William Hurt Set For "Race" Role

William Hurt has joined the biopic about American track and field legend Jesse Owens called "Race". The news comes via a Press Release.

Stephan James will play Owens. Back in January actor John Boyega ("Attack the Block") was tipped to take the lead role.

Set against the backdrop of Berlin's 1936 Summer Olympics, it chronicles how the son of an Alabama sharecropper won a record four gold medals. Adolf Hitler had insisted Jews and Blacks not be allowed to participate, but relented when threatened with a boycott.

Jason Sudeikis will play Owens’ obsessive coach and mentor, Larry Snyder while Jeremy Irons will portray Avery Brundage, head of the US Olympic committee who fought to stage the Games in Berlin Carice van Houten also stars

 Hurt will play the president of the Amateur Athletic Union Jeremiah Mahoney, who led efforts to boycott the 1936 Olympics in Berlin against Hitler

The film will be based on ESPN host Jeremy Schaap's book "Triumph," with David Seidler ("The King's Speech") writing the adapted script. Stephen Hopkins ("The Life and Death of Peter Sellers") is due to direct. At one point Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day," "Olympus Has Fallen") was attached to direct

Gil Netter, Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun will produce the film.

The pic will open wide on April 8, 2016.