It's not as if Bryan Cranston has been waiting for Breaking Bad to wrap up before lining up his next gigs. He's been arguably the most sought after character actor in Hollywood over the past year, appearing in six films over that time while lining up a prominent role in Godzilla. Now he'll move on from playing one bad guy to one who was banned from Hollywood.
Cranston will play famous screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in Trumbo, a new biopic with Jay Roach (Game Change) at the helm. Trumbo was once the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood, but it all fell apart in 1950 when he was hauled in front of the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee. Refusing to testify, he was sent to prison for eleven months then blacklisted from Hollywood. He kept on working, though, moving to Mexico City and sending in scripts for Spartacus, Gun Crazy, and the Oscar-winning screenplays for The Brave One and Roman Holiday.
John McNamara will adapt Bruce Cook's book, Dalton Trumbo, and it should offer a chance for some intense personal drama. The Communist witch hunt of the era devastated a lot of friendships and ruined many careers, and Trumbo, who was a member of the Communist Party, was right at the center of it. Filming should begin in 2014. [Deadline]
