British screen heart-throb and James Bond actor Daniel Craig has been tipped to take the lead in a new film about the ancient Roman emperor Hadrian.
Cult English director John Boorman will direct the 32-million-euro film, which has been adapted from the best-selling 1951 novel by French writer Marguerite Yourcenar, Memoirs of Hadrian.
''The film costs a lot and so we're relying on big audiences,'' Boorman said, explaining why he had Craig in his sights for the lead role.
''Hadrian was an extraordinary man and it's very difficult to choose the right actor for the part: I need someone to accept the challenge,'' he added.
Boorman has limited time to find his man, as filming is set to start in spring next year with sets in Italy, Spain and Morocco.
The film should hit cinema screens in 2010 if all goes to plan.
Yourcenar's book, written as a long letter from the emperor to his successor and adopted son, Marcus Aurelius, was an immediate success and met with great critical acclaim, partly thanks to the emperor's colourful history.
Hadrian, who was emperor from 117 to 138 AD, is renowned for his love of Greek culture, his ruthless military achievements and his construction of a coast-to-coast wall spanning the width of northern England, which once marked the northernmost outpost of the Empire.
But he is also known for his turbulent personal life.
Historians believe he had serious problems in his marriage to Vibia Sabina, who he wed when she was 14, both because of his own homosexuality and Sabina's independent nature.
There were even rumours that Hadrian poisoned her, although these do not sit well with the fact that he declared her a goddess after her death.
Hadrian's passionate devotion to his young male lover Antinous, meanwhile ended tragically when Antinous drowned in the Nile in AD 130 in mysterious circumstances.
The emperor never got over his loss, erecting statues of the boy across the Roman empire, building temples in his honour and even naming an Egyptian city after him.
Hadrian died after an illness, aged 62, at his villa overlooking the Bay of Naples.
The emperor is currently being celebrated with a major exhibition at the British Museum in London, with over 180 priceless artefacts, sculptures and architectural fragments on show.
