The biopic has long been a goldmine for Hollywood as they generally come with a built-in narrative and typically an interesting lead character who is already developed, and recognisable. Stories like Abraham Lincoln's are enduring beyond their time limits, and audiences across the world will invariably eat up anything dedicated to that sort of famous figure. Some of Hollywood's most famous and acclaimed movies such as Lawrence of Arabia and Gandhi were based on historical figures but despite Hollywood's propensity for biopics, the following 15 historical figures have either not an adaption of their life made or have had one that just wasn't very good. Everyone on this list is important from a historical perspective but also either had a very interesting life or at least a very interesting section of their life that could easily be turned into a very good movie. The following list contains a blend of very well known to fairly obscure historical characters that shows the wide range of available stories available in history. The list is in alphabetical order so they are not ranked.
15. Archimedes
Arguably the greatest mathematician of antiquity, Archimedes contributed to so many advances in the scientific world that it would be hard to list his accomplishments. There are tons of fascinating anecdotes about Archimedes that could form the basis for a film about him, including how he determined the purity of gold in a king's crown by measuring the displacement of the crown in a tub of water. According to the anecdote, Archimedes was so excited by his discovery that he ran through the streets naked, yelling "Eureka" over and over. Probably the most fascinating parts of his life was when he was charged with the defenses of Syracuse, where he developed two weapons to hold off invaders. One was known as the claw of Archimedes which was essentially a crane that would lift attacking ships out of the water and drop them, sinking them in the process, while the other, more spectacular weapon was the heat ray, which used reflected light to set fire to attacking ships. While both of these weapons' authenticity has been called into question, for the sake of a movie there's no reason why they couldn't be included. Archimedes is one of the more fascinating people of the antiquity but is not particularly recognizable, so there is plenty of reason for him to get his own movie which could focus on any one of his many accomplishments.
Casting Choice: Joaquin Phoenix has the acting ability to play someone who is at once brilliant and a little bit eccentric and he'd completely throw himself into the role.