J.J. Hamblett landed his first major film role after Union J missed out on appearing in an Elvis Presley movie.
The Union J singer – who previously had a cameo appearance in ‘Kick-Ass 2’ alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz – is "very excited" to have been cast in writer-and-director Sacha Bennett’s new movie ‘Tango One’, in which he will play an MI6 agent.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz about how the role came about, J.J said: "Acting has always been a passion so I was very excited to be cast in this film.
"We actually auditioned as a band for this film about Elvis Presley but obviously certain films don’t kind of work out and that’s where Sacha, the director of ‘Tango One’, he contacted me a week after the audition and said, ‘Look I’ve got this film called ‘Tango One’, [there’s a part for] an MI6 agent called Parker and do you want that role?’
"That’s where I was taken a back a little bit but it was an amazing opportunity for me."
While J.J. and his bandmates are busy with other projects, he insists Union J is still their "main priority", but he’s keen to move into acting when they eventually go their separate ways.
He explained: "Josh (Cuthbert) is doing a bit of modelling, Jaymi (Hensley) is doing his thing and Casey (Johnson) is doing his thing, so obviously the main priority is the band, but they know I love acting and that’s the career I want after the band – I’m not saying we’re going to split up in the next few years – hopefully we’re going to be together forever but bands only last a few years.
"I’ve got to really look at my other options but they’re really supportive of what I’m doing."
The crime drama will be released later this year.
Union J recently completed an extensive UK tour, which saw sell-out shows across the country.