Pete Davidson Will Play Joey Ramone In Netflix Biopic

Netflix announced Thursday that comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson will play Joey Ramone in the biopic I Slept with Joey Ramone.

The film will tell the life story of Joey Ramone, frontman of The Ramones. The film is based on Ramone’s brother, Mickey Leigh‘s, memoir by the same title.

Adam Fogelson, chairman of STXfilms Motion Picture Group, said in a statement Thursday that Davidson was “perfect” for the role and and Leigh’s memoir is “a great rock anthem that will make an equally great rock biopic.”

“When you share a bed with someone – and not just a bed, but a childhood, a family, and a lifetime – you know that person better than anybody else,” said Fogelson. “Mickey Leigh not only collaborated with his big brother’s band – he has irreplaceable memories of and insights into Joey Ramone, having supported him when no one else would and witnessed him overcome adversity in the most dramatic way.”

Leigh and Davidson are both producers on the project while Jason Orley directs. Davidson and Orley previously worked together on Big Time Adolescence, Pete Davidson: Alive from New York and I Want You Back. 

The Ramones were popular in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s and known for the songs, “Rockaway Beach,” “Teenage Lobotomy,” “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “I Wanna Be Sedated,” “Judy is a Punk” and “Pet Sematary.” During his time in the spotlight, Ramone established himself as a punk icon. He passed away in 2001 at age 49 from lymphoma.