Cooper As Lance Armstrong? Not So Fast

Last week we learned Paramount and J.J. Abrams' production company Bad Robot are developing a biopic about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.The companies have won the rights to The New York Times reporter Juliet Macur's upcoming work "Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong" due to be publishedin June. Macur covered Armstrong's career for over a decade.

And then chatter started to pick up steam that Bradley Cooper was in talks to star.

Cooper discussed the idea of playing Armstrong last week. He told The BBC: "I remember Matt Damon was going to do his autobiography at one point years ago. I remember thinking, that would be a great character, I'd love to play that character. I would love to do something, I think he's pretty fascinating."

Abrams confirmed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that he has talked about the idea with Cooper.. Cooper's acting career was launched after Abrams cast him as a regular on the spy thriller series "Alias".

Then last night at the Screen Actors Guild Awards®, Cooper was asked by Access Hollywood about the Armstrong casting rumors. "No ... Oh my god, that's so nuts. I was in Manchester, doing the BBC morning show… I had no idea what [the interviewer] was talking about. I didn’t even know that J.J. has the rights, I had no idea. I don’t know anything about it."