Lance Armstrong has compared himself to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, while a man who can be named, Ben Foster, plays him in a new movie and bears an uncanny resemblance to the fallen cyclist.
In an interview published in the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph just before the release of the first trailer for the film, The Program, Armstrong, 43, talks about how he feels he has been treated since his doping scandal. He had years ago admitted to using banned performance-enhancing drugs and was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and a 2000 Olympic bronze medal.
"I'm that guy everybody wants to pretend never lived," The Telegraph quoted Armstrong as saying in comments posted on Wednesday. "But it happened, everything happened. We know what happened. Now it's swung so far the other way...who's that character in Harry Potter they can't talk about? Voldemort? It's like that on every level. If you watch the Tour on American TV, if you read about it, it's as if you can't mention him."
"It will not be the case forever because it can't be the case forever," he added. "That won't work, people aren't stupid."
In October 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) report revealed that Armstrong was involved in a program involving steroids, human growth hormone and blood transfusions. He admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs publicly for the first time in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired months later. The USADA has banned Armstrong from professional cycling for life.
Irish journalist David Walsh, chief sports writer for the U.K. newspaper The Sunday Times, helped uncover the doping scandal and co-wrote the 2004 book L.A. Confidentiel: Les Secrets de Lance Armstrong. Irish actor Chris O'Dowd, 35, plays him in The Program.
As seen in a trailer released on Thursday, the movie also depicts a press conference in which 34-year-old Foster's Armstrong paraphrases denial comments made by the actual cyclist before the inquiry report: "I'm the most tested athlete on the face of the planet. I have never tested positive to performance enhancing drugs."
The Program also stars Lee Pace, 36, as Armstrong's agent, while Dustin Hoffman, 77, also makes an appearance. The movie is expected to be released later this year.