Historical figures are familiar territory for Leonardo DiCaprio, who portrayed Howard Hughes and J. Edgar Hoover in respective biopics. After taking on two of the most powerful men of the twentieth century, the actor will travel further back in time for a new project about a lesser known, but no less interesting subject.
The Great Gatsby leading man will produce and possibly star in a film about Harald Hardrada, the great Norse warrior who served as the last Viking king from 1046 to 1066. The script pitch for King Harald was optioned by DiCaprio’s company Appian Way from writer Mike L. Smith, and word has it that Warner Bros. already acquired rights to the work.
Details on the film suggest a similarity to Braveheart, but the approach is still up in the air. Reports from Deadline speculate that the period piece could focus on an early point in the leader’s life, when he fulfilled his deceased half-brother Olaf’s struggle, and failure, to take the throne. As an exile who explored the old world and rose to become king, the subject’s fascinating rise to power is rich with potential material. Even more attractive is the idea of the charming, handsome DiCaprio playing a conquering, rape-and-pillage Viking, but, like the story, that’s also to be determined.
Are you sold on the idea of DiCaprio playing a Viking?