Hollywood star Kevin Spacey has been lined up to play Winston Churchill in a new film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Captain of the Gate will chronicle the former prime minister’s rise to power as he led Britain during World War II. Ben Kaplan, whose previous credits include a TV movie for the History Channel about late US president Ronald Reagan, has written the screenplay. He has also worked on historical documentaries about Vietnam and World War II. A director for the project has not been finalised.

Spacey, 54, is due to step down from his position as artistic director of The Old Vic in London next year, but will perform in a one-man show at the theatre as from May.

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