Jared Leto is set to star in and produce a biopic about fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, fashion publication WWD reports. The movie is still in its early stages and a director is not yet attached.
"Karl has always been an inspiration to me," Leto said in a statement. "When we came together with the Karl Lagerfeld team, we immediately shared a creative vision of doing a respectful ode to Karl while pushing the artistic boundaries of what a biopic can be."
Lagerfeld was the creative director of Chanel from 1983 until his death in 2019, as well as the creative director of Fendi and his own fashion label. The German designer was notorious for his controversial persona, which he claimed was just an act, and he was known for his recognizable get-up of white hair, black sunglasses, and high collars.
"My role is to portray him on screen as honestly as possible," Leto told WWD. "With celebrity, most people don’t get to see under the surface. They see one or two facets of a person as presented through a public lens. Karl was a human being. We all have beauty within us and we all have faults. We have masks and then we have moments when we reveal the mask. I’m always interested in seeing what’s behind the mask."
This isn't Leto's first foray into fashion biopics – he recently played Paolo Gucci in House of Gucci, the grandson of the fashion house's founder and the cousin of Maurizio Gucci, played by Adam Driver in the movie.
While we wait for the Karl Lagerfeld biopic to arrive on the big screen, check out our guide to the most exciting movie release dates in 2022 and beyond.
