Matt Damon to Star As Marc Rich in Upcoming Universal Pictures Project THE KING OF OIL

According to Variety, Matt Damon will star as fugitive billionaire commodities trader Marc Rich in "The King of Oil" at Universal Pictures with John Krasinski producing through his Sunday Night Productions.

The project, which is in the early stages, is being developed as a starring vehicle for Damon. It's based on "The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich," a BIOGRAPHY by Daniel Ammann. Allyson Seeger is also producing for Sunday Night Productions, and Vincent Sieber and Uri Singer are also producing.

Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse will adapt the screenplay. Executive V.P. Mark Sourian will oversee production for Universal.

Rich was pardoned in 2000 by President Bill Clinton on his last day in office. He had been indicted in 1983 on 65 criminal counts including tax evasion. He was in Switzerland when he was indicted and lived his life outside the United States until he died at age 78 in 2013.

Damon came to prominence in 1997 when he wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting alongside Ben Affleck, which won them the Academy and GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS for Best Screenplay and earned Damon a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He continued to garner praise from critics for his roles as the eponymous character in Saving Private Ryan (1998), the antihero in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), a fallen angel in Dogma (1999), an energy analyst in Syriana (2005), and a corrupt Irish-American police officer in The Departed (2006). Damon is also known for his starring roles as Jason Bourne in the Bourne franchise (2002-2016) and as a con man in the Ocean's trilogy (2001-2007). For his supporting role as the rugby player Francois Pienaar in Invictus (2009) and his leading role as an astronaut stranded on Mars in The Martian (2015), Damon received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor, respectively. The latter also won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Damon has received Emmy Award nominations for his portrayal of Scott Thorson in the biopic BEHIND THE CANDELABRA (2013) and for producing the reality series Project Greenlight. He also received an Academy Award nomination for producing Manchester by the Sea (2016).

Photo Credit: Walter McBride

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