In terms of rising stars, one actor we'll likely hear much more of over the next couple of years is Texan Caleb Landry Jones. After debuting as "Boy on Bike" in the Coen Brothers' "No Country For Old Men," Jones has gone from strength to strength, appearing in "The Social Network" (don't worry, we missed his appearance too) before scoring the role of Banshee in Matthew Vaughn's "X-Men: First Class" and moving onto Brandon Cronenberg's "Antiviral" and Neil Jordan's vampire-tale "Byzantium" — both of which will likely premiere in North America later this year.
It seems like his teaming with Jordan has earned him another lead role now on the decades-long gestating John Boorman project, "Broken Dream," which was co-scripted by Boorman and Jones' "Byzantium" helmer. Originally set to star River Phoenix, the story is described as a "love story that takes place in a futuristic world" though Boorman has previously gone into further detail, describing it as the story of "a man, an illusionist who discovers how to make objects disappear, completely disappear, so that everything material becomes a spirit."
Boorman has reportedly been waiting for the right actor to come as Phoenix's replacement which is high praise indeed, though we admittedly haven't seen enough of Jones to support the case. Several Cannes reviews of "Antiviral," however, praised the actor for "an unnerving performance hauling round his freckled wreck of a body" and "a sensational job of showing the void at the heart of his character’s existence, and registers Syd’s illnesses (both real and metaphorical, obviously) well."
Also attached to the project is John Hurt, who has been on board since the project was revived last year and will play Jones' father. A female lead is currently being sought to star opposite Jones while it remains to be seen if Ben Kingsley — whose name was mentioned last year — is still on board. [Deadline]
