Giovanni Ribisi to play role in American Hostage from MGM+

Giovanni Ribisi has been cast alongside Jon Hamm in the new MGM+ anthology series American Hostage. The eight-part first season, set in the 1970s, is a psychological thriller based on the first season of the fictional podcast of the same name. Jon Hamm reprises his role as Fred Heckman, the radio reporter he also portrayed in the podcast.


Giovanni Ribisi

The story revolves around the true case of Fred Heckman (Hamm), a reporter in Indianapolis who unexpectedly finds himself in the middle of a life-threatening hostage situation. Tony Kiritsis (Giovanni Ribisi), desperate and at his wit's end after his mortgage lender attempts to foreclose on his home, takes Dick Hall, the head of the mortgage company, hostage.

Kiritsis binds a shotgun in such a way that it will discharge if anyone tries to overpower him. He informs the police, but his real goal is to tell his story live to the only journalist he trusts: the popular newscaster Fred Heckman on radio station WIBC.

Tony proves to be unpredictable, temperamental, yet also charming, and his disarming honesty gradually wins the public's sympathy. As his side of the story gains more attention, he becomes a sort of folk hero, despite his crime. However, questions arise about whether he harbors secrets that paint a much darker picture of him.

In addition to Hamm and Ribisi, William Jackson Harper and Mireille Enos have been cast as regular cast members. Hamm is also an executive producer.

Ribisi, known from Prime Video's Sneaky Pete, was recently seen in Kevin Costner's films Horizon: Chapter 1 and 2, and returns to the Avatar franchise as Parker Selfridge in Avatar: Fire and Ash. On television, he recently appeared in Waco: The Aftermath and will soon be seen in the upcoming Prime Video series The Greatest.