Nicholas Hoult to Play J.D. Salinger in Upcoming Biopic

Variety reports that Nicholas Hoult will star as a young J.D. Salinger in the upcoming biopic Rebel in the Rye.

Adapted from Kenneth Slawenski biography J.D. Salinger: A Life, the film will follow Salinger starting from his youth on Park Avenue through his experiences on the front lines of WWII--Salinger landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and liberated one of Dachau's sub-camps--and the events up to the publication of Catcher in the Rye.

Before publishing Catcher in the Rye (and becoming a notorious recluse), Salinger lead an exciting and gregarious life, socializing at the Stork Club and frequenting downtown New York City bars and restaurants. Quite the ladies man, he was even romantic rivals with Charlie Chaplin over Eugene O'Neill's daughter, Oona.

Danny Strong, who co-created Empire and wrote the screenplay for Lee Daniel's The Butler, will direct from his own screenplay.

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25-year-old Hoult will also star in an upcoming adaptation of John Niven's Kill Your Friends and in Drake Doremus's sci-fi romance, Equals, alongside Kristen Stewart, Guy Pearce and Jacki Weaver.