Leonardo DiCaprio is getting to move from working with one Hollywood legend to another. The actor, and current favorite of Martin Scorsese, is in early talks to take the lead role in Clint Eastwood’s forthcoming biopic “Hoover.”
As we previously reported, the film is being penned by “Milk” scribe Dustin Lance Black and promises to cover J. Edgar Hoover’s fascinating and controversial career. He was the first director of the FBI, pursued John Dillinger (he was portrayed by Billy Crudup in Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies”) and later, opened thousands of secret files on American citizens whom he considered “subversives” or “radicals.” Hoover also founded the notorious COINTELPRO program, perhaps his most controversial legacy. The special ops program was used to disrupt a variety of organizations ranging from the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party to civil rights groups. Yet, despite Hoover’s seemingly reckless methods, he remained in his position for years, as he was considered more of a danger as a political enemy, and was rumored to have kept damaging or embarrassing files on political leaders. Of course, Hoover is also just as well known for possibly being gay and a cross-dresser. While he certainly never came out of the closet, it’s believed that associate director Clyde Tolson was his lover. After Hoover’s death, Tolson inherited his estate and moved into his home, only fueling such rumors.
For DiCaprio, it’s a meaty role that potentially brings to mind his work in his turn as Howard Hughes in Scorsese’s “The Aviator.” That said, Hoover’s career spans a greater period of time and DiCaprio will certainly need to undergo some physical adjustments to play the much more physically imposing Hoover. We’re also sort of excited by the dichotomy that might be potentially set up between the more conservative leaning Eastwood, the openly gay Black and stickler for character detail presented by DiCaprio. Sounds like a project that could definitely fire hard on all cylinders. At the very least, while nothing is set in stone, DiCaprio certainly sounds intrigued telling EW, “It sounds interesting to say the least. There’s no contract, no anything, but I’m a huge fan of Clint’s.”
The project, formerly set up at Universal, is now at Warner Bros. where Eastwood will produce under his Malpaso banner. No word on when this will get in front of cameras, but considering the pace Eastwood works at, later this year seems like a sure bet.