George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s film adaptation of The Boys in the Boat has found its first star.
Callum Turner has joined the cast of the movie based on Daniel James Brown’s 2013 nonfiction book, Deadline reports.
Brown’s book tells the story of the University of Washington’s rowing team’s quest to compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The underdog team ended up winning the gold medal, shocking the Germans, who placed third. A critic for Kirkus called Brown’s book “a touching, fairly uncomplicated portrayal of rowing legends.”
Turner, best known for his roles in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Emma, will star as University of Washington rower Joe Rantz, Brown confirmed on Twitter.
The film adaptation of The Boys in the Boat will be directed by Clooney and his frequent producing and screenwriting partner Heslov (Argo, The Monuments Men). The screenplay will be written by Mark L. Smith (The Revenant, The Midnight Sky).
Brown’s book was also the inspiration for a documentary, American Experience: The Boys of ’36, which aired on PBS in 2016. The author’s latest book, Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II, was published by Viking in May.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
