Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis (Billions, Homeland) is taking on the role of the former infamous mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, in the upcoming thriller Run This Town, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ford, who died in 2016, was elected as Toronto’s mayor in 2010 but was ultimately stripped of his official powers in 2013 due to drug use and ongoing scandals.
Run This Town is being filmed in Toronto and Lewis. In order to play Ford, Lewis undergoes an extensive prosthetic fitting that involves “getting his face and head completely covered in silicon strips” and “breathing through a small hole near the nose.” Alongside Lewis, Run This Town will also star Ben Platt (The Politician), Nina Dobrev (Flatliners), Mena Massoud (Jack Ryan), Scott Speedman (Animal Kingdom), and Jennifer Ehle (Fifty Shades Freed).
Most of the project’s details are being kept under wraps, but the film supposedly follows a reporter (Platt) who attempts to expose a scandal involving a politician — Ford — who doesn’t play by the rules. Ford’s aides (Dobrev, Massoud) try their best to handle him and keep the story suppressed. The story is said to take place against the backdrop of Ford’s last year as Toronto’s mayor. It is still unknown whether other characters in the movie will be based on real people or will be fictional.
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