Del Toro to play Che

Benicio Del Toro is star in a new biopic of the revolutionary leader Ernesto 'Che' Guevara.

The film Guerrilla is to be directed by Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies, And Videotape, Traffic, Solaris) and will be based on recently declassified CIA files.

Del Toro, star of Sin City, 21 Grams and Licence To Kill, will appear alongside Javier Bardem (Live Flesh, Jamon Jamon) and Franka Potente (Run Lola Run, The Bourne Identity).

Filming is due to start in Mexico in January.

Che Guevara's life most recently came to the big screen in Walter Salles' The Motorcycle Diaries. The film is based on the journals of Guevara himself about his time crossing South America by motorbike with his friend Alberto Granado.

Guevara and Granado were played by Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Amores Perros) and Rodrigo De La Serna.

The life of Guevara also came to the screen in the 1969 film Che! The eponymous lead was taken by Omar Sharif while Jack Palance (City Slickers) played Fidel Castro.

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