It was only a matter of time before
Nicholas Hoult found his way to Hollywood. The cherubic young English actor capped a childhood of youth theatre with his appearance as Marcus alongside Hugh Grant is persistent Brit-Flick About a Boy. He subsequently became a sex symbol in the UK as the lead actor in the debut series of hedonistic Skins before returning to pursue his career on the big screen with a notable role in Tom Ford's A Single Man. And it is a career that appears increasingly successful. Of late he has secured the Beast part in X-Men: First Class and then, even more impressively, nabbing the lead in Bryan Singer's fantasy adventure film Jack the Giant Killer. Now the 21 year old has staged something of a coup by sealing the lead role in an adaptation of the soon to be published Isaac Marion novel,
Warm Bodies, at Summit. Hoult will play the lead character, a Zombie who becomes involved in an unlikely romance with the ex-girlfriend of one of his victims. The novel is the first by its author and has developed something of a cult following, including Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) who praised the book for the seamless meshing of themes and myths. Directed by The Wackness creator,
Jonathan Levine, Warm Bodies begins filming this summer once Levine has his Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick cancer comedy 50/50 out of the way. Hoult himself is currently finishing work on Jack the Giant Killer alongside luminaries such as Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci and Bill Nighy ahead of a release sometime early in 2012.