Reeve Carney Cast to Play Jeff Buckley in Biopic

Reeve Carney
Photo of Reeve Carney (Photo provided by the filmmakers)

Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark star Reeve Carney will play Jeff Buckley in the upcoming still-untitled Jeff Buckley film to be directed by Jake Scott (Welcome to the Rileys). Ryan Jaffe (The Rocker) wrote the script, and Jeff Buckley’s mother, Mary Guibert, is on board as an executive producer.

Per the official press release, the filmmakers have secured the exclusive rights to Jeff’s music and personal archives. Writer Jaffe was given unlimited access to the Jeff Buckley Estate archives as well as Jeff’s letters, drawings, and personal journals. In addition, the producers picked up the rights to the Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley book by David Browne to help research the film. Buckley passed away at the age of 30 in a drowning accident.

Filming is expected to begin this November in Memphis and New York.

“We are over the moon that Reeve has agreed to take on this challenging role. I’ve seen him perform several times…he’s been getting ready for this all his life. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he looks so much like Jeff,” said Mary Guibert.

Director Scott stated, “We are excited to have found in Reeve the perfect combination of musical prodigy, impish charm, innate intelligence & sensitivity to play Jeff.”

More on Reeve Carney:
Carney currently stars on Broadway as Peter Parker in the high-profile production of Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. Reeve also co-starred in Julie Taymor’s The Tempest for Miramax. His current single, ‘Rise Above 1 featuring Bono and The Edge’ (Music From Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark), was performed by the trio on the season finale of American Idol this year. In addition, Reeve and his band Carney opened for U2 on the last stop of the U2 360° tour. Their debut album Mr. Green Vol. 1 is available on DAS Label/Interscope.

More on Jeff Buckley:
Buckley’s only studio release during his lifetime was the widely acclaimed album Grace, which includes his legendary interpretation of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah,’ and is acknowledged by critics as a modern classic. His momentous posthumous album, Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal for the song ‘Everybody Here Wants You.’ Captivated by the world of music, Buckley lived and breathed it until the last moments of his life. He had said, ‘I was captured by music at a really early age…It was my mother, it was my father, it was my plaything, my toy. The best thing in my life.’

Check out the “Rise Above 1” featuring Bono and The Edge: