We’ve already seen Leonardo DiCaprio take on iconic real-life characters like Howard Hughes and Frank Abagnale Jr., and now it looks like he’s interested in taking on another famous figure in American history, J. Edgar Hoover. According to Deadline, DiCaprio has signed on to star in the biopic about the man who formed the FBI, and none other than Clint Eastwood will direct.
This marks DiCaprio’s first film with Eastwood after working on several movies under the guidance of director Martin Scorsese. No word on whether the film will delve into some of the more controversial aspects of Hoover’s life (ahem, cross-dressing), but one imagines it will track his rise in government to the point where he formed the FBI, a time in history that was just recently brought to life on screen by Michael Mann in the film Public Enemies (Billy Crudup played Hoover in that film).
Will this be another automatic Oscar nod for DiCaprio? Is this the type of film you want to see him doing next? Also, if he’s going to play Hoover for Eastwood, does that mean he probably won’t play Frank Sinatra for Scorsese? I mean, a guy can only play so many real-life characters, right?
