Now, we know and love Phillip Seymour Hoffman for his versatility, but if there's one genrewith which we don't immediately associate him, it's rom-com (and no, Along Came Polly doesn't count). That's all set to change though, with Hoffman signed on to direct and star in Jack Goes Boating, an adaptation of Bob Glaudini's off-beat, off-Broadway hit play.
Hoffman will reprise his on-stage role as Jack, a spliff-smoking NY limo driver with an affection for all things rasta, with Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone, The Wire) co-starring as Connie, the object of his hazy affections. John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega are also transferring from the stage production to play Jack's well-meaning friends.
As rom-coms go, Jack Goes Boating promises to be quirkier than your average - more Little Miss Sunshine than **Serendipity **- as the unconventional couple bond while cooking, swimming and, presumably, scouring the city for munchies.
Hoffman is currently appearing in another theatrical adaptation, Doubt, and is next up playing an American disc jockey in The Boat That Rocked, Richard Curtis' comedy set on a seafaring '60s pirate radio station.
Filming on Jack Goes Boating begins on February 9.