Tuesday, May 29th marked the 21st anniversary of the legendary Jeff Buckley’s passing. With the late muso’s former manager currently doing the press circuit for a new biography that was recently released, he has revealed that none other than actor-turned-musician Jared Leto wants to to take on the title role in a new biopic of Buckley’s life.

While speaking to Alternative Nation’s new Desperate Times: 90’s Music podcast about his book Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye, Dave Lory revealed that there has been a lot of talk about turning the new biography into a feature film.

“I have been approached, and there are some people reading the book right now. Movies take a long time, I don’t claim to be an expert at it, but the basis is there,” Lory explained. “The two people who are reading it, I can’t name obviously because they haven’t said yes, but they said, ‘The Jeff Buckley story hasn’t been told, and we’re huge fans.’”

“So that’s a start, but one of them said, ‘Wow it’s got the love story, you meet your wife on the road with Jeff Buckley. You get married, you have two kids, there’s tragedy, there’s musical genius. It’s got everything you need.’”

Lory was also asked about the actors who might take part in the project, noting that a couple of big name Hollywood performers have expressed interest in film.

“Jared Leto wanted to play him,” Dave Lory revealed. “I know the estate was trying to do a movie, and they’ve had several false starts. But there’s enough people out there, and some other people who have talked about playing me, so we’ll see.”

“I heard Christian Bale, which would be a compliment because I’m not that good looking,” he noted jokingly. “The thing is, a lot of these actors want to do credible pieces to keep their credibility after blockbusters, but we’ll see.”

Dave Lory has been revealing quite a lot about Jeff Buckley’s life in the last few weeks, with the musician’s former manager opening up about his eerie connection with Kurt Cobain and the “erratic” nature of Buckley’s final weeks.

“He was trying to buy a house that wasn’t for sale. He was trying to buy a car that wasn’t for sale. He proposed to Joan [Wasser, Buckley’s girlfriend],” Lory explained.

“He even applied for a job to be a butterfly keeper at Memphis Zoo – a lot of weird stuff that was uncharacteristic for him. I think it was a yearning to settle down. He wanted a normal life.”

Check out Jeff Buckley’s ‘Everybody Here Wants You’:

YouTube VideoPlay

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine