Just the other day I was noting that Drive seemed to have gone from being a fairly generic sounding bit of fluff that was set to star Hugh Jackman (with Neil Marshall directing), to something far more intriguing with Bronson’s Nicholas Winding Refn taking over the director’s chair, and a cast including Ryan Gosling, Bryan Cranston and Carey Mulligan.
Now another rather intriguing bit of casting has emerged, with Albert Brooks set to play the villain. Brooks is best known as a comic actor, writer and director, so this would seem to be a bit of a departure for him, and should be particularly strange for the younger generation, who only know him as the voice of Nemo’s dad in Finding Nemo.
According to Deadline, he’ll play mob boss Bernie Rose, who’s newly arrived in LA and not to be messed with. The adaptation of the James Sallis novel is about a nameless Hollywood stuntman (Gosling), who moonlights as a freelance getaway driver during robberies. When a bank heist goes wrong, he ends up on the run with a contract on his head and an ex-cons girlfriend (Mulligan) in his car. Shooting is due to start next month.