Paul Walter Hauser has joined Clint Eastwood’s ‘The Ballad of Richard Jewell’.
The 32-year-old actor-and-comedian – who is best known for his roles as Shawn Eckhardt in ‘I, Tonya’ and Ivanhoe in Spike Lee’s ‘BlacKkKlansman’ – will play the titular character in the forthcoming film, which follows police officer and security guard Jewell after he is wrongly accused of planting the bomb during the Olympic Park bombing during the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The upcoming movie follows Jewell as his life is transformed after the police leaked that he was a suspect in the incident.
Jewell – who found a suspicious backpack in the Olympic Park, before clearing the area and saving lives – quickly went from being considered a hero, to one of the most disliked people in the US.
Leonardo DiCaprio was previously attached to portray Jewell, but he is no longer starring in the movie and will simply produce.
Jonah Hill was also set to star in the film, but will now join DiCaprio in a producing role.
The script has been penned by Billy Ray, who previously wrote 2013’s ‘Captain Phillips’.
The role of Jewell is still yet to be filled.
Following Fox and Disney merging together, Warner Bros. have now signed a deal to the rights of film.
Meanwhile, even at the age of 89, Eastwood is showing no signs of slowing down.
‘The Mule’ filmmaker previously insisted he doesn’t have any intention to retire from the movie business, although he is planning to be more selective about his projects in the coming years.
He explained: "Maybe I just don’t want a certain volume of work, but, no, it hasn’t lessened. I love what I do … I’ll probably keep on going. I feel good, but it depends on material. I probably wouldn’t do something just because it was marginal – I have to kind of think it has some validity and has some relationship to today."
Paul Walter Hauser joins The Ballad of Richard Jewell
