Leonardo DiCaprio and The Brutalist's Adrien Brody to Star in Damien Chazelle's Evel Knievel Biopic? Here's What We Know

Leonard DiCaprio and Adrien Brody are in talks to be a part of Evel Knievel’s biopic, which will be directed by Damien Chazelle.

Written by Tejas Mundhada , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 07, 2025 | 04:05 PM GMT | 57.7K

Leonardo DiCaprio and Adrien Brody in talks to star in Evel Knievel Biopic

Leonardo DiCaprio (Apple TV/Youtube), Adrien Brody (Getty)

Paramount is looking forward to closing a deal with Leonardo DiCaprio, who will star in a biopic based on the life of the highly acclaimed motorcyclist Evel Knievel. Another interesting part that comes along with this news is that Damien Chazelle, who is widely appreciated for his outing Babylon, is set to direct the film, also having a first-look deal with Paramount.

As per a report by The Hollywood Reporter, the deal has been going for months, since last year. Meanwhile, the Oscar winner, Adrien Brody is also in the line, hoping to star in the feature.

For those who do not know, Adrien Brody won the Best Actor accolade at this year’s Academy Award for his performance in The Brutalist. Per reports, he had already met Chazelle for playing the role of Shelly Saltman.

Saltman happens to be an author and also the sports promoter who was attacked by Evel Knievel back in time, with an aluminum bat.

Reports also suggest that Chazelle had been working on a prison project, however, he switched to Evel Knivel’s film after it gained the interest of Leonardo DiCaprio.

The biopic will be penned by William Monahan, who has also worked on DiCaprio’s Oscar-winning film, the thriller entry The Departed.

If at all a deal is closed with Leonardo DiCaprio, the filming would instantly begin this summer, per reports. However, Paramount has not shared any comments on this topic.

For those who do not know, Evel Knievel was a famous motorcycle daredevil, who was widely known for his thrilling jumps. He had jumped with his motorcycles over cars, fountains, as well as canyons. He was a big name back in the 1970s, which came from his stunt performances.

The stunt legend lost his name after he attacked Saltman, who was an executive of 20th Century Fox and even the author of the biography of the motorcyclist.