Ansel Elgort pivots from getaway driver to John F. Kennedy for next movie

By Esther Zuckerman | June 27, 2017 | 9:06pm

Aux Features Film

Baby Driver, Edgar Wright’s latest, marks a turning point in the career of one Ansel Elgort, establishing him as a star beyond the world of YA or EDM. (Yes, Elgort is also a budding pop star who has gone by DJ Ansolo.) But now he’s got another project in the works that should test his range as an actor. According to Deadline, he’s going to star as a pre-presidency John F. Kennedy in the WWII-set Mayday 109. The film, which is written by Samuel Franco and Evan Kilgore, will tell the story of Kennedy’s military heroics after his Patrol Torpedo Craft was hit by a Japanese destroyer.

“We could not be more excited about Ansel coming aboard,” producer Basil Iwanyk said, per Deadline. “Not only is he a tremendous actor, he embodies the charisma, athleticism and looks of a young JFK. We love that this is not a bio-pic nor a film about politics. This is simply a riveting and unbelievable tale that very few people know—about a young man who was a hero long before becoming the iconic 35th President of the United States. With Ansel, we’ve found our perfect JFK.”