Nicholas Hoult Will Play J.D. Salinger in Rebel In The Rye
The British actor is slated to play the author of Catcher in the Rye in an upcoming biopic.
If J.D. Salinger were still alive he would probably not be happy about being the subject of a biopic. Or that said biopic is called Rebel In The Rye. Or that a British actor with very little physical resemblance to the author is playing him.
Alas, Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road)has been cast as Salinger in the Danny Strong-helmed drama, based on Kenneth Slawenski’s biography, J.D. Salinger: A Life. The story chronicles the famously reclusive author’s harrowing days as a WWI army sergeant and the success of his legendary novel Catcher In The Rye. Strong,an actor (Mad Men, Girls) and a screenwriter (Hunger Games) who is best known for co-creating Empire, is a lifelong Salinger fan and purchased the option with his own money. The film was originally titled Salinger’s War but has been renamed for reasons that are unclear.
It’s been a big year for Hoult, who is steadily climbing the mainstream radar as part of the X-Men franchise and for his well-received role in Mad Max: Fury Road. He will next appear as a sociopathic record exec in the British music biz satire Kill Your Friends. Salinger, who died in 2010, appears as a character in the animated Netflix series BoJack Horseman. On the show, Salinger plays the host of the network game show Hollywoo Stars and Celebrities: What do they know? Do they know things?? Let’s find out!
No production start date has yet been set for Rebel In The Rye.
Photos by Photo Left: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Snowlodge Photo Right: Bettmann/Corbis / AP Images
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