Vampire Diaries Star Joins Hendricks In Need For Speed: The Run

We already knew that Mad Men‘s Christina Hendricks will be voicing the female lead in the upcoming Need For Speed: The Run. Electronic Arts is now saying that Sean Faris, star of The Vampire Diaries, will be assuming the role of the male lead, Jack Rourke.

EA’s Press Release describes Rourke as “one of the best drivers around,” but that his “cockiness and arrogance has led him into a debt he can’t repay.” Wow, both cockiness and arrogance? He must be a pain in the arse. Apparently “the mob has put a price on his head, and it’s a lofty one”. Hmm, a lofty price, you say? Good thing there’s Hendricks’ Sam Harper, “a woman with street smarts and a penchant for lightning fast cars.”

Wow, this whole thing really sounds so original and interesting! Star-crossed lovers! Street racing! OK fine, I guess we don’t really need a gripping narrative to have fun driving cars really really superfast. EA quotes Hendricks as saying “It’s very exciting to be part of Need for Speed The Run. I’ve never been a video game character before so this is definitely a first for me. It’s been fantastic fun to do something so different and to show a different side of myself as well.”

Faris is a fan of the series. “I got a kick out of seeing myself in the game,” he says in the press release, “it’s totally me!” As much as that sounds like a bland marketing pablum, I would imagine that it is pretty cool to see oneself recreated in-game.