Although he’s worked with directors such as Terrence Malick and Baz Luhrmann, talented Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn‘s major breakout came with 2010’s crime drama Animal Kingdom. Since then, however, he’s been searching for a worthy follow-up in the spotlight. After the duds Trespass and Killer Elite, he was briefly featuring in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight Rises this summer and sadly, this fall’s Andrew Dominik drama Killing Them Softly went overlooked.

Thankfully, he is gearing up for a major 2013, with roles alongside Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling in The Place Beyond the Pines, as well as a role in the latter’s directorial debut, How to Catch a Monster. Variety now chimes in with another promising role, as he’s booked the independent drama Mississippi Grind, starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal.

Set to be directed and written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the duo behind Half Nelson and Sugar, the story will follow “a down-on-his-luck gambler (Mendelsohn) facing crushing debt who teams up with a younger gambling addict (Gyllenhaal) in an attempt to change his luck. The two set off on a road trip through the South with visions of winning back what has been lost.” Although no production date has been set yet, hopefully we’ll see this promising project by year’s end.

Are you looking forward to seeing Mendelsohn and Gyllenhaal together?

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