STONEWALL MOVIE LEAD HAS BEEN CAST

The stunning star of Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, Jeremy Irvine, has been cast in a film about the 1969 Stonewall riots, reports Deadline.

The riots, in which gay and trans patrons of New York’s Stonewall bar fought against homophobic police officers, are widely acknowledged as the start of the modern gay rights movement.

The new film – appropriately titled Stonewall – is being directed by openly gay director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Godzilla).

“It’s about these crazy kids in New York, and a country bumpkin who gets into their gang,” Emmerich told Empire. “And at the end they start this riot and change the world.”

He added that “very little is known about it [the Stonewall riots]. Even gay people don’t know much about it. There are only two books written about it. It was the first time that gay people had shown the police that they should take them serious.

“And when the riot police came – this has always been fascinating for me – these kids formed a chorus line and sang ‘We are the village girls, we wear our hair in curls!’ It was such a cool thing,” said Emmerich.

Irvine (24), an English model and actor, broke out with his leading role in Spielberg’s 2011 war epic.

He’s recognised as one of the hottest actors in Hollywood and has since gone on to star in the films Great Expectations and The Railway Man.

Last year he dated singer Ellie Goulding, but the relationship has reportedly ended.

Stonewall is set to start shooting this year while Emmerich also prepares for his upcoming Independence Day sequel.