A rep for larger-than-life French actor Gerard Depardieu said the actor is to play Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in a forthcoming movie. Depardieu - made a Russian citizen by Kremlin strongman Vladimir Putin - will feature in a screen adaptation of a 2013 novel called Le Divan de Staline, or Stalin's Sofa. The novel, written by Jean-Daniel Baltassat, is set in the Soviet Union of the 1950s, centering on a young artist who is commissioned to create a monument to Stalin but faces scrutiny by the KGB. Depardieu is one of France's most successful actors, winning huge praise for his roles in Cyrano de Bergerac, Les Miserables, Jean de Florette and other films. He is best known abroad for the romantic comedy Green Card. But he has repeatedly made headlines in his country of birth for stirring controversy and backing unpopular causes.
