First Look Of Shia LaBeouf As John McEnroe Leaked

The casting appears a perfect match for this tennis biopic. A niche genre to crack without any significant star power or talking point to mull over. Collider reports that the often troubled and unstable Shia LaBeouf will take on the task of making John McEnroe a champion on the court, but terribly divisive off it in the upcoming Borg/McEnroe production.

Being a hot-head who has a tendency to fly off the handle looks like the role of a lifetime for LaBeouf, a man who has had a litany of issues away from the camera and likes to burn his bridges in the industry. He will be paired against Sverrir Gudnason, who will play his legendary rival Bjorn Borg. A Swede whose cool and calm presence on the Wimbledon stage made him a beloved character for his contradictory style to the brattish American.

Greatest Rivalry In Tennis History

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As a sport, tennis has a tough time bringing in the masses to support it. Especially in the realm of cinema, as it struggles to translate to the big screen. One quick examination of the 2004 British critical flop Wimbledon with Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany is proof of that.

But the Borg v McEnroe clashes were epic - a thing of theatrical mastery and perhaps this will be the moment nostalgic fans of the game can enjoy the matches once more.

Borg won 15 individual Grand Slam titles while the man three years his junior took out 7. The biggest stage of them all was Wimbledon, and the colosseum of tennis still remembers fondly the games that brought the masses into the fold.

LaBeouf Continues To Create Headlines But Can Still Bring The Magic

Shia Labeouf in American Honey Photocall

He's gone on the attack against Steven Spielberg, become a viral Internet sensation with some obscure and random moments of madness and pops up in some unusual places. Yet for all his mishaps and uncontrollable mood swings, there is clearly enough talent with Shia LaBeouf to maintain a success out of his acting career.

The 30-year old has a lot of subject matter to cover with the real life McEnroe. And following on from some bold projects in Lawless, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and the 2014 action epic Fury, maybe it is time to take the man seriously. Even if his character's catch cry was in fact, "You cannot be serious!"

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