Cumberbatch lined up to play Assange in new movie

Benedict Cumberbatch is being lined up to play WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in a new movie.

The 'Sherlock' actor - who recently made a break into Hollywood in movies including 'War Horse' and 'Star Trek Into Darkness' - is being lined up by DreamWorks to play the controversial character, with Joel Kinnaman playing Daniel Domscheit-Berg, according to Deadline.com

Julian launched WikiLeaks in 2006 and caused embarrassment to world governments by leaking diplomatic cables around the world.

He is

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It is believed an extradition to Sweden could lead to a further extradition to the US, where he could face charges over the leaks.

'Twilight' filmmaker Bill Condon is being lined up to direct the movie.

Benedict has a number of forthcoming roles, including alongside Meryl Streep in 'August: Osage County' and 'Twelve Years A Slave' by 'Shame' director Steve McQueen.