Casting for US Only Fools remake

John Leguizamo is to play Del Boy in the US remake of Only Fools And Horses.

The quintessentially London sitcom is being remade by the ABC network, after being rewritten by Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley – whose credits include a handful of episodes of Scrubs.

Emmy-winner Leguizamo was in London last autumn, performing a run of his acclaimed on-man show Ghetto Klown, about his rise from some of the less salubrious parts of New York to working with some of Hollywood’s best known stars.

His background may help him with the Del Boy role. Hollywood industry website Deadline, which broke the news, described the character as ‘an overly confident bon vivant and con artist who trades crap out of the back of his car, cheerful and oblivious to the fact that he is a lowlife scamster’.

Leguizamo’s role in the pilot episode comes as part of development deal the actor has just signed with ABC.

If Only Fools doesn’t go to series, the network will develop a single-camera comedy based around Leguizamo’s life in New York for him to star in.

Leguizamo’s extensive cinema credits include Moulin Rouge, Assault on Precinct 13, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet and Carlito’s Wayr.

The roles of Rodney and granddad have yet to be cast.

David Jason has previously cast doubt on the wisdom of translating the show for American audiences, saying: ‘They can do brilliant comedy [in America] but I don't see that they can bring off Fools and Horses. I don't see that it will travel across the pond.’

Published: 22 Feb 2012