‘Spider-Man’ on Broadway Actor Reeve Carney Lands Jeff Buckley Role

“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” star joins Penn Badgley in the growing club of actors who’ll play the ill-fated “Hallelujah” troubadour

Another actor has entered the fray in the Battle of the Jeff Buckley Biopics.

Reeve Carney, who plays the titular web-slinging superhero in the famously troubled Broadway production "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," has landed the role of ill-fated singer Jeff Buckley, according to multiple reports.

Also read: Tonys: Bono, the Edge Joke About "Spider-Man" Delays

Carney, whose other roles include Prince Ferdinand in the 2010 Julie Taymor-directed comedy "The Tempest," is the second actor to sign on to play the singer in an upcoming project — "Gossip Girl" star Penn Badgley will also play the warbler in Smuggler Films' "Greetings From Tim Buckley."

That film will chronicle the days leading up to Buckley's performance at a 1991 tribute concert for his father, musician Tim Buckley.

Carney's Buckley biopic, however, has the blessing of Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert — who controls her deceased son's estate. In a statement, Guibert said that she's "over the moon" about Carney's casting, adding, "I've seen him perform several times … It certainly doesn't hurt that he looks so much like Jeff."

Buckley, probably best known for his cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," died at the age of 30 in a 1997 drowning accident.

The as-yet-untitled biopic will be directed by "Welcome to the Rileys" director Jake Scott.

To further confuse matters, a third Buckley movie, the Australian project "A Pure Drop," is also in the works, according to Vulture. That project has yet to cast its lead.

They'd better hurry — the world is running out of actors to play the guy.
 

Comments