Jared Leto To Portray Late Hugh Hefner In Brett Ratner’s Biopic

Jared Leto is ditching purple and green Joker suit to slip into silk pajamas to portray the late Hugh Hefner in an upcoming biopic. Days after the passing of the Playboy magazine founder, it was revealed that a biopic about the famous businessman is in the works, and Leto has been tapped to play Hefner.

The upcoming biopic, which is still untitled, is going to be helmed by Brett Ratner of RatPac Entertainment. Ratner is known for directing a number of movies, including “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Hercules” and the “Rush Hour” films. When Ratner spoke with The Hollywood Reporter this Tuesday, he revealed the reason why Leto was chosen to portray the late renowned playboy.

“Jared is an old friend. When he heard I got the rights to Hef’s story, he told me, ‘I want to play him. I want to understand him.’ And I really believe Jared can do it,” Ratner said. “He’s one of the great actors of today.”

Ratner’s confidence in Leto shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that the 45-year-old actor is known for giving his all in every role he takes. He snagged the Oscar for best supporting actor in 2014 when he portrayed an HIV-positive transgender woman in “Dallas Buyers Club.” Moreover, Leto is now widely known for his own take on the DC Comics’ supervillain Joker in the “Suicide Squad” movie.

Ratner also revealed that he previously invited Leto to the Playboy Mansion for the premiere of “Amazon’s American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story” back in April. At the time, the director-producer wanted to introduce the singer-songwriter to the 91-year-old mogul, but the latter was very ill and wasn’t allowed to meet guests.

The upcoming Hugh Hefner biopic has been in the works for some time now. Ratner was selected to direct it way back in 2007 when the project was still set up at Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. Producer Jerry Weintraub eventually bought the rights to the project for Warner Bros., but Hefner obtained them for his own company when Weintraub passed away in 2015. Actor Robert Downer Jr. was previously the one who was attached to play the late Playboy Enterprise founder.

The biopic is the latest addition to Leto’s new projects. The actor-singer is currently making new music with Thirty Seconds to Mars. His new movie, “Blade Runner 2049,” is scheduled to hit cinemas on Oct. 6, according to Us Weekly. Leto has also been tapped for the “Suicide Squad” sequel and the Harley Quinn spin-off, “Gotham City Sirens.”