Ben Foster In Talks To Play Lance Armstrong

For the last few years there’s been rumors about Lance Armstrong and the bevy of biopics that were being shopped around. At one point Matt Damon and Jake Gyllenhaal were said to be neck and neck for the coveted role.

Flash forward to years later and the biopic still hadn’t been made, but the narrative of Armstrong’s story has severely changed. Now it’s Ben Foster who is said to take the role as the disgraced cyclist.

The once hailed cyclist, who was celebrated for beating cancer and winning Tour de France a record of seven consecutive times, has been stripped of his titles after it was revealed he ran the most successful doping program in the cycling community. With that bit of news being a firestorm around Armstrong, the talk of biopics cropped up again.

It’s being reported that Foster, a very talented character-actor, who got his start on the Disney show Fast Forward, is in final talks to take on the role of the fallen athlete. Over the years Foster has stolen scenes in Alpha Dog, The Messenger, and The Mechanic. Up next Foster can be seen as William Burroughs in the beat film Kill Your Darlings, as well as the upcoming film Ain’t Them Bodies Saints starring Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck.

Stephen Frears, director of High Fidelity and The Queen is set to direct the biopic, which will most likely see Ben Foster as the lead. The biopic is said to be penned by director Danny Boyle of 127 Hours, Trainspotting, and 28 Days Later. The biopic is said to cover Armstrong’s career to his demise.

It’s also been revealed that Frear is set to start production in the fall.

In addition to Frear’s biopic, J.J. Abrams is also heading up an Armstrong biopic but that will probably come after he takes over the Star Wars franchise.