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Matt Bomer To Play Montgomery Clift In Biopic: "I Saw Myself In Him"

"I feel like someone is responsible for letting people know how important he was."

Matt Bomer is set to play Hollywood icon Montgomery Clift in new biopic, Monty Clift.

The project, which recently got a green light from HBO, is still very much in development, but seeks to tell the complicated story of both Clift's immense fame and his personal struggles with his sexuality during the repressive era of the 1950s.

It was the complex nature of Clift's past that drew Bomer to the biopic, he revealed in an interview with People.

"He had to deal with so many things that we don't have to deal with as much these days," explained Bomer. "So I thought it was an important story for people to remember. I feel like someone is responsible for letting people know how important he was – culturally, socially, but most importantly as an artist."

He continued, "He was one of those really early screen icons for me to start with. Then once I learned the circumstances of his life, I realized how he was someone who did not want to be relegated to the times he lived in and was so progressive in so many ways."

Clift, famous for his boy-next-door good looks and his particular style of method acting, was one of Hollywood's favorite leading men until a car accident left him disfigured. He underwent plastic surgery, but the procedure left him with altered facial features, chronic medical conditions and a new dependency on drugs and alcohol. Eventually he died of a heart attack in 1966 at the ripe age of 45.

Bomer, who has proven his acting chops in both American Horror Story and White Collar, seems the perfect fit to take on the heavy realities of Clift's life. Plus, it doesn't hurt that he shares an uncanny resemblance with the star.

"Even as a young kid–before obviously I knew anything about him, or even myself–I saw him on screen and I thought, 'Oh wow he actually looks a lot like my brother,'" said Bomer.

"I kind of saw myself in him."

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