Former Doctor Who star Matt Smith has been tapped to play the infamous cult leader Charles Manson. And, no, he’s not replacing Leonardo DiCaprio. That’s an entirely different movie.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Smith will portray Manson in the upcoming biopic Charlie Says, directed by Canadian filmmaker Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol and American Psycho). The project will focus on the three women who were sentenced to life in prison for their role in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders.
Smith will star alongside Suki Waterhouse, Odessa Young, Marianne Rendon, Cara Gugino, and Game of Thrones star Hannah Murray. Writer Guinevere Turner (American Psycho) was enlisted to pen the script, which is heavily based on Ed Sanders’ 1971 book The Family, as well as Karlene Faith’s The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten.
“Guinevere Turner’s script brings a fresh and unique perspective to the infamous story of the Manson murders,” Harron told THR. “We have now found the perfect cast to bring it to life.”
Charlie Says will be shopped to studios in Berlin later this month. The project is expected to being filming this spring in Los Angeles.
Smith, who recently left his role as Prince Phillip in The Crown, starred in Doctor Who from 2010 to 2013. In an interview with MTV last year, the actor said he was open to reprising his role as the 11th Doctor when the timing was right.
“Yeah, I’d come back,” Smith said. “Why not? If the timing is right. Gotta give a few years to Ms. Whittaker to get the TARDIS under her belt as it were. I’ll be back one day, when I’m old and gray, which isn’t far off.”
In other related news, Hilary Duff will be playing Sharon Tate in a different film about the murders titled The Haunting of Sharon Tate, Deadline reports.
