Because Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake were so incredible in The Social Network, Armie Hammer has kind of faded into the background. While the other three male leads are constantly referenced in Oscar buzz talks, Hammer has been somewhat forgotten despite putting on a terrific performance and delivering my favorite line of the movie ("I'm six-five, 220 pounds, and there are two of me"). Now it turns out that someone noticed, and his name is Clint Eastwood.
EW reports that Hammer has begun negotiations to join the cast of Eastwood's a bio-pic about FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, which has also been retitled from Hoover to J. Edgar. If he does indeed sign on, he will be playing Clyde Tolson, the role that was rumored for Joaquin Phoenix back in September. Tolson was a close friend of Hoover's and a fellow FBI official, but, more scandalously, it was oft-rumored that he was also Hoover's gay lover. The film already stars Leonardo DiCaprio as the title character and the film is scheduled to begin production next year.
While I enjoy Hammer's work and I am happy to see him land such an interesting gig, there is one aspect of this casting that might look strange on film. As mentioned above, Hammer stands at 6'5", and while DiCaprio is hardly what you would consider short, measuring in at 6'0", it's a fairly big height difference for two men who, in reality, were basically the same height (opens in new tab). Obviously there are tricks that can be used to put them on the same level, but it might look funny if DiCaprio has to crane his neck in order to hold his own in conversation.
