Tim Roth Joins Cillian Murphy In 'Broken,' Film Debut Of Theater Director Rufus Norris

Actor Also Joins Peter Mullan In Hitman Flick 'The Liability'

Tim Roth's got to be looking over at old pal and compatriot Gary Oldman with a little envy right now. Roth might have found moderate success on U.S. TV with "Lie To Me" (and he's been signed to a deal with Fox TV for another series), but his co-star in "Meantime" and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" is appearing in billion-dollar "Harry Potter" and "Batman" movies and looking like a serious potential to be a Best Actor nominee at the Oscars for his amazing performance in "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy."

But now "Lie To Me"'s been cancelled, and Roth's got time to before his next series, he's heading back to the big screen; he'll star with Richard Gere and Brit Marling in "Arbitrage," and according to a couple of sources, he's signed on to a pair of new movie projects. The Hollywood Reporter say that Roth will headline the cast of "Broken," a drama that marks the feature debut of Rufus Norris, an acclaimed British theater director who's been behind acclaimed stage productions of "Festen," "Cabaret," "Vernon God Little" and "London Road," among others.

The script, an adaptation of Daniel Clay's novel by "Boy A" writer Mark O'Rowe, made the Brit List last year, and focuses on a girl in a London suburb who witnesses a violent attack, which has huge repercussions on her life. Roth will lead a cast that also includes Cillian Murphy, acclaimed British stage actor Rory Kinnear ("Quantum of Solace"), Robert Emms ("Anonymous"), Zana Marjanovic (Angelina Jolie's upcoming "In The Land Of Blood and Honey"), Bill Milner ("Son of Rambow," "X-Men: First Class"), and, in the lead, newcomer Eloise Laurence.

For what it's worth, we'd also heard on the grapevine a while back that Andrew Garfield was being courted for a part in the film, with the actor keen for Norris to direct him on the London stage in a production of "Hamlet" later in 2012, but it's unclear if that's come to anything -- it's possible that Murphy, or one of the other cast members, has taken on the part. Shooting begins later in the months, so we imagine this'll hit the fall festival circuit next year.

According to Deadline, Roth will then go straight on to another home-grown flick; "The Liability." The plot of the dark comedy involves a veteran hitman and a would-be protege grudgingly brought along for the ride, who face off against a beautiful vigilante. The actor stars alongside the great Peter Mullan and Talullah Riley ("Inception"), and Craig Viveiros, who helmed the British prison flick "Ghosted" earlier in the year, is directing. It's good to see Roth back on screen, and hopefully both projects will be worthy of his talents.