Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson have joined Natalie Portman in the indie dramedy Hesher.

Spencer Susser makes his feature directorial debut in the story about a good-for-nothing twentysomething who injects himself into the life of an awkward 13 year-old living with his pill-popping father and grandmother. Gordon-Levitt will play the title character, whose presence in the boy’s life has both its positive and negative influences. Wilson is cast as the boy’s struggling father, who is trying to hold his family together after the death of his wife.

Portman, who is also producing, will play a supermarket worker the boy falls for after saving him from bullies.

It’ll be interesting to see Wilson cast against type here, as the somber character description at least sounds like a far cry from his typical jokester shenanigans. Portman is always interesting to watch, but the real draw here is JGL. He’s easily one of the most talented and intriguing actors of his age group, and has turned in some of the best screen performances we’ve seen in the last decade (Manic, Mysterious Skin, and Brick to name a few). He was just cast in a lead role for Chris Nolan’s Inception, and at this point, I’d watch anything he’s involved with. What can I say, the guy’s come a long way since his 3rd Rock From The Sun days.

Check out the full Hollywood Reporter article here.

Tags: Hesher, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, Rainn Wilson, Spencer Susser