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KATHMANDU: Hollywood actor Joel Edgerton confirmed on Saturday he is in talks to lead a stellar cast in a film about the killing of Osama bin Laden by Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow.
The 37-year-old Australian, who starred alongside Tom Hardy in martial arts blockbuster Warrior, said in an interview with AFP he has been in contact with Bigelow’s team over a possible lead role although a deal is yet to be struck.
“I’ve been involved with those guys for a long time. The thing was I was possibly going to be involved when the film was of a different incarnation, before bin Laden was killed,” he told AFP.
“I still have a relationship with those guys... there’s nothing definite to report. In fact, I just got a ton of emails about it but all I’ll say is it’s not necessarily untrue but it’s not necessarily true.”
Bigelow, who won an Academy Award for best director for The Hurt Locker in 2010, is firming up the cast for the controversial film, with Idris Elba, Guy Pearce and Hardy all also reportedly pencilled in for roles.
Republican politicians in the United States voiced concerns that Barack Obama’s administration leaked classified details about May’s Navy SEALs mission to the team behind the still-untitled film, slated for release in December.
The White House has denied the allegations.
Bigelow had reportedly been planning a film about the hunt for bin Laden long before the raid on the terror kingpin’s compound in northern Pakistan in May last year.
Edgerton – a black belt in karate – has not revealed which part he is being lined up for in the hotly anticipated film, but a Navy SEAL role would see him cement the tough guy image he crafted during the making of Warrior.
