Pain & Gain has been billed as Michael Bay trying to prove to his critics that he’s not just about explosions and special effects, but it seems he’s not completely breaking with his past, as he’s continuing his tradition of casting a female lead whose modelling credits far exceed her acting experience.
This time around he’s cast Israeli supermodel Bar Paly in the female lead role in Pain & Gain, with Variety also saying that Monk star Tony Shalhoub has joined the cast.
Pain & Gain, which is based on a true story, follows Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson’s characters, two Miami bodybuilders who plan an elaborate extortion and kidnapping scheme, which goes horribly awry. Bar Paly will play Sabina Petrescu, a beauty queen and illegal immigrant who wants to be a star. Instead, she gets involved with Mark Wahlberg’s character, who convinces her he can make her rich and famous, if she does everything he says. Tony Shalhoub will play Marc Shiller, the target of the bodybuilders’ scheme. Rob Corddry, Anthony Mackie, and Ed Harris are also set to star.
Production is scheduled to begin on Pain and Gain later this spring.