The current blazing-hot box office king could meet up with the athlete that has been dominating the headlines in recent weeks, as Matt Damon stands to potentially take on the role of six time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. If the project comes to be, it stands as Damon’s most challenging role to date, playing a man who has overcome testicular cancer to win six the race six consecutive times. He would have to work himself into a physical shape that would call for a life altering workout routine that could transform his appearance even more than Robert Deniro’s in “Raging Bull”. Damon himself has described the training he would have to endure as “a whole new level”.

Armstong’s story is one of perseverance and overcoming adversity, two staples of the prototypical sports biopic film, much like the recent money-maker “Seabiscuit”. But Armstrong is a competitive beast with unmatched drive in his sport that comes with a bitter, driven personality that could paint him in an ugly light to the movie viewing public. How hard does he push himself? Well for one, coming off of his historic sixth victory in the Tour de France, Armstrong is expected to participate in two more races in the immediate future, before he returns home to spend time with the children from his first marriage. The dedication he showed to his craft cost him that marriage, not that he is complaining, since he can now be seen whisking from one red carpet event to another as Mr. Sheryl Crow. However, the movie will dig into the turbulent drama of Armstrong’s marriage to paint a complete portrait of the man beyond his status as a cycling legend and heroic cancer survivor who had less than a 50% chance of survival.

The biopic is expected to be released in 2006, but Damon is not officially linked to it as of yet. With the Tour de France freshly placed in the front of people’s minds, it makes perfect sense to try and grab headlines with a news statement about the possibility of an actor that stars in #1 grossing movie of the past weekend portraying the athlete that is at the top of the sports world for the moment. The demand for Armstrong and Damon individually is as high as it is ever going to be right now, and that’s why the possible casting has been announced. Combining the two into one story is a speculators goldmine. Will Damon accept? If he’s willing to get himself into the physical shape and mindset of a cancer beating six time champion he will. Or he could ride out the wave of publicity to up his value in later role negotiations. Stay tuned.