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\n\tKhaby Lame, the Senegalese-born Italian influencer who is the most-followed content creator on TikTok, is set to make his feature film debut playing a food delivery rider who is recruited by the CIA in an action-comedy that will take him around the world.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe English-language spy comedy working-titled \u201c00Khaby\u201d \u2013 and set in Italy, the U.S., Monte Carlo, Dubai and France\u2019s C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur, among other locations \u2013 will see Lame playing a JustEat rider who, after intersecting with a dissident scientist, is recruited by the CIA as bait to mislead enemy secret services. \u201cWhile he runs away from arms traffickers and steals DNA samples, the clumsy secret agent must also deal with his jealous Italian Chinese girlfriend and her annoying little brother,\u201d reads the film\u2019s synopsis. \u201cBut in the end, thanks to a mix of cunning, luck and his unshakeable optimism, he will be able to foil no less than World War III.\u201d <\/p>\n
\n\tThe spy spoof that will bring Lame \u2013 who has 162 million followers on TikTok \u2013 to the big screen is being produced by Marco Belardi, who shepherded \u201cPerfect Strangers,\u201d Italy\u2019s megahit concept dramedy that\u2019s been remade in a dozen countries around the world. The \u201c00Khaby\u201d screenplay\u00a0is being penned by Italian writers Nicola Guaglianone and\u00a0Roberto Marchionni\u00a0 (aka Menotti), who co-wrote hit offbeat Italian superhero movie \u201cThey Call Me Jeeg.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBelardi is headed to Los Angeles this week with Lame and the \u201c00Khaby\u201d screenplay \u201clooking to mount an international production,\u201d the producer said. Belardi added that he is in advanced talks with at least one prominent international director.<\/p>\n
\n\tMeanwhile, Lame will be attending the Grammy Awards on Feb. 4 \u2014 possibly among the celebs handing out an award there \u2014 and will also be visibly present at the Super Bowl on Feb. 12 as part of a marketing campaign. In the U.S., Lame is also going to be honing his acting skills and perfecting his English.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cActing has always been my dream, but I don\u2019t want to improvise,\u201d Lame said in a statement, adding: \u201cThis is why I am ready to delve deeper into my acting and English studies to perform at my best in this film.\u201d Lame also pointed out that he is doing lots of physical training because \u201cas I asked Marco Belardi, I don\u2019t want to be replaced by a stuntman in the action scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tLame revealed that next month in L.A. he will meet a Hollywood star \u201cwhom I have always respected and I will certainly get some advice on how to move in front of the camera.\u201d That star is believed to be Will Smith who, according to sources, has booked Lame to perform a cameo in an unspecified upcoming film. <\/p>\n
\n\tThe 23-year-old is a former factory worker in Italy who, after being laid off from his job in March 2020, launched a TikTok channel in which he performed absurdly comic skits that went wildly viral. In one, he simply unpeeled a banana with his hands in response to a video of a banana skin being intricately sliced off with a chef\u2019s clever knife. His comedy bits rely on facial expressions and body language and often don\u2019t involve speaking so that the humor is understood universally.<\/p>\n
\n\tLame\u2019s first foray as an entertainment personality outside the TikTok space was being a juror last year on \u201cItalia\u2019s Got Talent,\u201d which plays on Disney+. He also became a character in the battle-royale video empire \u201cFortnite\u201d and has close ties to the fashion world thanks to a multi-year partnership with clothing brand Hugo Boss.<\/p>\n
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