Al Pacino set to play former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno on screen

American actor Al Pacino is set to star in HBO's movie on the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal that took down Penn State's illustrious college football program.

According to the reports, Barry Levinson will direct the film.

Pacino will portray Joe Paterno, the winning coach in college football history, who becomes embroiled in the sexual abuse scandal surrounding his longtime assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

The scandal challenges his legacy and forces him to face questions about institutional failure on behalf of the victims.

Paterno died in early 2012 of complications from lung cancer, just two months after he was fired from his long-time coaching job.

Debora Cahn (‘Grey's Anatomy’, ‘The West Wing’), John C. Richards (‘Sahara’, ‘Nurse Betty’) and David McKenna (‘SWAT’, ‘American History X’) will pen the script.