EMILE HIRSCH HAS been cast as John Belushi in a new film about the comedian’s life.
Hirsh is best known for his starring role in 2008′s Into the Wild.
He also starred in Speed Racer, Milk and The Girl Next Door.
Belushi played ‘Joliet’ Jake Blues in the the 1980 film The Blues Brothers alongside Dan Aykroyd. He was also one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live alongside the likes of Chevy Chase and Bill Murray.
He was found dead at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood in March 1982 following an overdose of a mixture of cocaine and heroin.
Steve Conrad will direct the biopic and adapt the screenplay from the Belushi biography. Conrad has also written the screenplay for the upcoming Ben Stiller film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Production on the film is planned to begin next Spring.
- Additional reporting by Emer McLysaght
