Matt Smith, who first made his name in The History Boys and later starred as the 11th Doctor in Doctor Who, will soon tackle a new project: a biopic on Robert Mapplethorpe.
Mapplethorpe was an American photographer known for exploring taboo and controversial subjects in his work. He was the one-time lover of Patti Smith and they remained good friends when Mapplethorpe realised he was homosexual.
Throughout his career he was credited with photographing numerous celebrities including Grace Jones, Andy Warhol and Smith herself (the cover to her album Horses was taken by Mapplethorpe). Mapplethorpe’s life came to an end in 1989 after suffering complications from AIDS. He was 42.
The role was originally intended for James Franco, but a busy schedule of directing, producing and writing forced him to step away from the project, leaving the door open of Matt Smith.
Ondi Timoner is still attached to the project as director and joining the cast to play Pattie Smith is Zosia Mamet of Girls fame. There is no release date set as of yet but we can expect to see Smith in Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, which will be released February 11, and Mamet will appear in the next season of Girls, which begins February 21.
#Peace.Love.RobertMapplethorpe
