With the 2014 Winter Olympics right around the corner, BBC Films has announced that Daniel Radcliffe will star as Sebastian Coe in its upcoming film Gold. Based on the book The Perfect Distance by Pat Butcher, Gold will follow Coe’s rivalry with fellow UK middle distance runner Steve Ovett at the 1980 Moscow Games.
Sebastian Coe was a middle distance runner who took home a silver medal from the 800 M and a gold medal from the 1500 M in the 1980 Olympics. His rival, Steve Ovett, won gold at the 800 M and bronze in the 1500 M. The two first met during a school cross country meet and would go on to trade personal bests and world records throughout their careers. Coe was, briefly, the first man to simultaneously hold the world records for the 800 M, 1000 M, 1500 M and the mile, until Ovett beat his mile time just 45 minutes after Coe finished his 1000 M run. Coe would go on to compete in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles where he again won silver in the 800 M and gold in the 1500 M. More recently, he was England’s ambassador for bringing the 2012 games to London and has been appointed to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Coordination Commission.
Gold will be directed by James Watkins, who worked with Radcliffe before on Woman In Black, and written by Will Davies (How to Train Your Dragon) and Oscar winner Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire). The shoot is being planned for next April.
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