Johnny Depp has confirmed that Al Pacino has accepted a role in the biopic of artist Amedeo Modigliani, which will become Depp’s second film as director. Pacino will play the role of real-life art collector Maurice Gangnat (whose portrait was painted in 1916 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir) in Modi, a drama adapted from a play by Dennis McIntyre.

Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio has been cast in the title role, while French actor Pierre Niney is to play fellow artist Maurice Utrillo. Modi is due to start shooting in Budapest, Hungary, in the autumn, and will be Depp’s first film as director since The Brave, released in 1997.