Many of the major important historical figures involved in Clint Eastwood's next film J. Edgar have already been cast-- Leonardo DiCaprio as former FBI head J. Edgar Hoover, Armie Hammer as his colleague and lover Clyde Tolson and Charlize Theron (maybe) as personal secretary Helen Gandy. Now there's another real-life person set to join the ensemble, and not necessarily someone you expected. The Playlist has confirmed that Australian actor Damon Herriman is on board to play Bruno Hauptmann, the German immigrant accused of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby.
The Lindbergh kidnapping, and the subsequent trial against Hauptmann that was allegedly riddled with inconsistencies and fraud, was one of the first major cases Hoover investigated through the nascent Federal Bureau of Investigation. Given that Herriman isn't exactly well known-- he had roles in Nash Edgerton's hugely underrated The Square and on a few episodes of FX's Justified-- I can't imagine Hauptmann's role will be very large, but it does make me wonder if they'll be bringing in someone to play the iconic (and Nazi-sympathizing) Lindbergh.
J. Edgar, which has also been going by the name Hoover, starts shooting in February, with Eastwood working from the script by Dustin Lance Black. Expect a lot of other roles to start filling in as we move closer to the start date.
