Start spreading the news – James Marsden wants to play Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. So, would Marsden have the world of a string in the role or would he get under our skin?
Speaking with The Post, Marsden said the inspiration he gets from the ring-a-ding-ding era of singers has drawn him to such a project. “I’ve always loved emulating some of the old crooners, like Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. I always thought there were so many interesting stories of Frank Sinatra’s life that could be played. And for whatever reason, you’ve never really seen a movie about him.”
That’s not entirely accurate, as Frank Sinatra has been portrayed on screens both small and big a handful of times. First there was Philip Casnoff in 1992’s TV movie Sinatra (earning a Golden Globe nomination), which seems like a risky movie considering was still alive and probably more than willing to punch your jaw out of line if you goofed. But maybe the only other notable swing was Ray Liotta in TV movie The Rat Pack, although Don Cheadle (Sammy Davis, Jr.) and Joe Mantegna (Dean Martin) earned most of the praise. And who can forget Creed singer Scott Stapp as Sinatra in Reagan?!
But it is true that Frank Sinatra has been stiffed on the full-on big screen biopic front. Martin Scorsese had been trying to get a movie together for quite a while with Leonardo DiCaprio in the role but that seems like it will never happen.
So what does James Marsden have in mind for a Frank Sinatra flick? “To do a biopic like what Jamie Foxx did with Ray Charles would be a lot of fun. I would love to. And you’re actually using your singing voice, as well…I just think there’s so many stories that could be told about that man – some of the really tortured and darker stories, and some uplifting ones as well. What he did, what he accomplished. I’ve never really done a biopic about somebody.”
While James Marsden has played a couple of real-life figures, most of them have been played as jokes, like John Wilkes Booth in a funny Zoolander moment and fitness guru Jack LaLanne in Unfrosted.
Do you think James Marsden would be a fitting choice to play Frank Sinatra? If not, who has the chops to play him?
