Matt Smith has signed on to play Robert Mapplethorpe in a bio-pic about the provocative photographers life.

Smith, best known for playing the title role in the TV series ‘Doctor Who’, will play Mapplethorpe. ‘Girls’ star Zosia Mamet will play his girlfriend Patti Smith. The news first surfaced on the website Deadline.

Mapplethorpe created large scale photographic works, predominately in black and white, that featured nudes, still life and self portraits. His most controversial works were images focusing on the underground BDSM culture.

The photographers work spurred discussions about public funding of art works and censorship. His work was noted for its homo-eroticism.

Mapplethorpe lived with punk singer Patti Smith for a decade between the 1960’s and 1970’s before he realised he was gay. Mapplethorpe died in 1989 of an AIDS related illness at just 42 years of age.

Matt Smith previously played gay author Christopher Isherwood in a high profile TV movie ‘Christopher and his Kind’. Prior to taking on the role of the Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’ Smith starred in the TV series ‘Party Animals’ and ‘Moses Jones’.

Since leaving the high profile role on the long running sci-fi series Smith has appeared in the film ‘Terminator: Genisys” and played Patrick Bateman in a theatrical production of ‘American Psycho’.

The Mapplethorpe biopic is set to be directed by Ondi Timoner who was behind the documentary ‘Dig!’

Zosia Mamet is best known for playing Shoshanna Shapiro on the TV series ‘Girls’. She is the daughter of famed playwright David Mamet and actress Lindsey Crouse.

OIP Staff