Harry Potter alum Daniel Radcliffe is working hard to shed his Potter persona. After years of playing in roles that earned the actor post-Potter praise, the 24-year-old actor will be adding another more grown-up role to his filmography.
Radcliffe is reportedly set to star in the upcoming film Gold, in which he will play runner Sebastian Coe, who is known for mid-distance running. The film will tell the story of Coe’s world-famous rivalry with runner Steve Ovett in the time leading up to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
The film, which does not yet have a set release date, will be directed by James Watkins, who Radcliffe worked with on the 2012 film The Woman in Black.
The script has some heavy-hitting writers behind it -- Slumdog Millionaire’s Simon Beaufoy and How to Train Your Dragon’s Will Davies. According to the LA Times, the film itself will be based off journalist Pat Butcher’s book “The Perfect Distance.”
Beaufoy told the BBC that the film’s story has “a beautiful plot.”
"I hadn't realised how good it was until you dig into their past," he said. "They were fantastically different athletes and different people.”
"And they rarely met... apart from on the track - but not very often, even on the track."
The film will begin shooting in the spring, in both the UK and in Russia.
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