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Canadian actor Stephen Amell, best known for playing Oliver Queen on The CW’s “Arrow”, will move from superhero attire to a showman outfit, signing to star in a new Starz series about professional wrestling.
The 38-year-old actor will topline “Heels”, an hourlong drama set “in the outrageous world of independent professional wrestling”, which has received an eight-episode order.
Written by Michael Waldron (the upcoming “Loki”), with “Glee” alum Mike O’Malley as showrunner, “Heels” is about the men and women who chase their dreams in the world of small town pro wrestling. Set in a close-knit Georgia community, it follows a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals — one of them played by Amell — war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel (Amell). But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to — or hard to leave behind.
In a nice change of pace, Amell will play the villain of the ring, Jack Spade. In the real world, he’s its hard-working owner, a hubby and father trying to make ends meet while fighting to realize his impossible dreams.
Amell is currently filming the eighth and final season of “Arrow”.
