The War And Peace star will lead the cast of Steven, which will chronicle the singer/songwriter's early life struggles after leaving school in his native Manchester, England, and moving from one dead-end job to another, before finding fame as the frontman of the Smiths in the 1980s.

"He did a whole bunch of jobs while he figured out who he was," Lowden explained to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper. "He came from a working-class background, and felt out of place there. He wanted to get out and escape into that explosion of music that was in Manchester around that time. It was exhilarating, and everyone was trying to find their place."

Lowden will also perform a number of the rock band's classics for the film, including This Charming Man, according to TheGuardian.com. Production is scheduled to begin in April (16).

The project will serve as Mark Gill's feature film directorial debut after previously scoring an Oscar nomination for his 2011 short, The Voorman Problem, which he also co-wrote with his Steven collaborator, William Thacker.

Morrissey, real name Steven Patrick Morrissey, has yet to comment on the unauthorised biopic plans or Lowden's casting.