Jared Leto, Playboy.

The Oscar-winning actor is set to star as Hugh Hefner in Brett Ratner's planned biopic, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Playboy mogul died last week at the age of 91

"Jared is an old friend," Ratner said. "When he heard I got the rights to Hef's story, he told me, 'I want to play him. I want to understand him.' And I really believe Jared can do it. He's one of the great actors of today."

The director even invited Leto to the famed Playboy Mansion for the premiere of Amazon's documentary series "American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story." But due to Hefner's failing health, Leto was unable to meet the controversial icon.

Ratner isn't worried. "There's enough footage on Hef out there that Jared will be able to get as much information as he wants," he said.

The project has been in development for almost a decade, with a period of time when the late Jerry Weintraub held the rights. Now, Ratner has them back and has a big vision: "My goal is to do the motion picture as an event."