The director says that David Bowie’s portrayal in Stardust is ‘not an impersonation’

The director of the upcoming biography of Sir David Bowie has described how he was interested in “not being a look” for the star’s portrayal.

The iconic musician David, who died in 2016, will be portrayed by Johnny Flynn in Stardust, which tells the story of his early touring days.

Director Gabriel Range, who opened at the Raydance Film Festival in London this week, said: “It was very important for me to get a musician to play David, and when I met Johnny and discovered that he was a big Bowie fan, it really felt right.

“Johnny can really emotionally connect with the experience of setting up your life as a musician and playing for those semi-empty rooms.”

Gabriel told the PA that “this is important.” [Johnny’s performance] Not the impersonation of David.

Gabriel, who sang in praise of Johnny’s subtle acting, explained: “It’s more about making an impression than looking at David.”

Also, he noted that one of the biggest film-making challenges for him is that David Bowie covers a wide variety of characters for different audiences.

“For some he’s the thin white Duke, for some he’s Gigi Stardust, for some it’s David of the 80s, and in 1971 our film is set before all,” Gabriel said.

“So the funny thing about this is that exploring a lesser known chapter in his life, that first real fame.”

The film was directed by David on his first U.S. tour as “not really commercial.”

David died in 2016 at the age of 69 after a battle with cancer.

Startust will be the latest in a long line of recent music biographies featuring Bohemian Rhapsody (Freddie Mercury) and Rocketman (Sir Elton John).

With a long list of big and small releases, cinema has been hit hard by the Govt epidemic.

These include James Bond’s Recent Time No Time to Die, and Marvel’s Black Widow.

“It’s a very interesting time to bring out a film for all the obvious reasons – socially distant cinemas and so on,” Gabriel continued.

“But on the other hand, I think studios don’t publish things, so this is a good time for independent films.”