Bradley Cooper has signed up to star in a movie about former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who was shot and killed last week by a mentally ill Iraq war veteran.
With 255 kills, 160 of them officially confirmed by the Pentagon, the retired sniper is the deadliest marksman in US military history.
Cooper, who’s become more invested in advocating for improved awareness and medical treatment for sufferers of mental-health issues after starring in “Silver Linings Playbook,” will also produce the movie, the New York Post reported.
Kyle was killed Saturday at a shooting range in Texas by Eddie Ray Routh, who’s been charged with murder.
Kyle and his close friend Chad Littlefield, who was also killed, brought Routh to the range as a form of therapy to help him cope with a crippling case of post-traumatic stress disorder. It is learnt that Cooper’s production company, 22nd ‘n’ Indiana, bought the rights to Kyle’s book, “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US Military History” last year and they will now re-work the script to include his death. Cooper is also said to have recently spoken to veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and discussed mental issues facing returning soldiers.
