Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman were both massive hits, so it’s a good time for biopics about iconic singers. And sure enough, others have noticed. Riding on the wave of their success, there are many other such projects coming our way—including one about Boy George.
@boygeorgeofficial
There are many candidates for the role, and then there’s Sophie Turner
One of the notable things about this particular project is the prospect of who’ll get to play Boy George. As previous biopics have shown us, this kind of movie stands or falls on its title character, and the starring actor or actress is one of the single most important things to consider. Taron Egerton and Rami Malek were the perfect fit for their respective films, so it’s only fair to expect the same this time around.
Though no one has been officially cast yet, Boy George admitted who his preferred candidate is in a move that surprised many and delighted even more: Game of Thrones star, Sophie Turner. Discussing the many interesting suggestions for the role during a recent interview on the radio show Fitzy & Wippa, he said:
“One of the most interesting suggestions was Sophie Turner. It’s really strange, but that’s been a suggestion. I think that will upset people, which I quite like. ‘Oh, she can’t play you, she’s a woman, you know’. But when I was 17, I would have loved to have been her. That was the ambition.”
Sophie does sound like a great choice, to be honest. She fits Boy George’s general appearance and the fact that she’s a woman plays well into the singer’s trademark androgynous look. Question is, can she pull it off?
@sophiet
She’s definitely up for it—though some are skeptic
Only time will tell. She is a great actress, to be sure, but a biopic is no easy challenge. Whatever the answer might be, the 23-year-old made it enthusiastically clear that she’s interested. “I’m SO down” she wrote on Twitter as soon as she heard the idea.
And as Boy George predicted, not everyone’s in love with the idea. Piers Morgan, for example, has already ranted against this prospect on Good Morning Britain, claiming that “the idea that we’d now have a girl to play Boy George is ridiculous … Why do we encourage this kind of nonsense? … I do think that only a man could play Boy George.”
Fortunately, the casting is not in Morgan’s hands. Opinions like his are bound to spring around, but his is a poor argument considering how many women have successfully played men and vice versa throughout history. Plus, it’s Boy George and Sophie Turner: the likeness is certainly there.
On the left, Boy George. On the right, Sophie Turner
The film
The upcoming biopic was announced back in late May, with British filmmaker Sacha Gervasi (Hitchcock) announced as the writer and director. Gervasi has previously written the commercially successful and charming 2004 comedy The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks.
Not many more details are known about the film, however, as it’s still in its very early stages. Still, as a biopic we can expect at least some of the standard features of the genre—an intimate story about Boy George’s upbringing in England all the way to his 1980s breakout with Culture Club (and perhaps his subsequent embedding into popular culture as one of the most characteristic singers out there).
And this one’s not the only biopic we can look forward to in the coming years. At least two more such movies are in the work, one about Aretha Franklin, and one about Judy Garland. If you saw Rocketman and were left wanting for more, you can rest assured we’re probably covered.
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