Daniel Radcliffe To Star As Olympic Hero Sebastian Coe In Biopic
Daniel Radcliffe is set to star in a biopic about the life of British Olympian Sebastian Coe.
The film will depict Coe's great rivalry with fellow British running star, Steve Ovett.
Screen Daily reported, the biopic will be titled 'Gold' and it's vision is to tell the story of two great Olympic middle distance runners in the years leading up to the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.
The film will be directed by British filmmaker James Watkins, who worked with the young British actor in Susan Hill's 'Women In Black' which grossed nearly £80 million worldwide.
The screenplay is penned by Oscar winner, Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) and Will Davis (How To Train A Dragon).
Beaufoy recently told the BBC that it is "a brilliant story" with a "perfect ending".
He added, "I hadn't realised how good it was until you dig into their past, they were fantastically different athletes and different people and they rarely met... apart from on the track - but not very often, even on the track."
Radcliffe will play a four time Olympic medal winner from the 1980 and 84' games, and a world record breaker.
Coe is credited a huge deal of bringing the games to London in 2012 and was presented with the Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in last December for his efforts.
The film, which is expected to be filmed in the UK and Russia in April 2014, will be produced by Joanna Anderson, Vicky Licorish and Kevin Loader. The project has been developed by BBC Films and the British Film Institute with AI Films.
Chrisitne Langan from BBC Films commented on the upcoming biopic, saying it is "compelling, funny and moving, Gold is a gem of a story."
It will be based on Pat Butcher's book, 'The Perfect Distance'.
Sebastian Coe will see his rivalry with fellow Brit, Steve Ovett, hit the big screen