He played several immaculate conceptions in Moon, and now, according to Deadline, Sam Rockwell is circling the role of Sweet Baby Jesus' father Joe, starring alongside Brit popstress Pixie Lott, who's already signed up as the modern-day Mary.
The new Nativity is being set up as a French/British co-production. The jist is that Joe and his pregnant girlfriend Mary are on their way to Bethlehem, Maryland when they get swept up in a media furore over a Second Coming. Kim Cattrall will be playing Mary's mother Darlene (Mary's parents aren't mentioned at all in the Bible, but the Apocrypha names her mother as Anne, fact fans), and Bette Midler will show up to tell the pair that there's no room at the inn.
Lauded for Moon, and fresh off Iron Man 2, it's not immediately clear what might attract Rockwell* to the project, which will be directed by Peter Hewitt (Garfield). Perhaps he had the same response to Steve Blair's screenplay as producer Philippe Rebboah: "I loved it. It made me laugh out loud." Hopefully more than once.
Shooting starts in August, and will take place in Maryland and Ireland.
*Just, really, an enormous fan of Empire's 'Pint of Milk' interview slot