Olivia Wilde has hinted that she could play Deep Throat star Linda Lovelace in an upcoming biopic.
In an interview with E! Online (via The Playlist), Wilde admitted she was considering the role: “I’m being very careful about my next project since I’m now in a position where I can be really picky.”
On playing Lovelace, she added: “It would be a tremendous honour… It’s such a cool role. She was a fascinating woman—with where she came from to Deep Throat to then working with Gloria Steinem and Nora Ephron. It’s really fascinating.”
Just to clarify things, Wilde is talking about a possible role in a new project from Howl directors Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman. There is another Lovelace movie, entitled Inferno , currently in the works.
Inferno will star Malin Akerman (who replaced Lindsay Lohan) as the porn star turned activist. Could this be another case of two conspicuously similar movies arriving within months of each other, like Capote / Infamous , Deep Impact / Armageddon , Antz / A Bug’s Life et al?
Lovelace (real name Linda Susan Boreman) became internationally famous with breakout skin flick Deep Throat , before later stating that she was forced against her will into pornography by former husband Chuck Traynor.
She went on to become an outspoken anti-pornography activist. Considering her fame, and the drama and scandal that defined her life, it’s no surprise that she has been singled out for the movie treatment.
If Wilde signs on, it could be a hell of a role for her, but the movie could suffer if Inferno is first out of the gate.
Wilde is currently enjoying a run of box-office ubiquity: she’ll be seen in Cowboys & Aliens and The Change-Up this summer, with In Time and Butter to follow later in the year.