William Hurt to Portray Gregg Allman in New Film Biopic

According to The Hollywood Reporter, William Hurt will portray Gregg Allman in the upcoming biopic MIDNIGHT RIDER from Unclaimed Freight Productions' Randall Miller and Jody Savin. The actor will join previously announced cast member Tyson Ritter, the lead singer-songwriter of pop-rock band The All-American Rejects who will take on the role of Duane Allman.

The film is based on Allman's memoir 'My Cross to Bear'. According to the report, it will tell the story of, "Gregg Allman's journey from struggling artist through the formation and subsequent success of The Allman Brothers Band, which saw the musician succumb to the excesses of rock and roll; and Gregg Allman's realization at 64 that he has to get clean for good or risk losing his life."

Production is scheduled to get underway this February in Savannah, Ga., at Meddin Studios.

William Hurt won a Theatre World Award in 1978 for originating the role of Kenneth Talley in Lanford Wilson's Fifth of July Off-Broadway. In 1984, he received a Tony Award nomination for David Rabe's Hurlyburly. His other theater credits include Artists Repertory Theatre productions of The Drawer Boy, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and No Man's Land. Hurt won the Academy Award as Best Actor for Kiss of the Spider Woman and was also nominated for Children of a Lesser God, Broadcast News and A History of Violence.

Among his numerous film credits are The Big Chill, Body Heat, Eyewitness, Altered States, Jane Eyre, One True Thing, Tuck Everlasting and Into the Wild. He was nominated for Emmy Awards for his performances in HBO's "Too Big To Fail" and "Damages" on FX opposite Glenn Close.