Over the weekend, Hollywood heartthrob Jared Leto announced that he has been cast to play art-pop pioneer Andy Warhol in an upcoming film. Posting the news to his Instagram along with a number of iconic photos of the artist, the 48-year-old actor didn’t reveal much about the movie in question, however had originally been cast to play Warhol back in a 2016 biopic.
There’s no surprise that Leto’s announcement has caused quite the stir among fans.
In one of the most unexpected but surprisingly perfect casting choices of the century, Jared Leto has announced that he will play art legend Andy Warhol in an upcoming film.
“Yes it’s true I will be playing Andy Warhol in an upcoming film,” Leto wrote in an Instagram post. “And so grateful and excited about the opportunity. Happy belated birthday Andy. We miss you and your genius.”
It was first announced that Leto would play the American artist and filmmaker back in 2016, in the film adaptation of Victor Bockris’ 1989 novel Warhol: The Biography. The actor was reportedly slated to step into the role of co-producer alongside screenwriter Terence Winter (The Wolf of Wall Street). However, nothing much has been heard about the film since, with Leto’s announcement not revealing any juicy details either.
Twitter doing what Twitter does best has, of course, produced some masterpiece reactions to the news.
Jared Leto as Andy Warhol; a thread 🖤 pic.twitter.com/2Wf0Wt3oAw
— Jared Leto Zone 🌎 (@jaredletozone) August 7, 2020
Read ‘Jared Leto playing Andy Warhol’ and decided that’s enough internet for me today
— K 🌈 (@kellyhsouth) August 8, 2020
Jared can make a 5 hour film of himself sleeping as prep for role.
I’d watch it.#JaredLeto #AndyWarhol— Matti (@altum68) August 7, 2020
However, a number of fans have spoken out against the casting choice, arguing that a queer actor should instead be cast to play the artist. Leto has always been very private about his sexuality, neither confirming or denying any label placed on him. In the past, the actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman has actively spoken out against the lack of LGBTQ+ representation in Hollywood.
Disappointing to see this. People wonder why gay male actors don’t become stars. Hollywood doesn’t give the queer men the lead roles. People see a straight actor playing a gay role as some big transformation. There is a subversive form of homophobia here. It is offensive.
— OrvilleLloydDouglas🇨🇦🏳️🌈 (@OrvilleLloyd) August 8, 2020
