Sam Rockwell To Star in Boxing Drama

Sam Rockwell is joining the likes of Jon Voight, Robert De Niro, and Daniel Day-Lewis who decided they wanted to step into the ring and learn 'the sweet science' for film.

Rockwell is set to be re-teaming with his A Single Shot director, David M. Rosenthal, for an untitled biopic of boxer Billy Miske.

Miske was a boxer in the 1920s who - while in his prime - learned he had a fatal disease yet decided to tell no one and continued to fight on as he wore away.

Rosenthal said of Rockwell playing the role:

“He’s been wanting to do a boxing movie forever, I’ve wanted to do a boxing film."

Rosenthal - who bought the rights for the Clay Moyle biographical novel, Billy Miske: The Saint Paul Thunderbolt (official synopsis can be read below) - wants this to be his next project as the picture is currently out to writers.

I think this can be a great role for Rockwell to really showcase his talents while at the same making a fantastic film.  People and critics love boxing flicks (just ask Mark Wahlberg or Sylvester Stallone) and any picture involving an actor of Rockwell's range certainly has the potential to be something special.

Novel Synopsis [via Amazon]:

Billy Miske: The St. Paul Thunderbolt is Clay Moyle's second biography and a worthy successor to his critically acclaimed tome concerning the life and career of Sam Langford. Hall of Fame boxer Billy Miske was arguably the most courageous and inspirational figure in boxing history, and his story is long overdue. During a career that was impeded and cut short as a result of his ongoing battle with a terminal illness, Billy fought a number of the greatest fighters who ever lived, including the likes of Jack Dillon, Harry Greb and Jack Dempsey. The thrilling details and stories surrounding those fights and those of many other ring legends are all here, brought back to life for the reader to enjoy. This book goes far beyond simply chronicling Miske's career, but provides the reader with an in-depth view of a number of the sport's greatest contests and one of the more remarkable periods in boxing's history. Miske's courage and perseverance in the face of his impending death, and his personal sacrifice to provide his family with one last Christmas to remember him by, will tug at your heartstrings and leave you with an indelible image of the man. The book is comprised of 206 pages, including 61 photographs, and includes Miske's record, footnotes and an index. Clay Moyle is a member of the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) and the author of Sam Langford, Boxing's Greatest Uncrowned Champion. He lives in Edgewood, Washington.

Source: Moviehole