Bradley Cooper Eyes Role As Lance Armstrong In J.J. Abrams-Produced Biopic

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by Kevin Jagernauth
January 27, 2013 5:07 PM
3 Comments

Ask, and ye shall receive. Or something. In the wake of all that noise around Lance Armstrong's confession that he doped, Bradley Cooper told the BBC he'd be interested in playing the disgraced cyclist. "I remember Matt Damon was going to do his autobiography at one point years ago," he said. "I remember thinking, that would be a great character, I'd love to play that character. I would love to do something, I think he's pretty fascinating." Well, it just might happen.

On the list of things J.J. Abrams is doing besides directing "Star Wars: Episode 7," at some point in the indeterminate future is a biopic on Armstrong, a project that surfaced just over a week ago. And it seems Cooper and Abrams have already been in touch. "[Cooper] sent me an email and we've been talking," Abrams shared with ET. And that's it. We'd say it's probably too early to say that he's "in talks" or that anything formal is down, particularly since no one has been hired to pen the script yet, but Cooper as Lance? Yeah, sure, we can see that.

The movie will be based on the yet-to-be-written book, "Cycle Of Lies: The Fall Of Lance Armstrong" by Juliet Macur. She's a New York Times reporter who has covered Armstrong for years, and likely knows the ins-and-outs of the former Tour De France champion and Livestrong founder like the back of her hand. So, keep this possibility in the back of your mind for now, and we'll see if it coalesces into something more. Until then, Cooper will next reteam with David O. Russell for the movie formerly known as "American Bullshit" with lensing to begin next month.

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3 Comments

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ben | January 28, 2013 5:28 AMReply

Juliet Macur is a woman. Hence the name.
mildred scotney | January 27, 2013 9:50 PMReply

He would be perfect, but dont give Armstrong anymore press.
Will C | January 27, 2013 6:57 PMReply

Because if playing a bipolar sufferer doesn't win you an Oscar, then playing a cancer surviving national sports hero turned shamed drug cheat certainly will.