Starring roles in historical biopics have often brought forth Oscar nods, and, now, Bill Murray is heading down that path. Well, assuming this project turns out to be as great as it sounds. According to Variety, Murray has signed on to play Franklin D. Roosevelt in the historical drama Hyde Park On Hudson.
Based on a British radio play by Richard Nelson, the film will take place in 1939, when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth paid a visit to President Roosevelt's upstate New York home, called (you guessed it) Hyde Park on Hudson. During that eventful weekend of high-end snobbery and frenetic frolicking, the scandal of FDR's affair with his sixth cousin, Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, came to light.
The royal couple has yet to be cast, but maybe they can get the Oscar winning Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter to reprise their roles as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, respectively. How meta would that be?
After courting the role for nearly a year, Murray (notoriously known for picking his own roles and having no agent) is finally ready to board director Roger Michell's (Notting Hill) project.
Murray is currently filming Moonrise Kingdom, which re-teams him with Rushmore director Wes Anderson. Hyde Park On Hudson is due out in the United Kingdom in 2012.
[Via The Playlist]
