Leonardo DiCaprio is one talented and versatile actor to say the least, but his new movie venture "The Crowded Room" will really put his acting chops to the test since he will be playing a person suffering from multiple personalities - all 24 of them!
He signed the deal with New Regency to create The Crowded Room, a movie DiCaprio has yearned for years to star in and produce, according to Empire.
It is a movie based on Daniel Keyes' 1981 non-fiction book about Billy Milligan, who was the first person in United States court history to successfully argue a defence of multiple personalities.
According to Milligan, he did not commit the crimes he was accused of, since it was one of the 24 other strong and distinct personalities in his head that committed robbery and later raped three women. Milligan insisted that he was fully unaware during the times the crimes were committed.
DiCaprio first heard of The Crowded Room way back in 1997. It has been sitting idly for years despite gaining the interest of Hollywood's big names such as James Cameron, Joel Schumacher and David Fincher, while actors including Matthew McConaughey, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and John Cusack have been considered for the role of Milligan.
Now, it's all systems go for The Crowded Room with DiCaprio as actor and producer. He will be attaching his Appian Way company into the film as well.
Jason Smilovic and Todd Katzberg will be writing the script, while Jennifer Davisson and Alexandra Milchan will be helping DiCaprio produce.
Milligan passed away on September 2014 at the age of 59. He was charged with robbery and the rape of three women on the Ohio State University campus back in 1977.
However, he and his lawyers claimed that he was not in control during the times the robbery and rape incidents took place. Two of his 24 personalities confessed to the crimes. A Yugodlavian communist named Ragen admitted to committing the robbery while Adalana, a lesbian who would cook and clean for the other personalities confessed to raping the three girls.
Milligan was the first person to use multiple personality disorder as a defense, and he was the first one who has been acquitted because of it.
For the meantime, DiCaprio will next be seen in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's movie called The Revenant, which will be out in theatres on January 15, 2016.
