Pete Davidson’s “The King of Staten Island” character isn’t much of a stretch for the “SNL” star. In the upcoming Judd Apatow flick, Davidson plays an inked-up young man whose firefighter father died in the early 2000s. Sadly, Davidson’s real-life dad, a first responder and a fireman, died on 9/11.
In the Apatow comedy, Davidson’s (mostly) ficticious Scott lives with his mom (Marisa Tomei) in the least-sexy borough of New York City. That location — and stage of life — should sound familiar to Davidson fans.
Here’s the film’s synopsis: Scott (Davidson) has been a case of arrested development ever since his firefighter father died when he was seven. He’s now reached his mid-20s having achieved little, chasing a dream of becoming a tattoo artist that seems far out of reach. As his ambitious younger sister (Maude Apatow) heads off to college, Scott is still living with his exhausted ER nurse mother and spends his days smoking weed, hanging with the guys — Oscar (Ricky Velez), Igor (Moises Arias) and Richie (Lou Wilson) — and secretly hooking up with his childhood friend Kelsey (Bel Powley). But when Scott’s mother starts dating a loudmouth firefighter named Ray (Bill Burr), it sets off a chain of events that will force the young man to grapple with his grief and take his first tentative steps toward moving forward in life.
The movie also stars Steve Buscemi as Papa, a veteran firefighter who takes Scott under his wing, and Pamela Adlon as Ray’s ex-wife, Gina.
“The King of Staten Island” is directed by Apatow from a script he wrote with Davidson and Dave Sirus. It is produced by Apatow for his Apatow Productions alongside Barry Mendel. Executive producers are Davidson, Michael Bederman and Judah Miller.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, “The King of Staten Island” will bypass theaters and come out June 12 on digital platforms.