The actor is in final negotiations to portray the former United States senator in Jackie, a Jacqueline Kennedy biopic produced by Darren Aronofsky

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Peter Sarsgaard is primed to play former United States senator Robert F Kennedy opposite Natalie Portman, in the Jackie Kennedy drama, Jackie.

The actor is in final negotiations to take on the role, Variety reports. The Darren Aronofsky-produced film will be directed by Pablo Larraín, the Chilean film-maker best known for the Oscar-nominated political satire No, starring Gael García Bernal. Jackie will be the director’s English-language debut.

Natalie Portman to play Jackie Kennedy Read more

Portman’s casting as Jackie Kennedy was announced at the Cannes film festival in May. The project reunites her with Aronofsky, who directed her in Black Swan, which won the Portman the best actress Oscar in 2011.

The film centers on the first four days after the assassination of oresident John F Kennedy in Dallas on 22 November 1963. It is not known if the biopic will also delve into conspiracies surrounding the assassination, such as those which featured in Oliver Stone’s 1991 film JFK.

The film is rumored to go into production at the end of this year.

Sarsgaard last appeared onscreen in the Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass, opposite Johnny Depp. His next film, The Experimenter, opens later this autumn, followed by Antoine Fuqua’s remake of The Magnificent Seven, where he co-stars with Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt.