Benedict Cumberbatch is the new Guy Pearce, or at least he is in Black Mass, as THR reports that he’s taking over from the Aussie actor in the Whitey Bulger biopic.
He will play Whitey Bulger’s brother Billy, the former President of the Massachusetts State Senate.
James Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp) was a Boston criminal who ended up becoming an FBI informant, with the help of his longtime friend and FBI agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) and his brother (Cumberbatch). However Whitey didnt completely turn good guy, as his tips to the feds were mainly about getting rid of his mob competition.
When Connolly tipped Bulger off that the feds were planning on double-crossing him, the criminal went into hiding for more than a decade, rising to the top of the FBIs Most Wanted list before he was eventually caught in 2011 while hiding out in Santa Monica, California.
Billy was never implicated in Whitey’s criminal activities, but his political opponents inevitably tried to use his brother’s reputation against him.
Adam Scott has also signed on to be FBI agent Robert Fitzpatrick
Cumberbatch is a bit of a last-minute replacement as shooting is currently under way in Boston.