Patrick Schwarzenegger has joined S. Craig Zahler’s crime film The Bookie & The Bruiser and will play twin brothers Augie and Bernard in a dual role. The film is set in 1959 New York City.
Schwarzenegger’s casting adds another major name to a project already centered on Theo James as Rivner and Vince Vaughn as Boscolo, two World War II veterans who return home changed and build an illicit gambling operation together. Their partnership pulls them into a violent power struggle between the Mafia and an Irish gang.
Zahler wrote and directs the film. Anthony Katagas is producing for Keep Your Head Productions, with Dave Caplan, Dan Bekerman and Vaughn also producing. C2 Motion Picture Group is fully financing the project, while UTA Independent Film Group and Range Select arranged the financing and are representing North American distribution rights.
The move comes after Schwarzenegger’s run of recent screen work, including his turn as Saxon in the third season of The White Lotus and his recent wrap on Bunker, which stars Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. He is also set to star opposite Phoebe Dynevor in Beach Read and has appeared in American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, The Staircase, The Terminal List, Gen V and Moxie.
The Bookie & The Bruiser now has a cast built for a hard-edged period crime drama, and Schwarzenegger’s twin role gives the film a sharper center as it heads toward the Cannes market, where Anton is handling international sales.
