LOS ANGELES, April 29 (UPI) -- Disgraced Hollywood actor Tom Sizemore has been hired to play disgraced baseball star Pete Rose in the ESPN original film, "Hustle."
To be directed by Peter Bogdanovich, the film is about Rose's gambling-related downfall in the 1980s as chronicled in Major League Baseball's Dowd Report, The Hollywood Reporter said Thursday.
The "Pearl Harbor" and "Black Hawk Down" star was sentenced to jail time and probation last October for assaulting ex-girlfriend Heidi Fleiss.
Imposition of the sentence has been delayed by the court and is still pending, the trade paper noted.
"Tom Sizemore's ability to play gritty, conflicted characters is his hallmark," said Mark Shapiro, ESPN executive vice president of programming and production. "Only someone with his hefty credentials and proven talents can accurately portray someone as complex as Rose."
Filming is scheduled to begin May 14 in Toronto and the movie is set to premiere Sept. 25.