Roger Daltrey has 40-year-old actor in his sights for Keith Moon movie biopic
He says the actor is a 'role model'
The Who’s Roger Daltrey has shared an update on the progress of the long-gestating Keith Moon movie biopic.
The movie has been in the works since the early 2000s when Wayne’s World and Austin Powers actor Mike Myers was initially line-up to play the late-great Keith Moon.
In February 2022, Variety reported that the film has the working title of The Real Me after The Who’s 1973 song of the same name, and that filming was due to start in the UK soon.
In a new interview with Vulture, Roger Daltrey has confirmed he has completed the script for the film and he has an actor in his sights to play the legendary drummer.
“I just finished a script, and I’m hoping to do my biopic of Keith within the next couple of years. I’m very pleased with the script,” Daltrey said.
“I want people to get an understanding of him and his life, and the complete genius he was. He had so much talent, that boy, but he became out of control for a lot of reasons. Mostly for lack of discipline. But once the drugs kick in, usually that disappears, doesn’t it?”
Commenting on the potential lead actor, Daltrey continued: “I’ve got an actor in mind who’s a role model. He might be too old, but then again, Keith looked 50 when he died. He was 32, but he looked 54. I think the actor is about 40 now.
“I don’t want to jinx it and say his name but there’s an actor who I’ve seen and when I look at him, I go, ‘God, it’s Moon!’ It’s all to do with the eyes. The eyes are all important. You virtually wouldn’t need to say any dialogue because you could read it in his eyes. I mean, that’s a bit much, but you know what I mean. You can read so much in the face of Keith. He had such an incredible vibrancy.
“I got involved when Mike Myers wanted to play him. We were trying to get the film off the ground. I think Mike, when he was younger, would’ve made a fabulous Keith. It’s a shame it never happened. I’m driven by this project. It came to me in a dream 30 years ago.”
Speaking to The Independent last year, Daltrey explained why the film has taken so long to come into fruition.
“It’s been quite a journey,” Daltrey said. “I’ve had so many scripts written, by very eminent scriptwriters, but they just did not get it. They did not get him, they did not get the music business. It’s been very difficult, but I’m quietly confident that we’ve got something special.”
Daltrey told Metro in 2018 that the film with be very different to the Queen and Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
“I want a drama where Keith is the central character,” he said. “I never met anyone like him in my life and I don’t think I ever will, and you should all be grateful for that. He was wonderful but dangerous and very frustrating. He was an uncontrolled genius, completely out of control.”
Keith Moon died on 7th September 1978 aged just 32 from an overdose of Heminevrin, a drug intended to treat or prevent symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.
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44) Gun N’ Roses – ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ (1987)
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39) Gun N’ Roses – ‘Paradise City’ (1987)
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16) Motörhead – ‘Ace of Spades’ (1980)
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13) Gun N’ Roses – ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ (1987)
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12) Iron Maiden – ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ (1982)
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11) Deep Purple – ‘Smoke on the Water’ (1972)
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10) Meat Loaf – ‘Bat Out of Hell’ (1977)
The opening track on Meat Loaf's debut album of the same name, as statements of intent go, they don't get much better than 'Bat Out of Hell.' The brilliantly bombastic track's lyrics were described as "a rock 'n roll sci-fi version of Peter Pan" by songwriter Jim Steinman, while musically it's gloriously overblown and the perfect vehicle for the late-great Meat Loaf's theatrical and impossibly powerful voice. An irrefutable rock magnum opus.
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Opening with one of the greatest riffs in rock history, AC/DC's title track from their blockbuster 'Back in Black' album was written in response to the death of Bon Scott. New frontman Brian Johnson was asking not to be morbid when penning the lyrics, and, duly, the track is a celebration of the rock legend. Johnson noted years later: "I just wrote what came into my head, which at the time seemed like mumbo, jumbo. 'Nine lives. Cats eyes. Abusing every one of them and running wild.' The boys got it though. They saw Bon's life in that lyric."
8) AC/DC – ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ (1977)
The seventh AC/DC song to feature in our Top 70 is the band's riff-heavy hard rock anthem 'Whole Lotta Rosie.' Written by Angus Young, Bon Scott, Malcolm Young, 'Whole Lotta Rosie' details a mind-blowing one-night stand Scott had with a Tasmanian woman called Rosie. A mainstay of AC/DC's live shows since it was released (only 'The Jack' has been performed live more), more recent performances of 'Whole Lotta Rosie' have featured a giant inflatable Rosie on the stage's backdrop.
