"Yo, Hadrian!" Who will play the Roman Emperor in a new biopic?

After years in limbo, the long rumoured bio-pic of Roman emperor Hadrian is finally coming to the big screen.

John Boorman, who's directed such visionary films as Excalibur and The Emerald Forest (as well as two of my favorite insane movies, Zardoz and Exorcist II: The Heretic: "I was possessed by a demon. Oh, but it's okay, he's gone now.") is set to direct, from a script based on the best-selling novel Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar. From Wikipedia:

"The book takes the form of a letter to Hadrian's cousin and eventual successor "Mark" (Marcus Aurelius). The emperor meditates on military triumphs, love of poetry and music, philosophy, and his passion for his lover Antinous."

The facts of Antinous are sketchy. He drowned under mysterious circumstances, and his age has been listed anywhere from thirteen to mid twenties.

It'll be interesting to see how Boorman portrays this relationship. Hopefully he learned a lesson from Oliver Stone and the debacle that was Alexander.

As far as casting, it's been rumoured that Antonio Banderas is very close to signing on to play Hadrian, but there's no word on who might play Antinous (unless you go to IMDB, where one of the first entries in the Memoirs of Hadrian message board is "Zac Efron 4 Antonius":

"Have you gazed upon anything more beautiful than this young man? Add a slightly good acting credit and you have a winner. Now whether Disney will allow their most bankable star to star in a gay love story is the question. With rumors already swirling that he's been paired with his costar Vannesa to shield his sexuality, I wouldn't be shocked if they decline when asked. Now that I see it, he is a perfection in every way just as Antinous was some 1000s of years ago."

Wow. That's certainly persuasive, but we're interested to hear your dream casting decisions. Will Antonio make an appropriate Hadrian? And who would you like too see star as his love interest?