Jared Leto announced to play Hugh Hefner in new biopic one week after Playdoy founder’s death

The Oscar-winning actor never got the chance to meet the Playboy mogul 
New role: Jared Leto will play Hugh Hefner in a new biopic
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Jennifer Ruby3 October 2017
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Jared Leto is set to play Hugh Hefner in a forthcoming biopic about the Playboy founder’s life.

The Oscar-winning actor has been announced as the lead in the as-yet-untitled film, just a few days after Hefner’s death.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Bratt Ratner will director the project, which has been in the works since 2007.

“Jared is an old friend,” he told the magazine. “When he heard I got the rights to Hef's story, he told me, 'I want to play him. I want to understand him.’

Icon: Hugh Hefner died last week at the age of 91
REUTERS

“And I really believe Jared can do it. He's one of the great actors of today.”

Ratner said that that Leto never got the chance to actually meet Hefner in person, but will study him from video clips.

'American Icon' Hugh Hefner dies aged 91

1/11

“There's enough footage on Hef out there that Jared will be able to get as much information as he wants,” he said.

The director said he had hoped to introduce the pair during a screening of American Playboy at the Playboy Mansion earlier this year but Hefner failed to attend due to illness.

The casting news comes just days after Hefner died at the age of 91 at his home in the Playboy Mansion.

A statement from Playboy Enterprises said Hefner "peacefully passed away today from natural causes at his home, The Playboy Mansion, surrounded by loved ones".

His son Cooper Hefner, the chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises, said in a statement that his father "defined a lifestyle and ethos that lie at the heart of the Playboy brand".

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in