Stephen Frears' currently-untitled drama about the controversy magnet cyclist Lance Armstrong went into production a few weeks ago, as evidenced by our first look at Ben Foster playing Armstrong. But it turns out the Working Title production has been racing to the finish line without a full cast, as actor Lee Pace has escaped Middle-earth long enough to sign on for this biopic.
According to TheWrap, Pace’s role in the film is unknown for now, and I’m not familiar enough with all the people involved with the story to even wager a guess. Perhaps Pace is playing himself, having given Armstrong acting lessons at some point in the past (probably not it.)
For this feature, which is one of several focusing on Armstrong’s fall from grace, screenwriter John Hodge adapted the book Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong by journalist David Walsh. The entirety of Armstrong’s career will factor into the story, from his multiple Tour de France championships to his hard-fought battle against testicular cancer. Chris O’Dowd (The IT Crowd) will star as Walsh, who was one of the key people responsible for exposing the doping controversy widespread throughout professional cycling. It sounds like a by-the-book affair, but with such an interesting cast, which also includes Breaking Bad’s Jesse Plemons and French actor Guillaume Canet, I can’t help but think it’ll be a winner. I mean, just look at Foster in the image below - which I still have trouble believing is really the actor.
It looks like Frears’ film will be the first one anybody gets their eyes on, as neither the J.J. Abrams project nor the Jay Roach version with Bradley Cooper attached are moving forward very quickly. Maybe they should dope up, since I hear that can help speed things up quite a bit.
Pace has gone from the lovable star of quirky Brian Fuller dramas Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies to being quite the movie star, with roles in last year’s Lincoln and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. He’ll be taking over theaters later this year with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, in which he will reprise his role as the Elven king Thranduil, and then next August he will be seen in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, where he’ll play big baddie Ronan the Accuser. He’s also starring in the period drama Halt & Catch Fire, which got a series order from AMC this summer. Check him out below introducing one of the latest Hobbit trailers.
