Ron Paul to Make Acting Debut (Exclusive)

Former congressman and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul will make his acting debut in the third installment of the Atlas Shrugged film trilogy,The Hollywood Reporterhas learned.The film also will feature several other prominent conservative personalities with little or no acting experience, includingGlenn BeckandSeanHannity.

"Atlas Shruggedis a fantastic book, but it's much more than a story it's a philosophy," Paul said. "It's influenced millions of people already and because of its greatness it's going to continue to influence a lot of people."

Atlas Shrugged: Who is John Galt? is based on the final third of Ayn Rand's 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged, which tells the story of a U.S. economy in collapse due to taxation, overregulation and thedemonization of those who have achieved more than their fair share of success.

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Because the movie's themes resonate with conservatives, Libertarians and Tea Partiers, producer Harmon Kaslowwas inclined to pack his film with personalities who appeal to that portion of the political spectrum, like radio talk-show host Andrew Wilkow andGrover Norquist, the founder of Americans for Tax Reform.There's even a hedge fund manager: Jonathan Hoenig, a Fox News Channel regular panelist and founding member of the Capitalist Pig fund.

"We put out a casting call and those are the only guys who showed up," Kaslowquipped. "It could be the subject matter."

Kaslow says that several small parts in the movie were written with well-known political figures in mind, but also with the assumption that he'd allow them to ad-lib. Paul and Beck, for example, are TV commentators covering the aftermath of a speech by one of the primary characters, John Galt, played by Kris Polaha.

"I loveAtlas ShruggedFountainheadI love more but who could say no?" Glenn Beck toldTHR.

Paul, of course, is no stranger to the camera, having appeared in dozens of TV news shows and in a few documentary films, though always as himself whereas this time around he'll be billed, "commentator." Perhaps his most famous turn on the big screen was when he was unwittingly duped into being "interviewed" bySachaBaron Cohenin the 2009 movieBruno. The third installment of Atlas Shrugged, though, marks the first time he's willingly appearing in a fictional feature film, where he is asked to feign reaction to a pivotal, scripted scene.

"We told them it's better for us to be themselves, and we got some golden moments," Kaslow said. "We just showed Glenn Beck and Ron Paul our John Galt giving his speech, and told them to give their honest opinion."

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Ron Paul to Make Acting Debut (Exclusive)