Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has announced
the filming start of J. Edgar.
The 36-year-old DiCaprio will play
opposite Armie Hammer, the 24-year-old star of The Social Network,
in the upcoming biopic of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.
DiCaprio tweeted to his more than
650,000 followers on Friday: “Start shooting J. Edgar Hoover story
on Feb. 5th, look forward to working on more eco projects
this year too.”
DiCaprio will play Hoover, while Hammer
takes on the role of Clyde Tolson, Hoover's alleged lover.
The film is based on a script by Milk
scribe Dustin Lance Black and will be directed by legendary
actor-director Clint Eastwood.
Eastwood recently said DiCaprio
“volunteered” for the lead role.
“The script is a very good script and
we were all preparing it and he [DiCaprio] liked the script,”
Eastwood told John Meneghetti on the red carpet for this year's
California Hall of Fame induction ceremony. “He actually
volunteered for it.”
While there is ample evidence to
suggest that Hoover and Tolson were gay and involved in a romantic
relationship, both men vehemently denied such allegations.