American Pickers' Mike Wolfe Makes Film Debut in Day of Reckoning as He Announces Show's First 'Hiatus' in 15 Years (Exclusive)

In a wide-ranging interview, Wolfe opens up about his role in 'Day of Reckoning', the future of 'American Pickers', his upcoming History Channel show and what he hopes his next chapter will bring

Mike Wolfe on American Pickers, Season 2
Mike Wolfe on 'American Pickers'. Photo:

A&E

Mike Wolfe is coming to a silver screen near you!

On March 28, the American Pickers star, 60, makes his feature film debut in Day of Reckoning alongside actors Billy Zane and Zach Roerig — and his girlfriend, Leticia Cline.

According to the film's official logline, the action-packed feature will follow "put-upon lawman" John Dorsey (Roerig), who is on the verge of losing both his wife and his job as sheriff. He finds himself "reluctantly teaming up with Bullish U.S. Marshall Butch Hayden (Zane) to hold outlaw Emily Rusk (Cara Jade Meyers) hostage."

"A battle of wills ensues as Emily turns the posse on themselves, but as her marauding husband and his gang approach, Emily and John realize they will need each other to survive," the synopsis concludes.

Though additional plot points have been kept tightly under wraps, Wolfe takes on the role of Mark, with Cline appearing as herself, per IMDB.

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, the television personality opened up about what it was like to act alongside stars like Zane and how his film debut came to be.

"Shaun Silva, the gentleman that directed this film, he is a very good friend of mine and the film has a lot of motorcycle riding in it," he explained, adding that Silva was familiar with his passion for bikes.

When he was first offered the role, Wolfe admitted he felt hesitant about accepting the gig, and recalled thinking he should "stay in my lane" before he finally gave in after a few conversations about what the job would entail.

Mike Wolfe and director Shaun Silva on the set of DAY OF RECKONING
(L) Mike Wolfe and Shaan Silva on set of 'Day of Reckoning'.

Courtesy Christine Moore

"I was like, 'Okay, maybe I can.' I don't know if I'm fighting above my weight here, but it wasn't like I had a ton of lines," he laughed. "I think the best experience out of it, or the most surreal experience for me, was meeting a lot of the cast."

Wolfe couldn't help but feel nervous during his first day on set.

"But Billy Zane was just so incredible to me," he recalled. The two were standing on the side of the road as Wolfe was gearing up to deliver his lines on-camera.

"I was about ready to do my thing and he's like, 'Oh, you seem kind of nervous.' And I was like, 'Yeah, I don't really do this kind of thing.' And so he's like, 'Well, tell me your lines.' And I told him and he's like, 'Okay, well here's what you're going to do,'" he said with a smile.

Zach Roeing, Mike Wolfe, Leticia Cline, Billy Zane, on set of Day of Reckoning.
L-R: Zach Roeing, Mike Wolfe, Leticia Cline, Billy Zane, on set of 'Day of Reckoning'.

Leticia Cline/Instagram

As Zane "walked me through the whole thing," Wolfe felt blown away by the moment. "This is such a trip," he said of what was going through his head. "I'm out in a bean field in the middle of nowhere and Billy Zane is giving me acting lessons. I mean, when does that happen in life?"

Another highlight for Wolfe, was getting to work with his partner of more than four years.

"Doing the project with Letitia was really cool. She was riding on the back of the motorcycle that I was riding, which is completely out of character for her, because the girl, I mean, she raced flat track for Harley [Davidson]," he added, noting how the travel journalist is a "massive" motorcycle rider. "That was kind of a funny thing, too, that was completely different for us."

While the History Channel star dips his toes in new waters, American Pickers will be taking a brief "hiatus" with filming wrapping up sometime this June.

Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz on American Pickers
(L) Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe on 'American Pickers'. A+E Networks

"We haven't done that in 15 years, so that's going to feel good. For 15 years, we have just been going and going and going," he said, explaining that the longest break the cast and crew have taken is "a month around Christmas."

"I think we're going to have at least four or five months off, so it's going to be good," he added.

During that break, Wolfe doesn't have active plans to pursue a movie career, but he isn't ruling out any possibilities. After turning 60 last November, he revealed he's begun to think about what he'd like the next chapter of his life to look like.

Over the last 15 years, he admitted he's turned down "a lot of stuff" as he's felt "overwhelmed with what I'm doing." But now, he's leaning into saying yes instead of no. In fact, Wolfe revealed that his new philosophy is how his new History Channel show, History's Greatest Picks with Mike Wolfe, came to be.

"They asked me to do another show, and I felt that it was on brand in regards to what I've been doing with them for the last 15 years. And so I was like, 'Hell yeah, let's do this!'" he recalled.

In History's Greatest Picks, fans of American Pickers can expect more engaging stories and amazing finds.

"I'm going to introduce a story and a piece," he said, explaining the show's premise. "They're going to cut to some archival footage, maybe even a little bit of reenactment... In one hour, we're going to cover four different stories, so it is about picking. It's about discovery of things, but the bottom line is, it's very story-based, like my show is."

NATD President Steve Tolman, Creator and Host of American Pickers Mike Wolfe, and director/owner of Tacklebox Films Shaun Silva attend the NATD Honors Gala on November 9, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mike Wolfe.

Rick Diamond/Getty

As he embarks on a brand new decade, Wolfe has a lot to look forward to.

"It's been 20 years of my life, American Pickers has been. And so now kind of slowing down into it, I'm reflecting a lot, like so many people do my age," he continued.

"That's why really it's a celebration of me turning 60 and I'm like, I'm doing this. You want to do another show? I'm doing another show. You want me to have a part in the scripted project? I'm doing it. I'm excited about the next chapter of everything."

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Day of Reckoning premieres in theaters on March 28.

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