Jared Leto confirmed to play Andy Warhol in biopic from The Social Network producer
The Oscar-winning actor is known for his method approach to playing The Joker in Suicide Squad
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Jared Leto is swapping The Joker's dead rats and anal beads for soup cans and Coke bottles after being cast as Andy Warhol in an upcoming biopic.
The Oscar-winning actor has been confirmed to play the openly gay 21st century pop artist and rock band manager whose iconic paintings are among the most expensive ever sold.
Leto will also produce the film, currently titled Warhol, with The Social Network’s Michael De Luca, while The Wolf of Wall Street’s Terence Winter is writing a script based on Warhol: The Biography by Victor Bockris.
Warhol began his career in the Sixties, turning on celebrities and consumerism for fierce artistic critique. He soon became a celebrity in his own right, with his Factory studio a hip hangout on the New York cultural scene. He came close to death after another artist shot him there in 1968 but he survived and later became a regular of Manhattan’s Studio 54 nightclub along with the likes of Mick Jagger, Elton John, Debbie Harry and Freddie Mercury. Warhol died aged 58 in 1987 from a post-operative cardiac arrest after mentoring a new generation of young artists.
Warhol’s colourful life has been tackled on the silver screen before, most memorably by late singer Davie Bowie in Basquiat and Guy Pearce in Factory Girl.
Leto’s portrayal of a trans woman living with AIDS in 2014’s Dallas Buyers Club won him critical acclaim and an Oscar but angered the LGBT community as another example of a lead gay role going to a straight actor. He has acknowledged the current diversity problems in Hollywood but is likely to receive further criticism for taking the part of Warhol, who lived publicly as a homosexual before the gay liberation movement.
Leto is currently working on Denis Villeneuve’s much-hyped Blade Runner sequel, due in cinemas next October. Further casting details and a release date for Warhol are as-yet-unknown.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments