Matt Damon to play Kennedy

The actor is to take on the role of the president's brother...

11:27 24 February 2010

Matt Damon is to play Robert F Kennedy in a new film biopic, it has been announced.

The movie will follow the transformation of Kennedy into a strong political leader after the assassination of his older brother president John F Kennedy.

According to reports by Deadline Hollywood, it will see Kennedy become a "strong national leader in his own right" before he was himself gunned down in 1968 while running as a candidate for the Democtratic Party in America.

Directed by Gary Ross ('Seabiscuit') it will be based on the Evan Thomas biography 'Robert Kennedy: His Life'.

Oscar-nominated 'Dirty Pretty Thing's scribe Steven Knight is to write the script. Knight is also to adapt Dan Brown's novel 'The Lost Symbol' for the big screen.