The USA Network announced today that it’s offered actor Ryan Phillippe one of the crown jewels of a career in the performing arts: the chance to take on the coveted role of Mark Wahlberg in a cable TV thriller. Phillippe has been cast in the network’s action pilot Shooter, a TV remake of the 2007 movie, in which Wahlberg famously played head-popping vigilante Bob Lee Swagger (who you probably know from all those children’s lunchboxes he appears on, or the big viral videos that come out of ShooterCon every year.)
Now, Phillippe is stepping into Wahlberg’s Boston-accented shoes, taking over the role of Swagger for the upcoming show. If Shooter is picked up by the network, it’ll be the actor’s second regular TV gig in as many years; he recently appeared on the first season of ABC’s Secrets And Lies, warming up his acting muscles to better prepare for the stoic glares and trigger-pulling motions his job as the framed assassin hunter will require. Obviously, it’s a lot to live up to, but at least Phillippe doesn’t have to live with the onus of Wahlberg’s disapproval; the actor and former-Swagger-man is serving as an executive producer on the series, and threw his support behind his successor: “I love the character of Bob Lee Swagger,” Wahlberg said, echoing the sentiments of a grateful nation. “And we are thrilled to have Ryan on board for the show.”