Jonah Hill has been cast as real-life Olympics security-guard-turned-bombing-suspect Richard Jewell in a new film.

The Wolf of Wall Street star will also produce The Ballad of Richard Jewell alongside pal Leonardo DiCaprio.

Ezra Edelman will direct the film, which will center on Jewell's discovery of a backpack containing pipe bombs at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.

The security guard was briefly considered a hero until he became the prime suspect, accused of planting the backpack. He was later cleared of any wrongdoing, but his life was turned upside down by the allegations levelled against him and he died in 2007 at the age of 44.

It is unclear when Hill will begin filming the movie.