It was only this year when Tom Hardy finally earned his first Oscar nomination for his terrific supporting turn in “The Revenant,” and, while he ultimately lost to “Bridge of Spies” heavyweight Mark Rylance, his next project sounds like he could be back before too long. The “Mad Max: Fury Road” star just signed on to play Don McCullin, a massively prolific British war photographer, in an upcoming biopic, with a screenplay by Gregory Burke (“‘71”) based on McCullin’s own autobiography, “Unreasonable Behavior.” And it sounds like there’s a lot of room for dramatic potential in this one.
Similarly to McCullin’s 1990 book, the currently-untitled film will explore the photographer’s journey, examining his life from his early childhood, where he battled poverty and wartime London, to his later years, when he became one of the most acclaimed war photojournalists of all-time. There will also be lots of time devoted to his years battling his way through Vietnam, Biafra and Uganda capturing some of the most celebrated B&W war photos in history.
Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce alongside Hardy and Dean Baker, under their production company Hardy, Son & Baker. McCullin, meanwhile, is also attached as an executive producer, which might affect some of the even-handedness of the storytelling. Though, if McCullin’s book is as unflinching and honest as some reviews suggest, that shouldn’t be a problem.
With no director attached, it’s unclear when this one will get ready to roll in front of cameras. But Hardy has some other projects to keep him busy in the meantime. For instance, he’s currently filming a role in Christopher Nolan’s WWII drama “Dunkirk,” reuniting with the director for a third time after “Inception” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” He’s also got his FX/BBC mini-series “Taboo” set for release early in 2017. But let’s hope this one comes out sooner than later. Hardy’s due for his time collecting trophies throughout the awards circle, and this biopic could bring the goods if done right. [Deadline]