Ben Foster will star as the disgraced cyclist Lance Armstong opposite Chris O'Dowd in Stephen Frears's forthcoming biopic
Chris O'Dowd has joined the cast for Stephen Frears’s as-yet-untitled biopic toplining Ben Foster as American cyclist Lance Armstrong,Deadline has confirmed.
The Irish actor, whose stock in Hollywood has soared following roles in Bridesmaids and TV comedy Girls, will play Sunday Times sports journalist David Walsh opposite Foster (3:10 to Yuma, X Men: the Last Stand). Guillaume Canet (Tell No One) and Breaking Bad actor Jesse Plemons will also have key supporting roles.
Written by regular Danny Boyle collaborator John Hodge and based on Walsh’s book, Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong, the film will chronicle the period from Armstrong's testicular cancer diagnosis in the mid-Nineties to the revelations last year over his use of performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong was stripped of his seven consecutive Tour de France titles in October 2012, after a lengthy investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Walsh was instrumental in his downfall, campaigning vociferously for 13 years to expose the doping rife within the sport.
The film marks the fourth collaboration between British-based film production company Working Title and StudioCanal – they previously linked up on Tomas Alfredson’s Oscar-nominated Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, I Give It a Year and The Two Faces of January, starring Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortensen which is now in production.
Paramount Pictures and JJ Abrams's production company are working on a competing film based on the book Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong by sportswriter Juliet Macur. Warner Bros, meanwhile, are also planning to make a film about the cyclist, with Bradley Cooper in talks to play the lead.
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