Success is the pedestal on which great stories are written. These writings are meant to inspire the people to do something with their lives. It is also a way to tell us that there is hope in this world, after all.
No matter what the field is, inspiration has no boundaries. Once someone is successful, their life is portrayed in an artistic form as a means to fire up the ember within the common person. A great many success stories can be found in the field of football, too. And what better a story than that of Lionel Messi?
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is considered by many as the greatest player of all time, and they can’t really be blamed for it. Every week, when we think that we have seen everything, he comes up with something that absolutely blows the mind of the viewer.
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If there was something that could inspire people, it would be Lionel Messi’s journey. It won’t be a long time before someone comes up with a movie based on the man’s journey and here is our suggestion of the 5 people that can be casted to play Lionel Messi’s role…
#5 Christian Bale
Method acting is an art that takes a lot of patience and diligence from an actor. In this case, one of the very best in the game is Christian Bale. The Dark Knight star is one of the most revered actors in the business and takes his roles very seriously once he commits to them.
When he took the role in The Machinist, he lost so much weight that almost every bone in his body became apparent to the naked eye. Indeed, the doctors had to warn him against his ways, fearing that such a change could be fatal for the actor.
If Bale gets the role of Lionel Messi, it could be guaranteed that he would spend a lot of time on the football field to develop some real skills so that he can play the role of the Barcelona forward better. And given how successful his movies are, he will almost certainly do a fantastic job.
#4 Eric Bana
This choice might surprise a lot of people, but for some reason, it feels like he could be a good pick. The former ‘Hulk’ star jawline is quite similar to that of the Argentine and that alone puts him on this list.
In terms of acting, Bana has a good rapport with serious roles. His impersonation of Hector in the movie ‘Troy’ showed us that he is capable of playing the role of the former Newell’s child given that the latter is quite serious a footballer himself.
However, the one thing that could go against Bana, and also Bale for that matter, is that he is perhaps too tall to play the 5’7” Lionel Messi.
#3 Matt Damon
Matt Damon is one of the other famous faces of Hollywood. He has acted in a number of great movies with various genres, ranging from a mentally-broken genius youngster in Good Will Hunting to a romantic politician in the Adjustment Bureau, he has played it all.
However, the role that makes him the most apt to play Lionel Messi was his work as Francois Pienaar in the movie Invictus, where his character was the captain of the Springboks Rugby team. Having already starred in sports drama, Damon has the experience to play the Argentine’s character.
Finally, the drawback with him is also the same as the other two that have been mentioned thus far: he is a little too tall to play Messi.
#2 Tom Hardy
If there is one actor that is not properly rated for his outstanding work, it is Tom Hardy. The British star is one of the best actors in the business and has done some remarkable work of late in movies like Inception, The Revenant and Lawless.
However, his most insane side was depicted in the badass role of Bronson in the movie of the same name. He literally carried the whole movie—that lacked a lot in terms of story—on his own. The fun part? He was impersonating Charles Bronson for that movie, which gives us enough to assume that he could do the same for Lionel Messi.
Also, what makes him a better choice than the ones mentioned already is the fact that, at 5’9”, he’s closer to Messi’s height than the rest of them.
#1 Lionel Messi himself
And at the end of the day, who can play the role of you better than you yourself? Did I sound like a washed-up wannabe philosopher? I might have, but the point is, sports stars get good at acting as their career progresses.
How? Advertisements. Sportspersons star in a lot of advertisement that hone their acting skills gradually. It is for this very reason that Sachin Tendulkar is playing himself in a movie about himself. So why not Lionel Messi?
After years of acting in commercials, it could be said that with a little more prepping, Messi can do what Sachin is doing and act as himself in his own movie. If that happens, the world will probably explode and turn into a blackhole.
