Aaron Eckhart has signed on to play Dennis Wilson, the legendary drummer, songwriter and heartthrob of The Beach Boys in Randall Miller and Jody Savin's The Drummer.

The Drummer charts the last six years of Wilson's life in which he created some of the finest music of his career. Eckhart is deep into training for the role, learning to play drums and piano as well as training vocally to sing on screen in the picture. The only Beach Boy who surfed, Dennis Wilson ironically drowned in 1983 in Marina Del Rey shortly after he finished and released "Pacific Ocean Blue," his solo masterpiece.

"'Pacific Ocean Blue' is an amazing album–beautiful and sweet, haunting and complex," says Savin. The album was re-released in 2008 to rave reviews and was named the best re-release of the year by Rolling Stone. "Dennis was a pained and tortured soul, yet brilliant and loved dearly by so many who knew him."

Eckhart can be seen in the upcoming The Rum Diary with Johnny Depp and wrapped The Expatriate recently. He signed to star in I, Frankenstein earlier this month.

(Photo Credit: Nikki Nelson / WENN.com)