Emile Hirsch To Play John Belushi In Biopic

Emile Hirsch has been signed to take the lead in screenwriter-turned-director Steve Conrad’s biopic of the legendary comic actor John Belushi.

Last week when it was announced that Conrad was going to be making his feature film debut with the project, it was reported that Hirsch and Adam Devine were the two actors in contention for the role.

Also being reported for the first time is that Conrad’s screenplay is based of the book Belushi co-authored by the comic actor’s widow Judy Belushi Pisano. She and Belushi’s friend and on screen comic partner Dan Aykroyd are executive producers on the project. Filming is set to start next spring in New York.

To say that Hirsch is a rather interesting choice for the role, seems to be a bit of an understatement. I don’t think he looks like Belushi all that much and his build certainly doesn’t match the heavy set comic’s frame. Perhaps he’ll be eating lots of Little Chocolate Donuts to get into shape for the role?

Via Deadline.