Who Will Play Ozzy Osbourne In A Biopic?

Ozzy Osbourne's life is ripe for a big screen adaptation.

Talk among fans, and on betting sites, has been about who might take on the role of Ozzy - and there are several strong contenders.

The boy from Aston, Birmingham - born John Osbourne - went from factory worker to rock icon and as well as making hit records with legendary heavy metal outfit Black Sabbath.

He became known for biting the head off a bat on stage and even snorting a trail of ants while on tour with Motley Crue.

Ozzy sadly passed away on July 22, aged 76, just 17 days after he and original the Black Sabbath lineup - Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward - reunited for their final show together.

Back to the Beginning, which took place at Villa Park, Aston, featured performances from the likes of Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Alice in Chains and guest appearances from the likes of Ronnie Wood and Yungblud.

It will go down as one of the best heavy metal shows all of time and was the perfect sent off for Ozzy. 

Ahead of his passing, the rocker - who was known as the Prince of Darkness - spoke about a biopic being in the works, but sadly predicted he might pass on before it hit the big screen. 

He once said: "By the time they finish this film, I’ll be dead... I wanna be alive to f***ing see it!"

Ahead of Back to the Beginning, Ozzy's son Jack Osbourne admitted the script for the Ozzy movie is being rewritten. 

He explained: "We have the film on the way. We have a lot of good momentum on the Ozzy biopic.

"We have a director attached now, and the script is done, and Sony Studios is going to be ­producing it.

"It is about to go through a script rewrite. It’s going to be raw. We are not pulling any punches, we are really laying it all out."

Yungblud's Ultimate Ozzy Tribute

Yungblud wowed the Back to the Beginning crowd at Ozzy's farewell by performing an emotional version of the late star's hit song Changes. 

Ahead of the July 5 show, Yungblud - whose real name is Dominic Harrison - gave Ozzy a necklace as a gift.

And following the Sabbath frontman's death, he paid an emotional tribute to Ozzy on Instagram. 

Part of his post read: "I’m trying to compute the last couple days and honestly I’m absolutely f***ing shattered.

Ozzy Osbourne Odds: Who Will Play Late Black Sabbath Star In A Biopic

"You have been my North Star for everything for as long as I can remember from when I was misunderstood as a child to the way people thought I was just a little 'too much' or 'strange' in my life and career.

"I owe so much to you, your wife and your family - you all gave me a road to run down and supported me when people would turn their nose up.

"You loved life so much and you adored music. It was your smile man. You taught me it was beautiful to be out of the box.

"I promise you with all my heart I will try my best and make it my life’s journey to keep the sprit that you started and what you have taught me alive. I will give it my best shot."

Following Yungblud's Changes rendition, some have called for him to portray Ozzy in the forthcoming biopic, which would be the ultimate tribute to the late star. 

He is 11/10 favourite on betting apps, just ahead of accomplished actor Johnny Depp. However, Ozzy had an opinion about the Pirates of the Caribbean actor playing him.

In 2022, the Sabbath star was asked about who could portray him in a movie, but he told Consequence of Sound: "I don’t want to have anyone like Johnny Depp act as me.

"I'd rather have someone who is relatively unknown."

There was clearly no hard feelings from Depp about Ozzy's comment. 

Following the rock icon's death, Depp paid tribute to Ozzy - who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019 - by appearing on stage at Alice Cooper's July 25 gig in London to perform Black Sabbath song Paranoid.

Depp is 7/4 to take on the role, while another accomplished actor, Joaquin Phoenix - who portrayed Johnny Cash in the movie Walk the Line - isn't far behind at 2/1.

Wood He? 

Ozzy was clearly keen for someone without several acting accolades to portray him, and while Leo Woodall isn't exactly unknown, the White Lotus actor could do a job as the rock icon. 

Leo is a 3/1 shot to take on the part, which would no doubt catapult him to further fame. 

In February, Woodall admitted being hurled into the limelight was "terrifying" at first, but he has since found film sets to be his "safe haven". 

He told Radio Times: "It's terrifying in a lot of ways.

"Because it was a relatively quick turnaround, suddenly I was on these big sets and then doing photoshoots and events and interviews. 

"The filming, I'm getting more comfortable with and it's becoming my safe haven."

And he previously said of his character in Netflix's One Day: "I felt a lot of empathy for him. I felt quite protective of him once I started to get closer to the role. And I also just think it was a beautiful story."

Ozzy's life, in music and alongside his adoring family - wife Sharon Osbourne and the couple's children Aimee, Kelly and Jack - can certainly be described as a beautiful story.

Ozzy's Choice 

One man who knows exactly what it takes to portray part of the rock legend's life is Tony Cavalero. 

The School of Rock actor did so in 2019 Motley Crue movie The Dirt and Tony is 4/1 to take on the role of Ozzy again in the new biopic. 

Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon - who played Motley Crue's Mick Mars in The Dirt - is a 15/2 shot for the coveted part, but Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn (7/2) could also be in contention.

He certainly possesses the acting credentials to pull of such an iconic role - and he can sing. 

In Stranger Things, he sings to Metallica tune Master of Puppets - which the metal band performed at Ozzy's Back to the Beginning finale gig - and he is no stranger to a biopic. 

He was recently cast as George Harrison in the upcoming Beatles movies, but could that hamper his chances of portraying Ozzy? 

Others who could be in contention include Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam (9/2), X-Men actor James McAvoy (5/1) and House of Dragon star Matt Smith (6/1).

But Ozzy did once tell the world exactly who he wanted to portray him in a biopic. 

During an appearance on The Nerdist podcast way back in 2010, Ozzy was asked: "Who would you pick to play you in a movie about your life?"

Without hesitation, he replied: "Denzel Washington." The Training Day star is a 10/1 outsider to take on the part - but it's what Ozzy wanted. 

* Reminder: These are hypothetical odds provided by industry experts.