Who Should Play Sal Mineo in James Franco’s Planned Biopic?

Who Should Play Sal Mineo in James Franco’s Planned Biopic?

As if James Franco wasn’t already giving us enough questions to ponder right now (will he be nominated for Best Actor? does he really not want to be? will he be a good Oscar host? why is he returning to “General Hospital’?), news came from The Hollywood Reporter that he’s optioned the rights to the new Sal Mineo biography by Michael Gregg Michaud. Franco has a few indirect connections to the slain actor. He portrayed James Dean in a TV biopic (which surprisingly had nobody playing Mineo), and Dean co-starred with Mineo in both “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant.” Also, Franco is starring in the next “Planet of the Apes” movie, an origin story titled “Rise of the Apes,” and Mineo starred in “Escape from the Planet of the Apes.”

The big question this news raises is, who could play Sal Mineo? I’m also curious who could play his ex-fiancée Jill Haworth and his later lover, Courtney Burr, but their casting won’t be as significant or, more importantly, as difficult. Mineo was one of those actors with a certain look that modern stars don’t really have. He was more beautiful than “hot,” especially in his younger days before he grew his hair out. Also, I sense that it will be hard to find someone who can play the actor from his teenage days all the way to his murder at age 37, and I don’t think this is the kind of biopic that would do well with a division of duties. Different actors playing him in his prime and his later, less successful years won’t work as well. It’d also be nice to have an actor who can croon, for when Mineo dabbled as a pop singer.

After the jump I take a look at some of the guys being suggested around the interweb and offer my own ideas.

Robert Pattinson

The site Muveez has a list of very Hollywood choices, including LaBeouf, Zac Efron, “TRON: Legacy” star Garrett Hedlund and, of course, Robert Pattinson. I think the “Twilight” star was surprisingly good as Salvador Dali in “Little Ashes,” and I’d like to see him try another biopic. Not sure if this is the best one, though.

Others 

James Franco

Shia LaBeouf

Thomas Ian Nicholas

Sal Mineo

Tuki Brando

Diego Luna

Dev Patel

Michelle Rodriguez

Steven Strait

Source => Indiewire / Via => Pattinson Stewart Fans