Ansel Elgort was tapped for "West Side Story" to play the lead role of Tony in Steven Spielberg's film version of the Broadway musical.
Spielberg is directing from Tony Kushner's adaptation of the 1957 musical, which was originally written by Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim with music by Leonard Bernstein, and concept, direction, and choreography by Jerome Robbins. Spielberg, Kevin McCollum and Kristie Macosko Krieger will produce the film.
Tony was first played by Larry Kert in the original 1957 Broadway musical, which was inspired by William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," and centered on the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs.
Elgort starred in "Baby Driver" for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and "The Fault in Our Stars." The actor is the lead in the upcoming film adaptation "The Goldfinch," which will be released in October, 2019.
Spielberg's most recent directing projects were "The Post," and "Ready Player One." Filming is set to begin in the summer of 2019. Elgort is repped by manager Emily Gerson Saines and CAA.
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