Top Contenders to Play Jamie and Rebekah Vardy in Biopic

Jamie Vardy lit up the Premier League in the 2015-16 season to inspire his Leicester City team to an unlikely title victory.

The incredible feat completed a "rags-to-riches" story for Vardy, who had been playing non-league football just four seasons prior to the Foxes' unthinkable dream.

During the season, it emerged several punters had placed bets on Leicester achieving such a feat at staggering odds as big as 5,000/1.

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Ever since Leicester's remarkable title victory, a Hollywood movie of Vardy's story has been talked about. He and his wife Rebekah Vardy even met with Oscar-nominated screenwriter Paul Tamsay and film producer Adrian Butchart—who co-wrote the 2005 sports drama movie Goal!—in Los Angeles in summer 2016, but nothing concrete has ever materialised.

Several stars have been linked to the main role, and it was recently revealed that American actor Zac Efron is keen to take on the part.

An insider told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: "Zac loves footie, or soccer as they say in the States, and is obsessed with the idea of Jamie’s rag-to-riches tale."

"He’s told pals he is really keen to play the football ace in the biopic about Jamie."

Butchart is said to be re-focusing his efforts on the movie, and while Efron is yet to be confirmed to portray the ex-England international, could there be others in the conversation? 

Zac Of The Net

Efron has been linked to the role of Vardy for a few years now, and following further speculation that he will score the part, he is just 4/5 to do so. However, several other stars have also been talked about as possible suitors for the role.

Harry Potter actor Robert Pattison is just 2/1, while One Direction singer and huge football fan Louis Tomlinson is a 5/2 chance. 

Tomlinson isn't exactly renowned for his acting abilities, but he shouldn't have any issues with Vardy's accent. The singer-songwriter is from Doncaster, just 23 miles from the pro footballer's native Sheffield.

One star who does know his way around in front of a camera is Unbroken star Jack O'Connell, who is a 3/1 shot to portray Vardy. The former Skins actor hails from Alvaston, Derbyshire, which is only 46 miles from Sheffield, so he also has geography on his side in contrast to US actor Efron. 

Will Goal-Ter

A hat-trick of British stars who are likely to be in the conversation are The Maze Runner actor Will Poulter (4/1), Harry Potter's Tom Felton (5/1), and 1917 actor George MacKay (6/1).

What's more, Merseyside-born Taron Egerton has plenty of strong biopic experience and would be a strong signing if movie bosses could tempt him to portray the ex-England striker.

Egerton has already transformed himself into Sir Elton John for the 2019 motion picture Rocketman, and he played British ski jumper Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards in the 2016 movie Eddie the Eagle. 

He is 10/1 to land a biopic hat-trick by portraying Vardy.

The Layered Role of Rebekah Vardy: Watson vs. Keegan

While Jamie has hit the headlines for his record-breaking goalscoring—after becoming the first player to score a century of Premier League goals after turning 30—and being a party-lover, his wife Rebekah has also attracted some column inches.

Jamie and Rebekah share 5 children. (Image: PA Images / Alamy)

She turned to reality TV in 2017 when she appeared on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, and then Dancing on Ice in 2021.

However, in 2019, she was in the news for the wrong reasons when former England captain Wayne Rooney's wife, Coleen Rooney, accused Rebekah of leaking details of her private life to the press.

The infamous tweet that sparked the 2022 libel case. (Source: Coleen Rooney's X)

Coleen was later sued for libel by Rebekah—in a feud that was dubbed "Wagatha Christie" by the media—but Coleen won the court case and claimed she had always "stuck to [her] truth," while Rebekah has always maintained her innocence.

Whether such scenes will make Jamie's biopic or not, an experienced actress is likely to land the role of Rebekah, especially if Efron is being lined up to play the footballer.

Harry Potter actress Emma Watson is currently the Evens favourite to portray Rebekah in the forthcoming film, while ex-Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan is 6/4.

Others who could fit the bill include fellow former Corrie star Suranne Jones (2/1), and House of Dragon actress Olivia Cooke (3/1).

Fifty Shades of Grey actress Dakota Johnson, who is 5/1, has also been linked to the part, while film bosses will no doubt be considering the likes of Kaya Scodelario (11/2) and Jodie Comer (6/1).

Scream star Neve Campbell, 50, is maybe a tad too old now to play Rebekah, who is 42, as might fellow 50-year-old Olivia Colman (8/1), but both stars would surely excel in the role.

One actress who knows all about portraying Rebekah is Natalia Tena.

Watson's Harry Potter co-star, who played Nymphadora Tonks in the wizarding film franchise, played Rebekah in the two-part Channel 4 production Vardy v. Rooney: A Courtroom Drama, which told the story of the Wagatha Christie trial, while little-known actor Marci Nagyszokolyai portrayed her husband.

While Jamie himself was little known during his non-league football days in the early 2010s, he has certainly shot himself to fame with his on-field exploits, and his biopic looks set to be a fascinating watch.