Jared Leto attends the Suicide Squad European Premiere sponsored by Carrera on August 3, 2016 in London, England. (Photo : Getty Images/Stuart C. Wilson)
Jared Joseph Leto has won the role of Andy Warhol in an upcoming biopic about the pop art pioneer's life. The 44-year-old actor will also produce the said film, tentatively titled "Warhol," alongside Michael De Luca.
Screenwriter Terence Winter, whose previous projects include 2013's "The Wolf of Wall Street," will pen the upcoming biopic based on Victor Bockris' "Warhol: The Biography" as a jumping-off point, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Sources claimed that De Luca and Leto jointly procured rights to the 1989 novel.
Leto, who is producing via his Paradox production shingle, and De Luca, through his Michael De Luca Productions company, are reportedly not going for a low-budget indie with "Warhol." Instead, they plan it to be a strong mainstream project with prestige credentials.
Warhol's blend of art and commerce apparently made him a household name in the 1960s. He was transparently gay and was frequently seen at New York's Studio 54 nightclub. He died in 1987 from a sudden post-operative cardiovascular arrhythmia.
Meanwhile, Leto was previously criticized by the LGBT community for being a straight man, who portrayed a drug-addicted transgender woman in 2013's "Dallas Buyers Club." The said transgender character won him the Academy Award for supporting actor.
"I definitely don't think a gay leading man would have the same opportunities as a straight leading man," Leto told The Guardian. "I don't know if that's offensive or not, but that's my thought right now. It shouldn't be that way."
Leto goes ahead to say his own take on gender and masculinity. The "Suicide Squad" actor stated that he never had a specific idea of masculinity, stressing that he absolutely never felt required to present himself in a certain way.
Leto will star next in the untitled "Blade Runner" sequel. He will be joined by Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, Dave Bautista, Sylvia Hoeks, Ana de Armas, Carla Juri, David Dastmalchian and Barkhad Abdi.
The untitled "Blade Runner" sequel is scheduled to be released on Oct. 6, 2017, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D. More details about the project will be revealed soon.
Check out Leto as a transgender woman in "Dallas Buyers Club" below:
