THE acclaimed star of The Last King Of Scotland is being hotly tipped to play grunge icon Kurt Cobain in a movie about the Nirvana singer's life and death.
A number of Hollywood-based internet sites have claimed that 28-year-old Glaswegian James McAvoy will be offered the lead role in the rock 'n' roll biopic.
A vast array of websites insist the Scottish actor - already a big star in the US after ap
pearing in hit blockbusters such as Atonement and The Chronicles Of Narnia - will take on the role of the revered Nirvana frontman, who shot himself in 1994.
One website claimed that McAvoy's growing reputation in Tinsel Town as a heavyweight character actor meant he was the clear favourite for the role.
One blogger said: "James is hot property in Hollywood right now, and it's felt he would be perfect for the role of Kurt, who was a complex and unpredictable character."
Cobain's widow Courtney Love is overseeing the as yet un-named movie as executive producer. Unpublished diary entries written by the late star will be used to detail his life and descent into drug addiction and depression.
The screenplay for the film, due to hit cinema screens in 2009, is being penned by Troy writer David Benioff.
Love has yet to confirm any of the cast members, but promised the film would be "A-list and high-end".
Cobain, who was born in the US city of Aberdeen, Washington state, enjoyed massive success fronting Nirvana with bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl in the early 1990s, with hits such as 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and 'Come As You Are'.
Cobain struggled to cope with his heroin addiction and intense media interest in the tempestuous relationship between him and his equally volatile spouse, Love, herself the frontwoman of rock band Hole.
Cobain was just 27 when he shot himself, leaving behind Love and their daughter Frances Bean Cobain, now 16.
In 2005 Michael Pitt played Cobain in the unofficial big-screen biopic Last Days, which was directed by Gus Van Sant.
McAvoy was born in 1979 in the Castlemilk district of Glasgow and trained at the prestigious Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
The full article contains 380 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
