J. Edg
ar, the biopic about larger-than-life (and possibly closeted) FBI director J. Edgar Hoover hasn’t come to theaters yet, but Leonardo DiCaprio is already rumored to be starring as another notable man burdened by his homosexuality—British mathematician and heroic WWII codebreaker Alan Turing.
According to Deadline.com, Warner Bros. has picked up a script by Andrew Hodges that details Turing’s incredible genius (he deciphered Nazi spy codes for the British and laid the groundwork for two-way computer communication) as well as his tragic personal life (he was arrested for having homosexual relations in 1952 and committed suicide in prison).
Dude, we know you want an Oscar real bad, but why not just play someone with a physical or mental handicap? The Academy loves that.
At this rate, Leo will be playing Elton John in that rumored biopic.
Image via Colin Chau
Sam Wheat
Am I the only person out there who’s turned off by DiCaprio?
CBRad
A film bio of Turing is such a great idea.
CBRad
BTW: Didn’t DiCaprio also once play Arthur Rimbaud?
Dave
I agree with CBRad–Turing’s story begs for the big screen treatment. As for DiCaprio: Regardless of what other roles he’s played, he has the acting chops and he bears a close enough resemblance to the real Turing to make him a logical choice.
Abel
Turing did NOT commit suicide in prison. He committed suicide in his own home and was found by his housekeeper. He was expecting to be imprisoned.
Samwise
“Dude, we know you want an Oscar real bad, but why not just play someone with a physical or mental handicap? The Academy loves that.”
He already did that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27s_Eating_Gilbert_Grape
I really hope this movie comes out, with Leo or without him. (Although he is an excellent actor and does look a bit like Turing, so he’s a good casting choice.) I’ll be there opening night!
divkid
death by poisoned apple! how gay is that! very disney.
queerty go to work, we needs a piece on turing. and on whether the Apple logo really is in honour of how he met his fruity end; or if it’s just urban myth.
Lefty
June 23rd next year is the centenary of Turing’s birth. There’ll be celebrations across the UK, throughout the year…
http://www.mathcomp.leeds.ac.uk/turing2012/
A movie of his life would be great, if only so more people get to hear about him and his achievements…
Dallas David
And after Alan Turing, I’d like to see him play Nikola Tesla, and explain why he never got the nickname, “Sparky.”
CBRad
@Dallas David: Yeah, Tesla sure mightabeen, but….sometimes, without hard evidence, it’s hard to guess about geniuses.
trevor bartlet
That’ll suck.
B
No. 5 · Abel wrote, “Turing did NOT commit suicide in prison. He committed suicide in his own home and was found by his housekeeper. He was expecting to be imprisoned.”
He wasn’t expecting to be imprisoned. He had been given a choice between imprisonment and probation, with the probation including “chemical castration” (some sort of hormonal treatment that was supposed to reduce his sex drive, and conceivably had other unpleasant side effects). While suicide is the most accepted explanation for his demise, there’s a possibility of it having been accidental.
ewe
holy moly ravioli. ya know there are a lot more actors out there to choose from. Why all these roles for one person?
JEFFUWS
Keep it up Leo.
LandStander
@B: Accidentally putting cyanide in your apple? Highly unlikely.
Cinesnatch
Note to Queerty: two is a coincidence, three is a pattern. But, we know sensationalism is your default.
B
No. 15 · LandStander · wrote, “@B: Accidentally putting cyanide in your apple? Highly unlikely.”
The apple in question was not tested for cyanide, so nobody knows for sure if the cyanide
was in the apple, on its skin, on Turing’s fingers, or obtained by some other means.
Accidentally getting cyanide on an apple sitting in a lab or not cleaning one’s hands adequately is not highly unlikely, although it was unlikely enough for an investigation to declare the death to be a suicide. The lethal dose for potassium cyanide is 200 to 300 mg
and for hydrocyanic acid, it is 50 mg. There’s some speculation that Turing arranged things so that an accidental death was plausible – at least plausible enough so that his mother, who was still alive at the time, could believe it was accidental.
steve
Well if someone in Hollywood would actually come out of the closet there might be a gay actor available for a gay role.. hmmmm??
David Gervais
Like any other job, an actor should be hired on his/her abilities. Whether they personally are gay, straight, or other should have no effect on the decision to hire them to play a character of any sexuality that might of might not be the same as themselves.
In film throughout the 20th century, many LGBT actors played “straight” characters, I don’t see why the reverse should matter either. Queerty’s headline does no-one any favours.
tallskin2
“another notable man burdened by his homosexuality” – Alan T wasn’t ‘burdened’ he was cruelly persecuted
Alan T seems, by all accounts, to have had no problem at all with his same sex desires.
Darling Nikki
@B Yes, Turing is suspected of making his suicide appear as an accident precisely because his mother was alive. He also was fond of the “Snow White” movie, which is why his friends believe it wasn’t as accidental as he made it appear to be. He was burdened by the British government after he was one of the key figures that helped pull Britain out of WWII, and the this was the thanks he got. It took forever after his death for the British gov’t to officially declare what they did to him to be a travesty.
A movie about Turing would be great but please NOT with L.DeCrap…he is a hammy character actor. One of the most overrated actors ever. The fascination with him boggles the mind. Besides, I think it should be played by a Brit.
Gregorie
Leo is a brilliant actor. Why shouldn’t he be cast in the role? At least it would be in good hands. You would prefer Rupert Everett maybe?
Mr. Enemabag Jones
@David Gervais:
In film throughout the 20th century, many LGBT actors played “straight” characters
When you can provide an example of an openly gay actor receiving an Oscar for specifically playing a straight role, I’ll accept the above statement.
Tom Hanks wouldn’t have gotten the Oscar for Philadelphia if he were gay. He wouldn’t have even gotten the part.
In the mean time, where are all these gay people in Hollywood I keep hearing about?
Darling Nikki
Why Not EWAN McGregor or Ioan Gruffudd or James McAvoy or Andrew Garfield….why Leo DeCrap?
jason
Well at least Di Caprio isn’t avoiding the roles of gay and bisexual men. What have Brad Pitt and George Clooney ever done? If anything, both Brad and George have been conspicuous in their avoidance of such roles.
Atlas
The only reason I don’t think Leo is a good choice is the fact you know he won’t be able to do a British accent at all. I don’t have a problem when American actors play Brits or Brits play Americans, but Leo won’t be able to do it. From the trailer for J. Edgar he can’t even keep that voice down for two minutes, there’s no way he’ll be able to do a full fledged accent.