Claire Danes is in negotiations to play autistic scientist Temple Grandin in an upcoming HBO biopic.

Grandin, also a leading speaker on autism, is an expert in the field of humane livestock handling and has written influential essays on animal welfare and designing humane slaughterhouses.

She was previously the subject of the BBC documentary “The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow,” as well as the Errol Morris documentary “First Person: Stairway to Heaven.”

Danes would play Grandin from her high school years, when she was teased by other kids for her disorder, to her post-academic period, which saw her holding degrees from several universities.

Mick Jackson (”The Bodyguard”) is set to direct the biopic, for which an October start date in Austin is being eyed.

Danes, known for such films as “Romeo and Juliet” and “Shopgirl,” will next be seen in Richard Linklater’s “Me and Orson Welles.” The drama is scheduled to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.






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