Inge-dude Josh Peck first made a name for himself as a child star as half of the comedy team on Nickelodeon's step-brother sitcom Drake & Josh. Since the series wrapped in 2007, Peck has been working hard to successfully make the leap from kiddie parts to more mature roles with a supporting turn opposite Owen Wilson in the goofy comedy Drillbit Taylor and an eye-catching lead in Jonathan Levine's urban-set indie drama The Wackness.
In the latter, Peck broke away from his squeaky clean Nickelodeon image by playing a teen pot dealer who experiences a crucial emotional awakening during a steamy summer in 1994 New York City. Now it looks like 2012 could be the make-or-break moment for Peck. Set to co-star in the upcoming horror-thriller ATM as well as the rising-star-studded remake of Red Dawn, he's finally being offered his chance to prove his prowess as a leading man in more mainstream fare.
Variety reports that Peck will star opposite How to Make It America's James Ransone from TV's in an apocalyptic Western-thriller called The Timber. Anthony O'Brien, who wrote and directed the 2008 sports-driven coming-of-age drama Perfect Sport, is developing the script from an original story he created with collaborators Colin Ossiander and Steve Allrich. The film, which will be O'Brien's sophomore effort, posits Peck and Ransone in the harsh backdrop of the 1898 Yukon gold rush as two brothers seeking their missing father. Little do they know their dad's become deranged and lost amid the expansive Yukon Territory.
Ransone might also manage to break through with The Timber, after a film career predominantly populated by supporting turns in crime thrillers like The Next Three Days and the critically reviled The Son of No One.
There's no word on when The Timber is slated to go into production, or who might play the pair's demented father.
