Former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook has been the hot topic lately because of the way he lost his seat at the top of the world’s biggest fast food chain. Easterbrook had a consensual relationship with a coworker–something he wasn’t supposed to have. It’s an unfortunate situation all around given the fact that Easterbrook was actually excellent at what he did. He was probably one of the best CEOs of his time, and he was the champion that led McDonald’s to its current success while all other fast food chains are failing. The drama, the romance, and all the other parts of his story deserve a telling, and a Lifetime movie might be the right fit. If it were ever to happen, here are five actors who should play the title role.
1. George Clooney
Don’t start looking for resemblance here because there really isn’t much. George Clooney couldn’t look any more different when compared to Easterbrook, but there’s something about the actor’s demeanor that begs a second look. George Clooney has a kindness about his face and smile that reminds us of Easterbrook somehow. Aside from that, Clooney’s acting style is just perfect for the role. We’ve seen him play a broken man before in the film,The Descendants. In that movie, Clooney plays a man who just lost his wife after finding out that she had been having an affair for quite some time. The heartbreak may be in different form, but there’s romance there. Also, Clooney’s character had to deal with some business-type deals regarding his land. The context is similar, and that’s why we believe Clooney could pull off Easterbrook in a movie.
2. Dennis Quaid
He’s got charm. He’s got the smile. He’s also got some acting chops. After having seen so many of his films, we just believe there’s nothing that Dennis Quaid couldn’t do. He also seems to have a talent for making us cry, which is an important quality for anyone acting in a Lifetime movie. Dennis Quaid is currently over 10 years Easterbrook’s senior, but Hollywood can do its magic when it comes to makeup and such. Quaid is probably also more likely to play in a Lifetime movie compared to other actors on the list–we’re just saying. It’s not that he’s not in demand anymore, but we haven’t seen him make anything big in a while. Either way, there are reasons why we think he’s perfect to play Easterbrook in a biopic. Aside from his obvious talents, Quaid is just the ultimate likable guy. And if you’re going to play the CEO of one of the world’s favorite restaurants, you better be as likable as anyone could be. Quaid should be given a chance at anything–only because we believe he’d be good at it.
3. Dylan McDermott
This is not exactly Dylan McDermott’s style, but we still think he can pull it off. Also, if you look at him at a certain angle, he almost has a slight similarity to Easterbrook. For some reason, we also feel as if he’s already done a Lifetime movie before, but we’re not entirely sure. We might be projecting, but that’s a really good thing. McDermott is the type of actor that fits into different molds. He may not be the big blockbuster actor, but that’s exactly why we believe he’d be great as Easterbrook. We don’t have him tied to a certain character just yet. Plus the fact that he’s done more television work than any of the other ones on this list is an absolute plus. For the most part, McDermott’s roles tend to be more in the action/drama range. But we’ve also seen him tackle romance from time to time. It’s easy for McDermott to fulfill those roles because he’s got the face for the job.
4. Greg Kinnear
We can’t say enough how much of a Greg Kinnear fan we truly are. Here’s another actor that’s just completely underrated, which probably stands as a qualification for anyone to do a Lifetime number. That’s okay because Kinnear has done some fan favorite movies over the years, and he’s still great to this day. He’s still busy making films today, and it’s a testament to how great of an actor he is. We still remember him working alongside Matt Damon in a ridiculous film called Stuck on You.There were fast food elements to that one, but that’s all just trivial fact–not really why we think he’d be best to play Steve Easterbrook in a Lifetime movie. For one, Kinnear got a CEO look and sound to him. He looks charismatic and certainly comes across as that. He also looks as if he could be a McDonald’s CEO in another lifetime. Kinnear is no stranger to romance films or to playing a businessman. Playing Easterbrook would be a natural thing for Kinnear for sure.
5. Patrick Dempsey
If Lifetime ever got McDreamy to get this role, their viewer rating might shoot through the roof. Ever since Grey’s Anatomy,Dempsey has become a household name when it comes to love and romance. Of course if it’s a Lifetime movie, it’s got to be a romance film, right? And who better to play in a McDonald’s romance film other than McDreamy himself? Dempsey has had a successful career, but his biggest gig to date would probably still be Grey’s. In that series, his role was a remarkably important character. His character was a neurosurgeon that balanced life or death in his fingertips. There’s no comparison when it comes to the job of a fast food CEO, but Easterbrook’s job was so big and encompassing; it was actually just as important as well. Dempsey’s got everything to play the role of Easterbrook. All he would have to do is agree to make a movie on a television budget.
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