Top 8 Biopic Movies of 2016

by Helen Earnshaw | 7 February 2016

The biopic movie is one of the most popular in Hollywood and we have already been treated to the likes of The Danish Girl and Spotlight so far this year... and there are plenty more heading our way as we go through 2016.

Trumbo

The biopic genre is one of my favourites because we are always treated to some wonderful performances and told some great stories.

We take a look at some of the biopic movies that are heading our way this year, as we explore the lives of sports stars, musicians, and revolutionaries. Which one are you looking forward to the most.

- Trumbo - out now

Bryan Cranston is one of the best actors around he returned to the big screen this week with new biopic Trumbo, which saw him take on the role of Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.

Trumbo is a movie that has already been met with acclaim in the U.S. and has seen Cranston pick up his first Best Actor Oscar nomination - we know how much the Academy loves a biopic performance. The actor has also been nominated at the Golden Globes and Baftas, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The successful career of 1940s screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Cranston) comes to a crushing end when he and other Hollywood figures are blacklisted for their political beliefs. Trumbo tells the story of his fight against the U.S. government and studio bosses in a war over words and freedom, which entangled everyone in Hollywood from Hedda Hopper (Mirren) and John Wayne to Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger.

A wonderful cast has been assembled for the film as Cranston stars alongside Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Michael Stuhlbarg, Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, John Goodman, and Alan Tudyk; it really is an incredibly impressive line-up.

Cranston delivers a wonderful performance as a man who would not be told who to be or what to believe in - he never made any apology or excuse for either. It is a powerful film about fighting back and triumphing over the scaremongers of the 1950s.

Cranston has delivered some wonderful performances on the big and small screen during his career, and his turn as Dalton Trumbo is up there as one of his very best. It is great to see him in the Oscar mix for the first time.

- Concussion - released 12th February

Will Smith has played a few real-life characters during his career and he is set to play another as he returns to the big screen with new drama Concussion.

Smith takes on the role of pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who uncovers the potential damage that American football players could suffer during their careers... with this new information, Omalu takes on the NFL as he tries to release the truth to the world.

Concussion is the first big dramatic role and performance from Smith since Seven Pounds back in 2008 and it is great to see him return to this kind of movie as he has thrived in this genre in the past.

Peter Landesman is back in the director's chair for the film in what is his first feature since he made his debut with Parkland back in 2013. As well as being in the director's chair, Landesman has also penned the film's screenplay.

Another great cast has been assembled as Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Morse, and Eddie Marsan star alongside Smith.

Smith's central performance has been winning praise and he was nominated for Best Actor at the Golden Globes earlier this year. However, Smith was overlooked when the Oscar nominations were announced.

- Eddie the Eagle - released 28th March

I love a good sporting biopic and triumphing against all the odds and overcoming all the hurdles that are placed in front of you... Eddie the Eagle is going to give us just that when it is released at the end of March.

Taron Egerton will take on the central role of Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards, who was the first British ski jumper at the Winter Olympics. Hugh Jackman is also on board as he takes on the role of Eddie's trainer Bronson Peary.

Eddie the Eagle sees Dexter Fletcher return to the director's chair for the third feature film of his career. He has already brought us Wild Bill and Sunshine on Leith and Eddie the Eagle will see him tackle the sports biopic for the first time.

Fletcher has made a successful transition from actor to filmmaker and I cannot wait to see what he delivers next. The movie was given a surprise screening at the Sundance Film Festival and has been winning over critics and audiences.

2015 was a great year for Egerton with the success of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Legend and Eddie the Eagle will send his star rocketing even further. Egerton and Jackman are joined on the cast list by Christopher Walken, Mark Benton, Keith Allen, and Tim McInnerny.

The early trailers for Eddie the Eagle really look like a lot of fun and I can't wait to see Egerton and Jackman in action and telling this great story.

- Miles Ahead - released 22nd April

The music biopics is another strand of this genre that we see explored on a regular basis... and Miles Davis is the star who will be in the spotlight later this year.

Miles Ahead will mark the feature film directorial debut of Oscar-nominated actor Don Cheadle; who will also take on the central role of Davis in what has been a passion project for the actor turned filmmaker. Cheadle has also penned the screenplay with Steven Baigelman.

