VIDEO: Jon Bernthal Plays a Wrongfully Imprisoned Male Escort in ‘American Gigolo’ Trailer

Jon Bernthal stars as a male escort who does some hard time for murder in the official trailer for the sexy Showtime drama “American Gigolo,” premiering Sept. 9.

A present-day reimagining of Richard Gere’s iconic 1980 film of the same name, the series follows escort Julian Kaye (Bernthal) after he’s exonerated for a crime he did not commit that sent him away for 15 years. After his release, he struggles to reconnect with a former lover (Gretchen Mol) and his own mother while a police detective played by Rosie O’Donnell searches for the truth behind the murder that sent Jon’s character away.

“It was a killer for hire,” O’Donnell’s character tells him (above).

“Somebody set me up,” Bernthal responds. “They’re still out there. It’s not over.”

Developed by David Hollander, “American Gigolo” also stars Wayne Brady, Lizzie Brocheré, Gabriel LaBelle, and Leland Orser alongside Bernthal. This isn’t the first time he’s played a morally ambiguous character, of course. Earlier this year the Stern Show veteran starred on the crooked cop drama “We Own This City” and previously Jon made a name for himself playing a shady police officer on “The Walking Dead” and also the titular vigilante on the Marvel series “The Punisher.” He spoke to Howard about the latter roles during a 2017 interview, even opening up about a little real-life trouble he got into with the law back when he was a kid. Check out a clip from their conversation (below).

“American Gigolo” premieres Sept. 9 on Showtime.