Here’s one surefire way to make sure your planned Marvin Gaye biopic doesn’t completely fail: Hire Lenny Kravitz to play the late Motown legend on screen.
Kravitz reportedly will play Gaye in a movie directed by Julien Temple, the masterful video director who has bridged the gap between music and film for his entire career. In addition to helming some of the most memorable music videos of our time, Temple worked on past films about such reputed musicians as Joe Strummer, Paul Weller, The Sex Pistols and David Bowie. He also directed Earth Girls are Easy back in 1988, but hey, nobody’s perfect.
Deadline says Kravitz is set to play Gaye in the film, which will begin filming early next year. According to the site, Temple’s movie will occupy a time frame when Gaye lived in London at the end of his career (and, as it turns out, his life). At the time of the movie, Gaye will be battling his addictions and trying to get his stalled career back on track with the help of British music promoter Freddy Cousaert.
Kravitz, obviously, is a masterful musician who has collected numerous accolades for his singing and songwriting. But his acting career has been flourishing ever since he decided to share time on screen as well as in the music studio. He played a small but vital role in Lee Daniels’ Precious, and followed that up with a key supporting part in the original The Hunger Games movie. This biopic will be Kravitz’s first attempt at carrying a film as the lead, but it sounds like a part he was born to play. Do you agree?
