War and Peace actor Jack Lowden to play Morrissey in film biopic

British star Jack Lowden is being lined up to play Morrissey in a film about his life.

The War and Peace actor has reportedly been cast as the former Smiths frontman in Honlodge Productions’ biopic Steven.

Speaking to the Daily Mail about the musician, the 25-year-old said: “He’s a massive icon.

“He came from a working-class background, and felt out of place there.”

Lowden added: “He did a whole bunch of jobs while he figured out who he was. He wanted to get out and escape into that explosion of music that was in Manchester around that time.

“It was exhilarating, and everyone was trying to find their place.”

Lowden was reportedly cast in the role after auditioning for Mark Gill, who has penned the screenplay and is also set to direct.

Shooting is expected to begin next month, filming on location in Morrissey’s native Manchester.

The film will chart Morrissey’s early years as he formed The Smiths with Johnny Marr in the early 1980s.

Producer Orian Willaims said that the film “looks inside the young mind of Steven Patrick Morrissey and captures a glimpse of what he observed and channelled in order to give us the future music of his thoughts, not only with The Smiths but his solo work as well.”

Lowden is best known for playing Nikolai Rostov in the BBC’s adaptation of the Tolstoy classic.