TMS Discussion: Who Should Play Madonna in Her Biopic?

(Touchstone Pictures / Buena Vista Pictures)

With all the hoopla going around about Baz Luhrmann’s new Elvis Presley biopic, we’re also supposedly getting a biopic on another music icon in the near future: Madonna. It’s surprising there hasn’t been anything on screen about the queen of pop beyond documentaries, even of the cheap TV movie variety. Especially when the king of rock & roll himself has up to five screen interpretations of his life and career. Of course, with some legends there is that ‘untouchable’ factor where filmmakers are cautious to portray such a beloved artist accurately. Hence why we’ve never gotten a proper Beatles biopic. But for Madonna, it looks like the possibility could be anything from potential to dubious. The popstar herself is a part of the production process, which can either work for a biopic [Michael Apted’s Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980) on Loretta Lynn] or against it [Fiona Sigismondi’s The Runaways (2010)]. One thing’s for sure; whoever gets the chance to play the late 20th century superstar, will definitely be receiving plenty of hype. Let’s take a look at who is currently on the casting shortlist.

(Brian Ach)

Florence Pugh [age 26, English]

A favorite with modern critics and film fans, Florence is allegedly Madonna’s own personal choice for her fictionalized self. Flo has experience in all types of screen genres, including costume dramas [William Oldroyd’s Lady MacBeth (2016) and Greta Gerwig’s Little Women (2019)]; horror [Ari Aster’s Midsommar (2019)]; action-adventure [Cate Shortland’s Black Widow (2021) and Marvel’s “Hawkeye” (2021)]; and comedy [Stephen Merchant’s Fighting with My Family (2019)]. Acting wise, the English starlet definitely has the chops for the emotional range required for a historical feature, so she would just have to prove she can hold her own musically. There’s also a joke somewhere that Florence wouldn’t have to put on a fake accent for when Madge was married to Guy Ritchie. But apparently this movie is being written to end during her Blonde Ambition era in the early 1990s.

(Thomas Garner)

Julia Garner [age 28, American]

One of the hottest young actresses on TV and streaming, Julia seems to be the fave among fans to cast as Madonna. Like Florence, Julia has a bunch of acclaim for her Emmy winning work on Netflix’s “Ozark” (2017-2022), as well as performances on FX’s “The Americans” (2015-18), Netflix’s “Maniac” (2018) and Netflix’s “Inventing Anna” (2021). Film wise, she was the lead in Kitty Green’s popular indie drama The Assistant (2019). Julia’s also married to Mark Foster, frontman of the pop-rock band Foster the People, who I’m sure would give her some pointers during the soundtrack efforts for the Madonna piece.

(Heidi Tappis)

Sydney Sweeney [age 24, American]

Another TV starlet in the running to play Madonna is Sydney Sweeney, most recognized for her supporting role on HBO’s teen melodrama “Euphoria” (2019- ). Sydney already has a nice following through her character, Cassie Howard, on “Euphoria;” and she had recurring roles on other hit TV series like Hulu’s “The Handmaiden’s Tale” (2018), HBO’s “Sharp Objects” (2018) and HBO’s “The White Lotus” (2021). On the big screen, the blonde also had a bit part in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) as one of Charles Manson’s girls. It looks like Sydney training doesn’t include singing, but according to her Wiki page, she grew up very athletic and would probably be able to handle the pop dance choreography.

(Mark Seliger)

Odessa Young [age 24, Australian]

Odessa broke through her career as the title character of Simon Stone’s The Daughter (2015), opposite Oceania legends Geoffrey Rush and Sam Neill. Since then, she’s co-starred in Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation (2018), Josephine Decker’s Shirley (2020) and CBS’ mini-series adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Stand” (2020). She doesn’t seem to have much experience performing musically. But she does have a few theatre productions under her belt, which sometimes seems to help actors cast in music related biopics.

(Sam Irons)

Emma Laird [age 23, English]

A fresh up-and-comer, Emma started her career with short films before officially debuting on Paramount’s “Mayor of Kingstown” (2021- ). With her first studio project, Emma already has great reviews and attention from critics and viewers, and her role on the series required some dancing. So she has 2/3 of the requirements to play the queen of pop on film, if the producers and Madonna decide to go with the youthful redhead.

Others have been lobbying to star as Madonna elsewhere as well, such as singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha and musician-actress Kat Cunning. Whoever lands the coveted part, let’s hope she gets a good director and decent script as well.