EXCLUSIVE: Sebastian Stan is going from Winter Soldier to another icy role. The Marvel Universe regular has been cast as Tonya Harding’s ex-husband Jeff Gillooly in I, Tonya, the edgy comedy film being directed by Craig Gillespie that stars Margot Robbie as Harding. The project, penned by Steven Rogers, will expose the absurd, tragic and hilarious story-behind-the-story of one of sports’ most infamous scandals.
The project, is ramping up now after Miramax secured U.S. distribution rights yesterday to the film about former U.S. figure-skating champ Harding, who fell into disgrace after she and Gillooly plotted to attack rival Nancy Kerrigan right before the 1994 U.S. Championships in Detroit. Production gets underway in January.
Gillooly became a public figure in the subsequent investigation and trial, at which it was revealed he and Harding’s bodyguard Shawn Eckhardt hired Shane Stant to break Kerrigan’s leg so she couldn’t compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. Harding was eventually banned for life from the sport after both she and Gillooly reached plea deals; Gillooly was sentenced to two years in prison for racketeering, with the judge determining he was the “driving force” in the plot.
Kerrigan had to withdraw from the U.S. championships after the attack but she and Harding made the Olympic team. Their every move was caught on camera during the Lillehammer Games; Kerrigan won silver and Harding finished eighth.
Clubhouse Pictures’ Bryan Unkeless, LuckyChap’s Robbie and Tom Ackerly, and Rogers are producing the pic, while AI’s Len Blavatnik and Aviv Giladi are exec producers. Rosanne Korenberg is overseeing the film for Miramax, and Sierra/Affinity is selling offshore.
Stan recently shot Stephen Soderberg’s NASCAR-set heist pic Logan Lucky, We Have Always Lived In A Castle opposite Alexandra Daddario, and I’m Not There. He is still in the mix for upcoming Marvel movies as well.
He is repped by ICM Partners, Brookside Artist Management and Sloane, Offer.