The road to a Marvin Gaye biopic has not been an easy one, and there have been several false starts. Julien Temple is currently in pole position to make it happen with his film Sexual Healing, and he 's locked in Jesse L Martin lined up to play the Motown legend.

Back in November, it appeared that Lenny Kravitz would be parlaying his Hunger Games acting experience and his music background into the role, but that didn’t work out when Gaye’s son objected to the casting. But Martin, who has been linked with the role in the past, is the chosen one.

He will be starring in a film that follows Gaye’s time in Europe in the early 1980s as he struggled with his addictions and tried to re-ignite his career. Brendan Gleason is on board to play Freddy Couseart, the music promoter who helped out on that front.

Lest you only know Martin from his time spent walking the beat on Law & Order, he boasts an extensive musical background, which saw him originate the part of Tom Collins on stage in Rent, a performance he reprised in the film version.

Last seen in Joyful Noise, Martin is currently also attached to music drama Silent Rhythm, though Temple will be kicking off shooting Sexual Healing later this month in Europe, so we’d expect Martin to shoot that first.