Noah Reid, who played Patrick on “Schitt’s Creek,” is set to replace Armie Hammer in Broadway show “The Minutes.” Hammer dropped out of the play in April after being accused of sexual assault, a claim which Hammer and his attorney have repeatedly denied.
“I have loved every single second of working on ‘The Minutes’ with the family I made from Steppenwolf. But right now I need to focus on myself and my health for the sake of my family. Consequently, I will not be returning to Broadway with the production,” Hammer said at the time.
“The Minutes” will resume performances at Studio 54 on March 19, 2022, with an official open set for April 7, 2022.
“The Minutes” first premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2017, and the latest production was in previews in March before Broadway went dark.
Hammer appeared in the original production alongside a cast that included Letts, Ian Barford, Blair Brown, Cliff Chamberlain, K. Todd Freeman, Danny McCarthy, Jessie Mueller, Sally Murphy, Austin Pendleton and Jeff Still. The show is directed by Anna D. Shapiro.
“The Minutes” is about the inner workings of a city council meeting in a small town and how the worst vices surface after a newcomer starts to ask the wrong questions.
Hammer has similarly been replaced in Watergate series “Gaslit” (by Dan Stevens), the Jennifer Lopez comedy “Shotgun Wedding” (by Josh Duhamel) and the Paramount+ series based on the making of “The Godfather” (by Miles Teller). He was also dropped by his agency WME.
The “Social Network” actor has been in a career crisis since the Instagram account House of Effie surfaced leaked messages that purported to detail his sex life, including an interest in cannibalism and rape fantasies.
Hammer released a statement shortly after he dropped out of Lionsgate’s “Shotgun Wedding” amid the firestorm, vehemently denying the accusations. “I’m not responding to these bulls— claims but in light of the vicious and spurious online attacks against me, I cannot in good conscience now leave my children for 4 months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic. Lionsgate is supporting me in this and I’m grateful to them for that,” he previously said.