Clint Eastwood’s new film has found another eager cast member. Ed Westwick, the British actor best known for his role as the cocksure billionaire Chuck Bass on The CW’s Gossip Girl, will portray a character called Agent Smith in J. Edgar, a biopic/period-drama that chronicles the tenure of the FBI’s infamous founder and director J. Edgar Hoover.
The character is described as “a clean cut operative with writing skill” who is asked by Hoover to write his biography. However, things turn sour once Smith gets a little too close to the truth. It’s the biggest role in Westwick’s brief career and a step in the right direction if he intends on making a permanent jump to features after his eventual departure from GG. I haven’t followed the show too closely (though I admit the first two seasons were guilty pleasures), but I believe that Westwick is the most talented actor on it, so I’m happy to see him get some real work.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Hoover, while Armie Hammer is gearing up to play his confidante and supposed secret lover Clyde Tolson. Judi Dench has also been cast, though Charlize Theron, who was cornering the role of Hoover’s longtime secretary Helen Gandy, has jumped ship for Universal Pictures upcoming tentpole Snow White and the Hunstman. Sources claim that producers are now looking at Naomi Watts and Amy Adams to fill the vacancy.
J. Edgar is set to begin filming in February for a tentative 2012 release, though it could easily be ready by late 2011.
Source: Deadline
