Rachel Weisz will play Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor in a new biopic.
Rachel Weisz
'The Special Relationship' will chronicle Hollywood icon Taylor's journey from actress to HIV/AIDS activist through the lens of her friendship with her assistant Roger Wall, a gay man who grew up in poverty in the Deep South.
The 49-year-old actress will follow in the footsteps of Helena Bonham-Carter, Lindsay Lohan and Sherilyn Fenn by portraying Taylor on screen.
The film will be directed by female duo Bert & Bertie whilst the screenplay has been written by Simon Beaufoy, who also penned 'Slumdog Millionaire.'
Beaufoy's script has been drawn from hours of interviews with those close to Taylor, who died in 2011 at the age of 79.
The 'Cleopatra' star was an Oscar-winning actress and known for her colourful love life, being married eight times to seven men, getting wed twice to 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' actor Richard Burton.
Taylor was one of the first major celebrities to vocally join the fight against HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and her philanthropic work up until her passing saw her honoured with several awards, including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Screen Actors' Guild Lifetime Achievement Award for Humanitarian service, the GLAAD Vanguard Award and the Presidential Citizens Medal.
Weisz received an Oscar nomination earlier this year for her role in 'The Favourite' and previously won an Academy Award back in 2006 for her performance in 'The Constant Gardner'.
As well as her role playing Taylor, Weisz will also star in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie 'Black Widow' and recently admitted she found it "liberating" to be directed by another woman, Cate Shortland.
She told T: The New York Times Style Magazine for their The Greats issue: "There is something that happens in a scene when a woman is across from another woman. It sounds really pompous, but you are free from the history of ownership - I really mean that. It's liberating."
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