Ray Stevenson finished work in Rome and suddenly found himself a star, heading up The Punishe****r: War Zone and landing roles in The Book of Eli and Cirque du Freak. Now he's added a lead role in The Irishman to that roster, where he'll star alongside Christopher Walken and Val Kilmer.
Despite the title, the film doesn't actually take place in the land of 40 shades of green, but in Cleveland, Ohio where mobster Danny Greene ruled the underworld in the 1970s. Stevenson will play Greene, Walken an infamous loan shark and nightclub owner called Shondor Birns and Kilmer a city cop who befriends Greene (who, funnily enough, was obsessed with the colour green). Cue attempted car bombs, successful car bombs and conflict with the Mafia.
The whole thing is based on Rick Porrello's book To Kill The Irishman: The War That Cripped The Mafia, with director Jonathan Hensleigh (who, ironically, directed the other Punisher movie) adapting the script. Filming begins later this month on what sounds like an interesting story. And for those of you making the obvious objection, Stevenson may have been brought up in northern England, but he was born in Lisburn so he's got some Irish roots after all.