24 year old Joe (represented by Independent Talent) is set to graduate from Central School of Speech and Drama this year, and this is his first screen role.
The film is based on the Ben Fountain novel, and Joe is set to play 19-year-old American private Billy Lynn who survives a harrowing Iraq battle that is captured by news cameras. The group of American soldiers, known as Bravo squad, are sent home for a two-week break following the much-publicised firefight in which they were hailed as heroes. Their promotional tour, culminates at the spectacular halftime show of a Thanksgiving Day football game, all the while the soldiers are facing an imminent return to the war. Almost the entire movie takes place during the day of the game, with flashbacks to the underlying events and Billy’s heroism.
Simon Beaufoy, who won an Oscar for writing Slumdog Millionaire, adapted the book for Film4 and The Ink Factory. It is Ang Lee’s first film since he won the Best Director Oscar for Life Of Pi.
Billy Lynn is due to start filming in April.