Jared Leto will play late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner in an upcoming biopic. To be directed by Brett Ratner, the film is currently in early development with Bretner’s RatPac Entertainment.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ratner is an old friend of Leto. The actor approached the director once he heard that Ratner held the rights to Hefner’s biopic.
“When he heard I got the rights to Hef’s story, he told me, ‘I want to play him. I want to understand him.’ And I really believe Jared can do it. He’s one of the great actors of today.”
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Ratner once invited Leto to the Playboy Mansion for the premiere of Amazon’s docu-series American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story earlier this year. But, Hefner was in failing health and was not able to meet Leto.
Ratner isn’t perturbed though. “There’s enough footage on Hef out there that Jared will be able to get as much information as he wants,” he said.
Production on the film is expected to begin later this year.
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