Penn Badgley Beats Out Robert Pattinson For Jeff Buckley Role

Robert Pattinson may be one of the biggest A-listers on the planet at the moment but that wasn’t enough for him to land the lead role in the Jeff Buckley biopic Greetings From Tim Buckley.

The actor expressed interest in the role and even help preliminary meetings with producers, however the role ultimately went to Gossip actor Penn Badgley.

Speaking to Eonline Badgley said about his job offer:

“To play a man who was singularly gifted as an artist, greatly misunderstood and mythologized as a human being…It’s something very special and sacred. I’m going to give all I can to this project.”

It wasn’t just Pattinson who lost out on the role, also thrown out of the running were James Franco, Jared Leto and James Marsden, all of who would have been likely capable in the role. I for one would have loved to see James Franco take on Buckley’s bigger than life mythology.

In a big twist for the movie, film co-producer Orian Williams recently told the L.A. Times, “Penn isn’t involved in the film at all?” Perhaps he was just messing with the press.

Do you think Penn Badgley is the right decision for the Buckley role?