October 17, 2011 23:25

The Dark Knight actor set for biopic about The Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson

Aaron Eckhart will play the drummer and solo musician in the final years of his life

Photo: PA

Aaron Eckhart is set to play Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys in a new film about the late musician.

The Dark Knight actor will take the lead role in the The Drummer, which will focus on the final six years of Wilson’s life. Eckhart will also re-record songs from Wilson’s 1977 solo album ‘Pacific Ocean Blue’ for the movie. Director Randy Miller told Variety:

We'd been trying to figure out who the right person would be to fill this role. It's quite a demanding role so it had to be a great actor who could sing… There's a discovery about Dennis with this film. Everybody knows Brian, but nobody really knows Dennis' music.

The movie is set to start filming next spring and Wilson's children, Carl and Jennifer will be co-producing.

Dennis Wilson was the drummer of The Beach Boys and, famously, the only member of the band who actually surfed. His unfinished second solo album ‘Bambu’ was released posthumously. Wilson died in 1983 at the age of 39. The end of his life was ravaged by alcohol and drug addiction.