Armie Hammer in talks to Join Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar Hoover Biopic
Armie Hammer, the actor that played the twins in The Social Network, is currently in talks to join Leonardo DiCaprio in the Clint Eastwood-directed J. Edgar Hoover biopic J. Edgar. The film was previously called Hoover.
If cast in the film, Hammer would play lawyer-turned-FBI-official Clyde Tolson, Hoover's paramour and protege. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the relationship Tolson had with Hoover, he was the associate director of the FBI from 1947 to 1972. Tolson was in daily close contact with Hoover at the office, but even more interesting, the pair also dined, socialized in night clubs, and even vacationed together. Word on the streets of history is that they were gay lovers.
Hammer is a solid actor, and in my opinion, he fits this role perfectly.
The script for the J. Edgar was written by Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and the story "explores the two men’s complicated relationship; neither man ever admitted to being gay, and Hoover was known for hunting down and intimidating those who dared questioned his sexual preference while he was alive. But Hoover’s actions in death seem to suggest they were more than simply pals in life: "When Hoover died, Tolson was not only the beneficiary of Hoover’s life-insurance policy, he also inherited Hoover's estate and moved into his house. At Hoover’s funeral, he accepted the U.S. flag draped over Hoover's coffin, and today, Tolson's grave is a few yards from Hoover's in the Congressional Cemetery."
Hoover was the first director of the FBI. He was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972. Hoover is credited with building the FBI into a large and efficient crime-fighting agency, and with instituting a number of modern innovations to police technology, such as a centralized fingerprint file and forensic laboratories.
Late in life, and after his death, Hoover became an increasingly controversial figure. His critics have accused him of exceeding the jurisdiction of the FBI.
The Warner Bros. Pictures project starts filming early next year.
