John Goodman to play police commissioner in 'Patriots Day'

LOS ANGELES, March 12 (UPI) -- John Goodman will co-star with Mark Wahlberg and J.K. Simmons in the upcoming film Patriots Day, CBS Films and Lionsgate announced.

The movie is being directed by Peter Berg and produced by Wahlberg, Scott Stuber, Hutch Parker, Dylan Clark, Stephen Levinson, Dorothy Aufiero and Michael Radutzky. It chronicles the events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, a terror attack that killed three people and injured more than 250.

Goodman will play former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, who played an integral role in working with the FBI, Watertown Police Department, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts State Police and local first responders to track, identify and apprehend the suspected terrorists, Islamic extremists Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

"Commissioner Davis is an American hero, and John Goodman brings the extraordinary combination of humility, gravitas and empathy to portray him," Berg said in a statement.

Production is to begin in Boston later this month. The film will open in Boston, New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 21, 2016.

Goodman is best-known for his work in the TV sitcom Roseanne, and in the films Argo, Flight and The Big Lebowski. He can now be seen in 10 Cloverfield Lane.