Joaquin Phoenix to join Clint Eastwood's Hoover biopic?

Maybe Joaquin Phoenix's "lost year" away from the spotlight didn't hurt his professional career afterall.  The actor, currently fending off a flurry of praise and criticim for his documentary I'm Still Here, is reportedly on Clint Eastwood's list for a major role in his biopic based on the life of J. Edgar Hoover. Leondardo Dicaprio has been circling this project for months, but nothing has been signed as of yet.

Phoenix would be up for the role of Hoover's best friend and rumored lover, Clyde Tolson. Hoover, who served as FBI director from 1935-1972, was known for terrorizing and persecuting those who saw fit to question his sexuality. The biopic will explore the complicated relationship between the two men, who never once admitted to being gay.  It's a topic that's perfect for screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who wrote Milk back in 2008.

Well, it's good to see Phoenix getting back into acting again. Not that he really ever left. An offer won't officially be made to him until Dicaprio signs on the dotted line, but the idea of those two working together alongside Eastwood could make for an instant Oscar contender.