Tony Winner Nina Arianda Tapped to Play Janis Joplin

Right on the heels of a Tony win for her performance in David Ives’ "Venus in Fur," Nina Arianda has been tapped to tackle the iconic rocker Janis Joplin in a biopic dubbed "Joplin." It marks Arianda's first leading role in a feature film. Along with channeling the late star's psyche, Arianda will be singing 21 of her legendary songs.

Directed by Sean Durkin (best known for "Martha Marcy May Marlene"), the movie will focus on the final half year of the troubled singer's life interspersed with flashbacks to the beginnings of her career, according to Deadline.com.

Renée Zellweger and Zooey Deschanel were previously linked to the film.

Arianda, whose screen credits include "Midnight in Paris" and "Tower Heist," will undoubtedly be compared with Bette Midler, who played a fictionalized version of Joplin in the 1979 film "The Rose." Midler walked off with an Oscar nomination for her performance.