Antonio Banderas, who earned a 2003 Tony nomination playing a character based on Italian movie director Federico Fellini in the musical Nine, will play another Italian auteur, Gianni Versace, in a forthcoming film about the late clothing designer's life, according to Vogue.
Banderas, who won the Drama Desk Award that year as Outstanding Actor in a Musical, “surprised the fashion world” in 2015 by enrolling at Central Saint Martins to study menswear.
Versace was primarily a clothing designer, though he later branched into designing ballet, movie and TV costumes (including the Miami Vice TV series), make-up, home furnishings and fashion accessories. He was murdered at age 50 outside his home in Miami Beach. His killer committed suicide without ever explaining why he killed Versace.
The yet-untitled film will be directed by Oscar winner Bille August and will being filming in Milan before the end of 2016. The company that still bears his name told Vogue that it is not involved in the film, which “should only be seen as a work of fiction.”