"As we compared his [DiCaprio's] photos with those of Lenin... the similarity was striking. I should even say that Leo could play the role of the revolutionary leader without make-up," said Russian screenwriter Alexander Borodyansky on Sunday.
The director of the Moscow International Film Festival, Natalya Semina, said, "It is common knowledge that DiCaprio has Slavic roots. His ancestors on his mother's side emigrated from Russia to Germany."
Lenin's Brain (the film's working title) is a black comedy with a $20 million budget. According to the plot, in the late 20th century, Russian scientists create Lenin's clone. He then comes to the United States and sparks a socialist revolution there in 2024.
DiCaprio, 33, shot to fame for his role in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic. He was the fifth highest paid actor in Hollywood last year, earning $45 million, according to Forbes magazine.
The embalmed body of Bolshevik leader Lenin has been on public display in a glass case in a mausoleum on Red Square since his death in 1924. His continuing presence in the heart of Moscow has been an ongoing source of controversy since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
