A Randy Travis Biopic Featuring Clay Walker As the Country Music Hall of Famer Is Coming

Country Music Hall of Famer Randy Travis‘s life and career will be spotlighted in the upcoming biopic Forever and Ever, Amen, which will also star his fellow country singer Clay Walker, Travis announced on Wednesday (March 5) during his performance at the Grand Ole Opry.

The film is currently being cast by Anne McCarthy, Kellie Roy and Morgan Robbins at Engine Casting; the role of Travis will be portrayed by three actors. Walker will play Travis in his 40s and 50s, while casting is underway for actors to portray him as a child (around 9-12 years old) and at 20-30 years old, according to the press release.

Writer-director Andrew Hyatt will direct from his own script, while Travis and his wife, Mary Travis, will serve as executive producers alongside Walker.

“We’ve been approached many times through the years about doing a movie … but the timing or team has never felt quite as good as it feels right now,” Randy Travis said in a statement. “With Clay on our side, and the creative direction he and the producers have, I feel good about telling my story through this medium.”

Walker added: “Randy Travis is the voice of a generation and one of the greatest country singers of all time. I am truly honored to be a part of this project, and cannot believe I get to play one of my heroes.”

The biopic will spotlight Travis, who sparked a time of surging sales success in country music in the mid-1980s, when he ushered in his traditional country sound and unmistakable, burnished voice on hits such as “Forever and Ever, Amen,” “Diggin’ Up Bones,” “1982,” and “On The Other Hand.”

The biopic’s titular song earned single of the year honors from the Country Music Association in 1987, while his album Always & Forever was named CMA album of the year, stayed at the pinnacle of Billboard‘s top country albums chart for 43 weeks, and sold 5 million copies. Travis’s subsequent five projects also reached platinum sales status. Along the way, he won numerous accolades, including the CMA’s horizon award (1986) and male vocalist of the year honor (1987-1988), the ACM’s male vocalist honor (1986-1987) and Grammy accolades for best country vocal performance, male, in 1987 and 1988.

Beyond music, Travis made his mark as an actor in film and television, with roles in films Black Dog, Maverick, The Rainmaker, The Legend of O.B. Taggert and The Wager, and television series including Touched by an Angel, King of the Hill and Matlock.

He made a music comeback in the 2000s, thanks to his country-gospel hit “Three Wooden Crosses,” which won song of the year at the CMA Awards and a GMA Dove Award for country song of the year. He released country-leaning gospel albums including Rise & Shine, Inspirational Journey and Passing Through.

Nearly 12 years ago, Travis suffered a stroke which limited his ability to sing and perform, but he has continued to release original music with the help of new AI technology.