Fantasy Cast: Who should play Jimi Hendrix in the biopic?

Variety reported on August 19 that Thomas Tull of Legendary Pictures is trying to develop a Jimi Hendrix biopic. This has been a project long in gestation, which even had Quentin Tarantino rumored to direct for a period of time back in 2006, which he’s since debunked, but it gives me wiggle room in calling this a Tarantino-themed Fantasy Cast. One thing is for sure, if they want this to succeed, they’re going to need to do it right.

Jimi Hendrix was an amazing musician and was a true performer on stage. Many critics who claim this biopic is unfilmable do so with the argument that they’ve yet to see an actor who could pull off this challenging role in an effective and respectful way. One person who had thought about taking this on in the past was Lenny Kravitz. Personally, I think this would have been mighty interesting. He’s a musician (a damn good one) and clearly influenced by Hendrix, has much of the look going for him, but the underlying concern would be whether he’s got the acting chops for the drama outside of Hendrix’s performances.

Andre 3000 of Outkast was apparently interested in the legendary role back in 2004 when the Hughes Brothers were in talks to direct the biopic. Andre 3000 claimed to have a grasp on Hendrix, who displayed a wild onstage persona while proving a very calm person in private life. Laurence Fishburne was interested for years in playing the role, but at this point I think he’s too old for the part. Fishburne is a great actor, and may have been able to nail the drama when he was younger, but it’s unclear how he would have approached the performance scenes.

Assuming this is even a project anyone can pull off, the underlying concern is the talent. The director will have plenty to do with the success or failure of the film, but who best personifies the man, the music and the legend of Jimi Hendrix? Do you have someone in mind? Is there a clear choice, or should this project simply be filed away as a pipe dream?

Let us all know what you think by leaving your comments below. And, as always, if you have any ideas for future Fantasy Casts, shoot us an email with your ideas. You can find all of our email addresses right here!