A Hugh Hefner biopic has been in the works for the past 10 years. Now, all of the stars are aligning to actually get it made — well, one star in particular…
Jared Leto has signed on to portray the Playboy founder, who died late September at age 91, in an upcoming film from director-producer Brett Ratner.
Related: Ex-GF Says Hef Didn’t Anticipate Dying In ‘The Immediate Future’
Ratner, who will direct the film, revealed that Leto has been eyeing the role of the magazine honcho for quite some time, telling The Hollywood Reporter:
“Jared is an old friend. When he heard I got the rights to Hef’s story, he told me, ‘I want to play him. I want to understand him.’ And I really believe Jared can do it. He’s one of the great actors of today.”
The Oscar winner may be a great choice to don the old silk robe, but he isn’t the first actor set to play Hef on the big screen. In fact, Robert Downey Jr. was once attached for the role back when Ratner had the project set up at Universal Pictures in 2007.
But just like an unplanned orgy in the Playboy Mansion, things got a bit complicated. Development at Universal fell through and Hef’s rights were expired, only to be purchased by Ocean’s Eleven producer Jerry Weintraub for Warner Bros.
Photo: Jared Shines At British GQ‘s Men Of The Year Awards!
After Weintraub died in 2015, Ratner snagged the rights back up for his own company Ratpac Entertainment, and Leto quickly sniffed out the role. Now in early development, Rater says his goal is “to do the motion picture as an event.”
And we all know Hef loved his events! Back in April, Ratner invited Leto to the Mansion for the premiere of Amazon‘s docuseries American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story, which doubled as a celebration of the mogul turning 91.
We can only imagine the rigorous method acting Leto will undergo to “understand” the mind of the iconic philanderer…
[Image via WENN.]
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