As far as real-life castings go, this one files under “unexpected.”
Damian Lewis, the former star of Homeland, has been cast to play the late ex-mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, in an upcoming movie Run This Town.
In an interview with Kit Magazine, Lewis revealed the casting and said he was in the process of being fitted for a prosthetic (the men have vastly different body types) to bulk up his physique.
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The process, which Lewis claimed took an entire afternoon, involved “getting his face and head completely covered in silicon strips, breathing through a small hole near the nose.”
Run This Town, currently in production in Toronto, follows “the inner workings of a city seen through the eyes of the interns and assistants that run it,” according to its IMDb description.
While many details aren’t available yet, the main plot will involve a reporter trying to expose a corrupt politician — Ford — chin-deep in scandal. The politician’s aides work their hardest to keep the scandal under wraps. (It’s not known at this time if the character is a caricature of Ford, or will actually be a true depiction. No character names have been revealed for any cast members.)
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Other cast members include Canadians Nina Dobrev, Mena Massoud, Gil Bellows and Scott Speedman. Americans Ben Platt and Jennifer Ehle round out the rest of the main cast.
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Run This Town will take place during Ford’s time as mayor (2010-14).
During Ford’s real-life tenure, he was famously caught with a crack-cocaine pipe in a video, accused of volatile relationships with colleagues and faced accusations of sexual harassment. Prior to his mayorship, Ford’s background was mottled by rumours of frequent drug use.
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Ford died in 2016 at age 46 after an 18-month battle with a rare form of cancer.
Ford’s brother Doug is currently running for Ontario premier.
As of this writing, there is no release date for the movie.
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