When you think of young British talent there are two names that will be on most people’s lists. Nicholas Hoult has been a regular on the big screen since his comeback role in the TV series Skins, having originated in Brit rom-com film About A Boy as a child actor.
Jack O’ Connell, a fellow Skins alumnus, has taken a different route to prominence working in grittier violent based films such as Unbroken and ’71.
Both have emerged as a force to be reckoned with in terms of acting talent and now, the two may be set to join forces for an epic biopic of trouble music manager Brian Epstein.
Both actors are in talks to play the two leads in upcoming biopic A Life In The Day, which chronicles the life of The Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Hoult is tipped to take on the role of the troubled and ill-fated music mogul with O’ Connell fingered to play Beatles legend John Lennon.
The film will also be the first feature film to have won the rights to use Beatles songs. The film will follow Epstein as he rises from shop worker to the manager of The Beatles, one of the most successful bands of all time.
Often referred to as “The Fifth Beatle,” Epstein shared a close and intimate relationship with John Lennon, eliciting rumours of an affair. Struggling to deal with being a homosexual in a conservative environment Epstein developed a dangerous and damaging drug habit.
The screenplay is to be adapted from a script by Tony Gittelson with Justin Chadwick rumoured as a potential director, known for The Other Boleyn Girl and biopic flick Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
Hoult has recently finished working on the latest X-Men film, X-Men: Apocolypse in which he reprises his role of Hank McCoy/Beast and he can also be seen in the newly released Kill Your Friends. O’ Connell hasn’t been seen on the big screen since the 2014 film Unbroken, but is currently working on another war film HHHH (typecast?) as well as the less violent film Tulip Fever.
The film is yet to be confirmed in terms of filming dates or a potential release date, but with the current vogue of music biopics and documentaries it surely won’t be long until the film is underway.
