Nicolas Cage to star as legendary NFL coach John Madden in upcoming unique biopic

Actor Nicolas Cage is slated to play legendary NFL head coach and announcer John Madden in an upcoming biopic. The film will be directed by David O. Russell.

"Nicolas Cage, one of our greatest and most original actors, will portray the best of the American spirit of originality, fun, and determination in which anything is possible as beloved national legend John Madden," Russell said in a statement. "Together with the ferocious style, focus, and inspired individualism of Al Davis, owner of the underdog Oakland Raiders, the feature will be about the joy, humanity and genius that was John Madden in a wildly inventive, cool world of the 1970s."

Amazon MGM will be the studio that will be producing "Madden." According to Variety , actors Will Ferrell and Hugh Jackman were also being considered to play Madden prior to casting Cage.

Madden served as the coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 until 1978. During that span, the legendary head coach led the Raiders to a win in Super Bowl XI against the Minnesota Vikings. Madden also led Oakland to five appearances in the AFC Championship Game before finally getting over the hump in 1976 in a 32-14 victory.

Following the 1978 season, Madden announced his retirement from coaching, and moved into the broadcast booth. From 1979 until 1993, Madden worked for CBS Sports and eventually had the opportunity to team up with Pat Summerall as the network's top NFL announce team. The duo ended up calling eight Super Bowls together while at CBS Sports.

Madden also helped create the "Madden NFL" video game franchise that debuted back in 1988. The popular video game series still is released on an annual basis, and he was instrumental in the appearance of the game even when he retired from the booth in 2009.