McGregor takes on the role of Rolling Stone reporter Dave Brill while Emayatzy Corinealdi, Michael Stuhlharg, and Austin Lyon are just some of the other names that are set to star alongside Cheadle.

All Rolling Stone reporter Dave Brill (McGregor) wants is an exclusive interview with the jazz legend himself, Miles Davis (Cheadle). What he gets instead is a wild and dangerous ride-along with a recording artist living at his edge, rife with shootouts, car chases, and a tale of lost love to the singer Frances (Corinealdi). Miles Ahead is a wildly entertaining, impressionistic, no-holds-barred portrait of one of twentieth-century music's creative geniuses.

I am a huge fan of Cheadle as an actor and I cannot wait to see his transition into the director's chair.

- Snowden - released 12th May

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is another actor who's no stranger to the biopic genre and he is set to return to it this year with new film Snowden.

Gordon-Levitt will take on the title role of Edward Snowden as he teams up with filmmaker Oliver Stone. The movie is based on the book by Luke Harding and Anatoly Kucherena and follows the story of Snowden, who went from CIA employee to whistleblower. He leaking thousands of classified documents to the press and is now one of America's most wanted men.

Snowden is the first live-action feature film from Stone since Savages back in 2012. He is no stranger to this genre of film with the likes of W, Nixon, and JFK already under his belt.

Scott Eastwood, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Timothy Olyphant, Zachary Quinto, and Tom Wilkinson are just some of the great names that make up a very exciting and talented cast list.

Gordon-Levitt is one of the best actors around and I am looking forward to seeing him tackle this interesting and complex role. Sadly, we are going to have to wait until May for the film to hit the big screen.

- Free State of Jones - released 27th May

The way Matthew McConaughey has changed the direction of his career has been pretty incredible; going from a good looking bloke in a rom-coms to one of Hollywood's best and most admired actors.

He is set to return to the big screen with Free State of Jones, which is inspired by the life of Newton Knight. Knight was a poor farmer from Mississippi who survived the Battle of Corinth during the Civil War in 1862. He went on to lead a group of farmer and slaves as they rebelled against the Confederacy in Jones County.

McConaughey is set to take on the central role of Newton Knight and it could be a role that is in the awards mix towards to the end of 2016. This is a film that I have been looking forward to for some time and it looks like the actor is not going to disappoint.

The Oscar-winner is joined on the cast list by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Keri Russell. Mahershala Ali. Brendan Gleeson, Jacob Lofland, Brad Carter, and Sean Bridgers. The movie sees Gary Ross back in the director's chair.

This is the fourth feature film of Ross' career and the first since he steered The Hunger Games to success back in 2012. He has also penned the film's screenplay.

Free State of Jones will take us back to an interesting time in U.S. history and I cannot wait to see McConaughey return with another terrific role.

- Genius

Genius is set to be a film to watch out for at the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival, where it will receive its world premiere and compete for the Golden Bear.

Directed by Michael Grandage, Genius is a biopic drama about literary editor Maxwell Perkins, played by the fantastic Colin Firth.

Based on the book Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg, the movie will explore Perkins' time as a book editor at Scribner, where he oversaw works by Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jude Law, Dominic West, and Guy Pearce will take on the roles of Wolfe, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald while Nicole Kidman, Laura Linney, and Vanessa Kirby will complete a very impressive cast list.

Grandage is best known as an action with The Madness of King George Bugs just some of the film and television work under his belt. Genius will see him make the transition to the director's chair as he makes his feature film debut.

While the movie will be premiering at Berlin later this month, there is still no word on a UK release date. It will be released in the U.S. on 29th July.

- Christine

Christine was one of the movies that whipped up a storm at the Sundance Film Festival in January and is another of the biopic films that I cannot wait to see this year.

The movie sees British actress Rebecca Hall take on the role of title character Christine Chubbuck, a television reporter in the 1970s who committed suicide live on air.

Christine is set to chronicle the last days of her life and the struggles that she had with depression, which led to the taking of her own life.

Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, and Maria Dizzia complete the cast list while Antonio Campos is in the director's chair. This is the third feature film for Campos and follows Afterschool and Simon Killer in 2008 and 2012.

This marks the first time that the director has teamed up with lead actors Rebecca Hall and Michael C. Hall. There's still no word on when we may see this film on the big screen in the UK.