Gerard Depardieu is to play Russian dictator Joseph Stalin in a new movie, according to reports.

The French actor will star in the project, translated as Stalin’s Sofa, which will be directed by actress Fanny Ardant, said The Hollywood Reporter.

The movie is based on French author Jean-Daniel Baltassat’s 2013 novel.

Gerard Depardieu was presented with a Russian passport by Vladimir Putin in 2013 after moving to avoid higher taxes in his native France.

The actor’s move to Russia came after he criticized French President Francois Hollande’s plans to raise taxes to 75% for those earning more than 1 million euro.

Gerard Depardieu accused the government of punishing “success, creation and talent”.

In 2011, Gerard Depardieu played the lead role in Rasputin, a Franco-Russian production about the life of eccentric monk.

He also recently announced a movie about WW2 French fighter aces who flew alongside Red Air Force pilots over the Eastern Front.

Joseph Stalin, the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for more than 25 years, helped the allies defeat Nazism.

However, Joseph Stalin’s regime of terror caused the death and suffering of tens of millions.

The new movie, to be produced by French/Portuguese company Leopardo Filmes, is to be set in the 1950s Soviet Union and will center on a young artist commissioned to create Joseph Stalin’s monument.