Pouring water over its head and puffing out its cheeks, JJ Abrams' Lance Armstrong movie is in hot pursuit of a certain other project the filmmaker has heading to the screen. Talking to ET, Abrams let slip that his Bad Robot studio is now in informal talks with Bradley Cooper about playing the lie-peddling peddler.

“[Cooper] sent me an email and we've been talking,” Abrams told ET. This won’t come as a big surprise to anyone who heard Cooper express his interest in the role earlier this month. “I think he's fascinating,” the actor told BBC News. “What a fascinating character.”

The film will be based on Cycle of Lies: The Fall Of Lance Armstrong, a book proposal by New York Times sportswriter Juliet Macur, who has followed the cyclist for ten murky years of triumph and transfusions. The story, which, as the title implies, is set firmly at the 'downfall' end of the story, was optioned by Bad Robot and Paramount in mid-January.

With the tenacious Macur providing the portrayal, don't expect this to be a soft-soap biopic of the disgraced athlete. It could be an interesting bit of casting for Cooper, who, with Limitless, has interesting previous in exploring the power of dodgy pharmaceuticals.