He is famous for his movie roles as a violent thug in Trainspotting – and a deranged Bond villain who is immune to pain.
Now Scottish actor Robert Carlyle is play the role of the man who gunned down the suspected killer of John F Kennedy.
The star best-known for his portrayal of Begbie in Trainspotting will appear as Jack Ruby in a new thriller, November 1963.
Filming is due to start soon in Canada with Carlyle, 63, as the nightclub owner with links to organised crime who shot Lee Harvey Oswald.
Ruby killed Oswald two days after JFK was assassinated in Dallas as Oswald was being transferred to the county jail.
Guinness World Records has called Oswald’s shooting – on November 24, 1963 – the ‘first known human killing seen live on TV’.
November 1963 will also star John Travolta, Mandy Patinkin – who played a retired CIA division chief in hit TV series Homeland – and Dermot Mulroney who starred in 1997 romantic comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding.
It will be directed by two-time Oscar-nominated Roland Joffé, best-known for The Killing Fields – the 1984 biographical drama film about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia – and The Mission, a 1986 historical epic starring Robert De Niro.
Entertainment website Deadline said the new JFK movie will ‘examine the mystery and intrigue that enveloped one of the most significant moments in American history, promising an in-depth, fresh perspective directly from the individuals whose lives were forever changed by the intense 48 hours surrounding the assassination’.
Oswald will be played by Jefferson White, who stars in Western TV drama series Yellowstone.
The film’s script is said to be based on ‘first-hand accounts’, including exclusive insights from relatives of Sam Giancana.
As boss of the Chicago Outfit, one of the most powerful Italian-American criminal organisations in the U.S. during the 1950s and early 1960s, Giancana became widely known for his connections to the Kennedy family during his presidential campaign and presidency.
On November 24, 1963, Ruby entered the basement area of Dallas City Hall, which was filled with police officers and journalists.
As Oswald was led out, Ruby shot him in the stomach at close range before being restrained.
His involvement fuelled speculation that gangsters played a role in the Kennedy assassination.
Deadline said the film has taken on ‘fresh relevance following the recent uncovering of previously classified JFK files’ and according to the producers ‘many of the film’s insights are supported by the documents’.
Writer and producer Nicki Celozzi, nephew of Sam Giancana, said: ‘The whole essence of the story, the project, why we are doing this, is that it came from Sam Giancana‘s brother, Pepe, who was in the room with him during these two days.
‘The story, the screenplay, is their story, my family story that specifically focuses on the “Outfit’ [the Chicago organised crime syndicate led by Giancana], Giancana, and their involvement in setting up the assassination with the second shooter, who was sent there as a fail-safe back-up and implemented.’
Producer Kevin DeWalt said: ‘With the addition of Robert Carlyle as Jack Ruby and Jefferson White as Lee Harvey Oswald, our star cast is now complete.
‘We couldn’t be more pleased, and look forward to this talented group of artists finally bringing the true version of this event to light.’
Carlyle currently stars in Toxic Town, a new Netflix series which follows the story of three mothers involved in a toxic waste scandal.
He was contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, Al Pacino will star as another Chicago Mob chieftain, Tony Accardo, in forthcoming JFK conspiracy thriller Assassination, which follows a journalist who sets out to discover the truth about the JFK assassination after uncovering evidence that Oswald did not act alone.