Chris O'Dowd joins Stephen Frears' Lance Armstrong movie

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oct/16/chris-odowd-lance-armstrong-movie-tour-france-doping

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The IT Crowd's Chris O'Dowd has joined the cast of the as-yet-untitled film about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, to be directed by Stephen Frears. The film, which will begin shooting on Monday, is set to be the first Armstrong biopic (not counting documentaries) to make it into production since the former seven-time Tour de France winner was unmasked as a drug cheat.

Armstrong will be played by Ben Foster, who impressed as injured cop Patrick Wheeler in Ain't Them Bodies Saints and as William S Burroughs in beat drama Kill Your Darlings. O'Dowd is to take the role of Sunday Times reporter David Walsh, who doggedly pursued Armstrong despite repeated denials and legal threats. The film is based on Walsh's own book, Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong.

Frears' most recently completed film, Philomena, with Steve Coogan and Judi Dench, is the story of an Irish woman whose child was forcibly removed from her by the nuns, and is shortly to be released in the UK and US. It is being heavily tipped for a successful awards season run.

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