It looks like Omar Sy is ready to come to America. The French actor is already known to those keeping a pulse on international cinema, emerging as part of the comic duo Omar et Fred, he worked his way into the movies and broke through in a huge way with 2011’s smash hit “The Intouchables,” which managed to earn him a Best Actor at the Cesars, and roles in Michel Gondry‘s “Mood Indigo” and “X-Men: Days Of Future Past.” And he’s continuing to make an impression stateside, booking another role, though one quite different than his other more crowd-pleasing efforts.
Sy is joining the previously reported Jason Clarke in “Traffic” writer Stephen Gaghan‘s next directorial effort, “The Candy Store.” The film interweaves several storylines set against the underworld in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, and follows a former covert operative (Clarke), who discovers the organization he was dedicated to fighting is now operating in his new backyard. When he teams up with a disgraced local cop, their investigation leads them to a king pimp (Sy), a Cold War consigliere, and a beautiful girl wrapped up in an elaborate threat against Manhattan.
There’s no mention in the official press release of Chris Hemsworth, linked to the project last fall, but maybe he’s fallen off and/or his deal is still coming together. But regardless, there are a good handful of roles up for grabs it seems, in what sounds like another intriguing, sprawling tale from Gaghan. There’s no start date yet for this one, which will head to Cannes for international sales, and we presume financing will get firmed up there as well. But the movie does have a home with Lionsgate, so hopefully we’ll be seeing it soon.