Lenny Kravitz will play Marvin Gaye in Julien Temple's biopic

Lenny Kravitz is getting ready for what could be the biggest role of his life as an actor: late R&B singer Marvin Gaye. Rumors popped up last week that he might be taking on the role for director Julien Temple, but now it’s been confirmed. Kravitz has been showing up in cool supporting roles more and more lately, from critically-acclaimed indies like Precious to blockbusters like The Hunger Games. This, however, will be a lot more demanding, and that’s a good reason to be excited, because everyone is always super happy to see Lenny Kravitz suddenly show up in a movie!

Assuming this will be a good biopic, this could be Kravitz’s first real starmaker. Jamie Foxx in Ray and Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line all saw their careers take a turn for the Oscar-y after they handed themselves over to play other famous people. Kravitz might even have an advantage since he’s already an established musician, unlike the aforementioned actors, who were merely musically inclined. Temple’s movie will be primarily about Gaye’s struggle with sobriety while he stayed in Europe in the 1980s, so this will also be a nice dose (no pun intended) of heavy subject matter for Kravitz to tackle.

Photo credit: Down With the Capitol

Lenny Kravitz Is Set to Star in Marvin Gaye Biopic [Vulture]