DiCaprio will not do drag in Hoover biopic

Leonardo DiCaprio will not dress in drag in his upcoming biopic about J. Edgar Hoover, reports Michael Musto on his Village Voice blog.

Hoover, a staunch conservative who served as the first head of the FBI, is widely believed to have been a closeted gay man who enjoyed dressing as a woman in private. Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar for “MilK,” is scripting the film, which will be directed by Clint Eastwood.

Arnie Hammer, who starred in “The Social Network,” has reportedly been cast to play Hoover’s reputed lover Clyde Tolson. The two lifelong bachelors were inseparable, and Tolson was appointed to a high-level position at the FBI despite the thinness of his resume.

Tolson was also Hoover’s heir, and the two men are buried near each other.

Hoover is said to have hunted down and threatened anyone who made insinuations about his sexuality. At the same time, he spread false rumors that his political adversaries, including Adlai Stevenson, were gay.

Hoover had surveillance ordered on Eleanor Roosevelt, reportedly for purposes of blackmailing her for being a lesbian. He also wiretapped Martin Luther King Jr.’s hotel rooms to find evidence that he was a communist and had extramarital affairs.

There’s no word yet on when the film will be shot or released.