Kidman linked to transsexual role

Rex Features

Nicole Kidman will reportedly portray the first man to undergo a sex change operation in a film adaptation of David Ebershoff's novel The Danish Girl.

The book is loosely based on the true story of Danish painter Einar Wegener (Kidman), who in 1931 rocked sensibilities by undergoing the procedure.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Charlize Theron will play Wegener's Californian wife, Greta, who unwittingly began the transformation by asking her husband to pose as a female opera singer in order that she could finish a portrait.

Kidman will apparently produce the period film, with Anand Tucker linked to direct.