Daniel Radcliffe is set to star in a biopic about famed British Olympian
Sebastian Coe called
Gold,
The Hollywood Reporter announced from the American Film Market. The Harry Potter actor will once again work alongside James Watkins, who directed
The Woman in Black, and the film is set to begin production this April in the U.K. and Russia.
The film will be based on the book
The Perfect Distance by Pat Butcher, and will focus on the rivalry between Coe and follow runner Steve Ovett during the 1980 Moscow summer games.
Quote:
Sebastian Coe (Daniel Radcliffe), obsessive and nurtured, is a quiet loner driven to the limit of endeavour by his ambitious father.
Steve Ovett, effortless and natural, is a confident joker and outsider, fighting to prove himself in an elitist world.
Both are fuelled by rivalry but burdened by the weight of expectation and fear of failure.
Lovers, family loyalties and the human spirit are tested to breaking point in a relentless race for glory.
Inspired by a crescendo of real-life events – a movie about winning, losing and the pursuit of immortality.
Radcliffe will star as the athlete-turned-Olympic tsar in the film Gold, written by Oscar winning scribe Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) and Will Davies (How To Train Your Dragon).
Embankment Films is hoping for an early 2015 release.