7) Alter Bridge - ‘Blackbird’ (2007)
The only song from the 21st Century to feature in our Top 20, 'Blackbird' is the crowning glory of Alter Bridge's second studio album and arguably the highpoint of their illustrious career so far. Lyrically poignant, Myles Kennedy wrote the lyrics for 'Blackbird' about the death of his close friend Mark Morse. Kennedy said: "It's really about seeing the suffering he was going through and hoping he would find his solace soon and be free from all of that." The eight-minute track also features a colossal guitar solo from both Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti that was voted the third greatest guitar solo ever by Planet Rock listeners in 2019.
6) Led Zeppelin – ‘Kashmir’ (1975)
The towering musical behemoth that is 'Kashmir' is Led Zeppelin's second-highest polling song from their fabled back catalogue. A track so good that it has you thumbing at the thesaurus looking for suitable superlatives, it's no surprise that the surviving members of Led Zeppelin regard 'Kashmir' as one of their career zeniths. Jimmy Page said of the track: "The intensity of 'Kashmir' was such that when we had it completed, we knew there was something really hypnotic to it, we couldn't even describe such a quality…. It sounded so frightening at first."
5) Pink Floyd - ‘Comfortably Numb’ (1979)
David Gilmour's transcendental playing on Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb' was voted the Greatest Guitar Solo of All Time by Planet Rock listeners in 2019, and the song itself is rightfully in the upper echelons of our Greatest Rock Songs poll at Number 5. Penned by Roger Waters and David Gilmour, 'Comfortably Numb' is one of the defining moments of their songwriting partnership, yet such was the friction between the two during the recording process that Gilmour later noted it represents "the last embers of mine and Roger's ability to work collaboratively together." Poignantly, 'Comfortably Numb' was the last song Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and the late-great Richard Wright performed together at Live Aid in 2005.
4) Lynyrd Skynyrd – ‘Free Bird’ (1973)
The only Lynyrd Skynyrd to make our Top 70, the Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins penned 'Free Bird' is the band's signature song and truly one of the finest tracks in rock history. Delivered in Van Zant's trademark southern rock drawl, the track opens with him singing "If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?", hinting at a man unable to settle down. Just past the midway point, 'Free Bird' morphs into a crescendo of glorious guitar solos and frenetic instrumentation – an life-affirming aural onslaught that still sounds as fresh now as it did almost half a century ago.
3) Rainbow – ‘Stargazer’ (1976)
The standout song from Rainbow's seminal 'Rising' album, 'Stargazer' sees the inimitable, late-great Ronnie James Dio narrate the ominous story of a wizard whose attempt to fly by constructing a tower to the stars leads to the enslavement of countless people. A musically complex, powerful and majestic heavy metal tour-de-force, 'Stargazer' flaunts the imperious talents of the respective Rainbow band members, from Dio's astonishing pipes to Cozy Powell's titanic drums to Ritchie Blackmore's mercurial guitar playing. Nothing short of a masterpiece.
2) Led Zeppelin – ‘Stairway To Heaven’ (1971)
Number 2 on our Greatest Led Zeppelin Songs poll in September 2018 to mark the band's 50th anniversary, 'Stairway To Heaven' is also at No.2 in our Greatest Rock Song poll. Clocking in at just over eight minutes, every second of 'Stairway To Heaven' is iconic; from the opening, Renaissance-tinged finger-picked guitars and recorders to Jimmy Page's legendary solo and right through to Robert Plant's ultimate, plaintive "and she's buying the stairway to heaven" refrain. A true timeless classic that will be listened to in centuries to come.
1) Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (1975)
Having previously finished at No.2 in our previous Greatest Rock Song poll a decade ago, Queen's timeless and ubiquitous rock epic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' has climbed to Number 1 in 2022. Multi-layered and ambitious in musical scope, the Freddie Mercury penned 'Bohemian Rhapsody' has topped the charts twice in the UK and has been introduced to new generations of fans via 1992's Wayne's World and the 2018 Queen biopic of the same name, Bohemian Rhapsody.