Jake Gyllenhaal in Talks to Play Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor Jeff Bauman in Film

By Brooklyn Lowery (Patch Staff)

An award-winning actor is reportedly in talks to play Chelmsford resident Jeff Bauman in a film about the Boston Marathon bombing survivor who lost both his legs in the attack.

Variety.com is reporting the Jake Gyllenhaal is on the short list of A-List actors to play Bauman in “Stronger,” a film Lionsgate Studio is making based on the book by Bauman and Bret Witter.

“When Jeff Bauman woke up on Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 in the Boston Medical Center, groggy from a series of lifesaving surgeries and missing his legs, the first thing he did was try to speak,” reads the Amazon synopsis for the book. “When he realized he couldn’t, he asked for a pad and paper and wrote down seven words: ’Saw the guy. Looked right at me,’ setting off one of the biggest manhunts in the country’s history.”

According to Variety, David Gordon Green has signed on to direct the film.