Javier Bardem Lines Up 'The Gunman' and 'A Most Violent Year'

Whether he's a hero (rare, but it happens) or a villain, Javier Bardem is one of the most compelling actors around, which is why he's been a very busy guy of late. He was just seen in Terrence Malick's To the Wonder, or not seen if you nearly dozed off like I did. He also filmed Ridley Scott's The Counselor, and of course there was that whole Skyfall thing which made a little bit of money somewhere.  After all of that, Bardem isn't slowing down, adding two more projects to his calendar.

First up, Bardem will join Sean Penn in The Gunman, an adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette's novel, The Prone Gunman. The script by Peter Travis (Dredd) has Penn as hired killer Martin Terrier, who wants to leave the business and marry his sweetheart, but his old bosses won't let him go, forcing him to go on the run where he is confronted by Bardem. Pierre Morel (Taken) is behind the camera for that one, so the results are a little tough to predict.

This fall Bardem will star in A Most Violent Year, the next film from Margin Call director, J.C. Chandor. There are absolutely no details on what it could entail, but Bardem will apparently be the "good guy". The film was announced at Cannes, where Chandor and Robert Redford's All is Lost was the surprise hit of the festival. [Deadline]