For a career that spanned 23 seasons, seven Super Bowl rings, countless improbable comebacks on game nights, and a complete rewrite of what longevity looks like in the NFL, it almost feels inevitable that Tom Brady’s life would make its way to the big screen. Yet, oddly enough, that moment still has not arrived.
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Brady has been featured extensively in documentaries, including “Man in the Arena” and “Tom vs. Time.” The Patriots legend even played himself in the 2023 film 80 for Brady. But a full-fledged biopic chronicling his insane journey from the 199th pick to the most decorated quarterback in league history remains untold.
Brady himself has floated some ideas about who could play him. Back in 2018, when asked who should portray him in a biopic, his answer stayed firmly rooted in New England. He openly championed “Boston guys” for the lead role, singling out Mark Wahlberg as his top choice because he was a Dorchester native and a hustler. Wahlberg was someone Brady felt embodied the same blue-collar ethos that defined his Patriots years.
“I’m going with Mark Wahlberg… A Boston legend, [from] Dorchester, you know, one of the just ‘grind it out’ kind of guys… He’d be my choice,” he said at the time.
If not Mark, TB12 even leaned on his extended Boston circle, including Matt Damon, as friends who understood that culture deeply, and thus qualify to play him. But time, perspective, and a little Hollywood proximity seem to have broadened that view of Brady’s.
At a recent Fanatics event, the GOAT revisited the biopic-casting topic during a lighthearted exchange with a reporter. And this time, a new name entered the conversation. When the reporter floated the idea of Leonardo DiCaprio playing Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion loved the idea so much that he leaned right into it.
“I like Leo, man. Leo’s a special guy. We’ve had a lot of time to kind of hang out and talk. He’s such a deep, thoughtful guy. He’s got tremendous perspective on a lot of things. We’ve had a lot of fun together,” Brady said.
When pressed on whether DiCaprio could actually play him, Brady didn’t hesitate to keep the door open. “You go girl!” he joked to the reporter, before adding, “If he’s up for it, we gotta write a good script first.”
Brady has always been meticulous about his work. So is DiCaprio, who has long been lauded for his transformative performances. He’d even won an Oscar for Best Actor in 2016. It is no wonder, then, that the first thing that came to Brady’s mind was locking in the script.
The question now is, will DiCaprio be open to playing the role? There is no doubt that Tom Brady’s story is the ultimate underdog story, so Leo need not worry about that. But does it interest or challenge him enough is the question. The answer has to be a Yes, but until we hear that from Leo, this remains a very cool casting choice.
