Ben Foster to play Lance Armstrong in new biopic

Los Angeles: Actor Ben Foster will take on the role of cyclist Lance Armstrong in Stephen Frears’ new biopic. The 32-year-old actor looks set to star as Armstrong in the film which will focus on the seven-time Tour de France champion’s long career and fall from grace after he admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs, reported Deadline. The movie is being written by Trainspotting scribe John Hodge, with production slated to begin this autumn. Foster made his Broadway debut opposite Alec Baldwin in Orphans last year and also stars with Mark Wahlberg in Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor. [caption id=“attachment_994269” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] Frears’ intention to make a film about Armstrong’s life comes as somewhat of a surprise since two other projects about the scandalous sportsman are already in the works. Warner Bros has been working on an untitled project from Atlas Entertainment, scripted by Side Effects writer Scott Z Burns and directed by Jay Roach. Meanwhile, JJ Abrams is also hoping to bring Armstrong’s tale to the big screen by adapting Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong, a book by New York Times sports writer Juliet Macur. Bradley Cooper was rumoured to be in line to play the cyclist, but he vehemently denied the claims. PTI