KFC picks Sean Astin to play Colonel Sanders in new ad campaign

Just in time for Thursday night’s kickoff of the NFL season, KFC has tapped a former college football legend to play Colonel Sanders.

Sean Astin, who famously portrayed the title character in the 1993 sports film “Rudy,” will be reprising his role in a new KFC television advertisement campaign as he becomes “Colonel Rudy.”

In the advertisement, Astin recreates several scenes from the film. Just as Rudy dreamed of playing football at the University of Notre Dame, this time around, Rudy dreams of playing Colonel Sanders.

Most notably, before running out onto the field before a game and fulfilling his dream, Astin says, “I’ve been ready for this my whole life,” just as he did in the movie.

Astin is the latest in a long line of celebrities to play Colonel Sanders. Past celebrities have included actors Jason Alexander and Ray Liotta, singer Reba McEntire and most recently Cheetos’ mascot Chester Cheetah. 

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“When KFC approached me to reprise the role of Rudy, but play him as Colonel Sanders, I knew this was something I couldn’t pass up,” Astin said in a statement. “Getting to recreate some of the film’s iconic scenes with a KFC spin was such a fun experience.”

The advertisement campaign will run through November. According to a press release from KFC, the real Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, whom the film is based on, makes a cameo in the advertisement.

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Contact Ben Tobin at bjtobin@gannett.com and 502-582-4181 or follow on Twitter @TobinBen. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: subscribe.courier-journal.com.