film is Devil’s Night, a horror thriller, where I portray the role of a museum curator. It is yet to hit the marquee. It has lots of CG and hence takes more time. In Christmas Coupon, I portray a key character and it is shot completely in Detroit, Michigan. Except Rajini sir who had acted in Hollywood movie Blood Stone, which was shot in Mysore, no one else had acted in a straight English film. I am proud that I could make it to Hollywood and I have also signed my third English film (sic),” the actor revealed.
Napoleon is known for his 90s flicks such as Seevalaperi Pandi and many other movies where he mostly played the villain. He contested in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election in 2001, winning in the Villivakkam constituency. In the 2006 Assembly election, he contested from the Mylapore constituency but was defeated by actor S Ve Shekher. Later in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, he contested and won from the Perambalur constituency, and became the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in the union government.
(Content provided by Digital Native)