Leonardo DiCaprio Will Play Leonardo da Vinci in a New Biopic

Leonardo DiCaprio is to star as Leonardo da Vinci in an upcoming film depicting the great Italian polymath's life.

It will be produced by Appian Way, the production company co-founded by Leo, which had a hand in making films such as Shutter Island and The Aviator.

Leo has previously claimed that da Vinci is in fact his namesake, as he explained in a 2014 interview with NPR:

"My father tells me that [he and my mother] were on their honeymoon at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, I believe. They were looking at a da Vinci painting, and allegedly I started kicking furiously while my mother was pregnant. And my father took that as a sign, and I suppose DiCaprio wasn't that far from da Vinci. And so, my dad, being the artist that he is, said, 'That's our boy's name.'"

There's currently no date set for the release of the film, but it's definitely something to start looking forward to.

Follow Marie Claire on Facebook for the latest celeb news, beauty tips, fascinating reads, livestream video, and more.