Jim Parsons - like many sitcom actors before him - will have one hell of a time shaking off his most iconic character (The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper) for the rest of his career. That's just who people are always going to identify him as (which means he did his job really, really well).
So, seeing Parsons spar with Zac Efron in the upcoming Ted Bundy film, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, is going to be like a double dose of family friendly skin shedding, as Efron has been working for years now to distance himself from his High School Musical beginnings (via bizarre roles like the exploitation classic The Paperboy).
Now, the two actors have been playfully dueling on Instagram, revealing shots of a courtroom scene Efron's Bundy shares with Parsons' Larry Simpson, the lead prosecutor who eventually put the ladies' man serial killer behind bars.
Take a look at Efron's goofy little jab:
What’s wrong @therealjimparsons? You don’t like the bow tie? #wickedcrew #larrysimpson
A post shared by Zac Efron (@zacefron) on
Then Parsons shared his own shot:
arguing with Ted Bundy (aka @zacefron ) in some period garb... #wickedcrew
A post shared by Jim Parsons (@therealjimparsons) on
We're still not 100% on what Extremely Wicked is even going to look/sound like (is it a traditional thriller? a comedy?), but the period garb is pretty perfect. Given director Joe Berlinger's background in true crime documentaries (including the incredible Paradise Lost films), it's safe to probably say the movie's going to be playing it pretty straight. Though, he also made Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows, so anything's possible.
Here's hoping this lives up to our expectations, and that Phil doesn't get super mad that Bill Hader was never given a shot as Bundy.