Bernie Madoff will be depicted in a film, and the actor chosen to play him is Robert De Niro. De Niro will be joined by Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns and Scarface), who will play Ruth Madoff, the wife of the Ponzi scheme investor. Madoff is currently sitting in prison, where he is serving a 150 year sentence.
The film is called Wizard of Lies, which is based on the book, which features the same name. The book was written by New York Times author Diana Henriques. The movie, which has been in the works for four years now, will end up airing on HBO.
The movie about Madoff is not going to the first flick that De Niro and Pfeiffer has worked together on, as they both appeared in The Family in 2013. Also joining De Niro and Pfeiffer on the set of the Madoff flick is Alessandro Nivola, who played in American Hustle. He will be taking on the role of Mark Madoff, who was Bernie’s son. Mark ended up taking his own life five years ago.
HBO’s film about Madoff shouldn’t be confused with ABC’s mini-series about Madoff, which stars Richard Dreyfuss as Bernie and Blythe Danner as Ruth.
As of now, no premiere date for HBO’s movie has been announced.
