Academy Award winner Sam Rockwell is closing in a deal to star in Clint Eastwood’s upcoming film, The Ballad of Richard Jewell.
The Warner Bros. film tells the story of
the titular disgraced Olympic security guard who was working at the 1996 Olympic Summer Games when he discovered a backpack containing pipe bombs and subsequently sounded the alarm and helped to clear the area. Initially hailed as a hero, Jewell was soon the prime suspect, however, as the FBI searched his home twice and a media frenzy painted him as an overweight failed cop.
Rockwell will play the lawyer that would help to clear Jewell’s name.
The film has been in development since 2014, with Leonardo DiCaprio on board to play Jewell’s attorney and Jonah Hill set to play the security guard.