Fresh off an Oscar nominated performance as real life South African rugby player Francois Pienaar, the eclectic Matt Damon looks to be lining up another role which will have him playing an even bigger real-life persona as Deadline Hollywood reports he just closed a deal to star as the late U.S. senator and civil rights activist Robert F. Kennedy in a new biopic that will be directed by Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) from a script by Steven Knight (Eastern Promises). Although Damon is attached, the project won’t get off the ground until he sees the script, which will largely be based on Evan Thomas’ biography His Life in 2002.

The film will focus on RFK’s rise from behind the shadow of his older brother, President John F. Kennedy, as he went on to become an amazing political figure without relying on the legacy of the rest of his family. Sadly, his career and life were cut short when he was assassinated in 1968, an event which was depicted in Emilio Estevez’s ensemble film Bobby. Apparently Ross has been quite enthralled with RFK for quite some time and once optioned the same biography himself though nothing came of it. Seeing Damon as RFK will definitely be quite a challenge for the actor, but of course, having no problem with the New England dialect of Massachusetts natives, it’ll be the subtleties of the performance that will be the hardest for him. You in?

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