Leonardo Dicaprio really wants an Oscar doesn't he? He really wants an Oscar. He probably hasn't deserved an Oscar yet, though you've got to feel a little sorry for the guy. As if to rub salt in the wounds, Matthew McConaughey turned up in The Wolf of Wall Street, banged his chest for a bit, stole the movie and then beat Leo at the Oscars for another movie.

Leonardo DiCaprioLeonardo DiCaprio will play Billy Milligan in The Crowded Room

Now, DiCaprio has signed on for what could potentially be his most interesting movie yet and certainly a role that has Oscars written all over it. The actor will star in The Crowded Room, about the real-life tale of a man acquitted of rape and robbery after convincing a jury that he had 24 different personalities.

The story of Billy Milligan has been doing the rounds in Hollywood for years, with James Cameron tipped to write and direct in the early 1990s. Joel Schumacher and David Fincher were attached at various points, with Matthew McConaughey, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and John Cusack have all been mooted for the lead. According to the Hollywood Reporter, DiCaprio has been circling the role since 1997.

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Milligan, who died last year aged 59, was charged with robbery and the rape of three women on the Ohio State University campus in 1977. At the trial, he and his lawyers successfully argued that two of his alternate personalities and committed the crimes without the knowledge of Milligan. Adalana - a lesbian who cooked and cleaned - admitted the rapes, while a Yugoslavian communist named Ragen owned up the robberies. 

The Crowded Room will be written by Lucky Number Slevin's Jason Smilovic, alongside Todd Katzberg. It is not known who will direct though DiCaprio will produce through his Appian Way production company. 

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