Having already recruited John Krasinski, Michael Bay, certified explosioneer and apparent The Office enthusiast, has chosen another member of the NBC comedy’s cast for his Benghazi thriller 13 Hours: David Denman. Fans of The Office will recognize Denman as Pam’s (Jenna Fischer) asshole boyfriend who was around before she allowed her feelings for Krasinski’s character Jim and her common sense to intercede. Denman also had a recurring role on Parenthood, and can be seen next in an untitled Joel Edgerton thriller and season two of HBO’s True Detective. Presumably after measuring Denman’s shoulder width and having him bench press 14 Victoria’s Secret models, Bay decided that this guy is the perfect fit for a cast of hardasses that also includes Max Martini, James Badge Dale, and Pornstache.
Based on Mitchell Zuckoff’s book of the same name, 13 Hours covers the 2012 attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. Denman will play an elite sniper who is presumably a member of the security team tasked with defending the U.S. compound and CIA annex. This seems like a perfect premise for Bay to imbue with his famous one-note machismo, destroying any opportunity for nuance and reflection in favor of the machinations of war, expertly shot so that all the characters look like they belong in a catalog and not a crisis. He could also take a more grounded, less glamorous approach to this material, but that would make him a pussy.