Frank Gillo is a man most of you are probably not familiar with. However, with upcoming roles in Warrior (Gavin O’Connor) and Lay The Favorite (Stephen Frears), you may start hearing his name a lot more often. The 48-year-old actor is looking to prove his skills on the big screen and it looks like his lucky day, with two equally big projects coming his way.

The first of those is The Gangster Squad, a film directed by Ruben Fleischer (marking a change from his comedic first two efforts) and already featuring a very impressive ensemble cast. He will be joining Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi, Holt McCallany, Emma Stone and Robert Patrick so his performance will have to be pretty special. Set amongst the L.A.P.D.’s fight against the rising mafia in the 1940s, the film is based on a true story and shall take place in the east coast. Gillo is set to play Ragan, a gangster who works on the continental wire service. No word on how big his role will be or any prospective release date but it shall probably release around late 2012.

The second movie is another cop drama, End of Watch, helmed by David Ayer. Starring alongside such stars as Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick and America Ferrara, Gillo will play the commanding officer (remember, he’s no spring chicken) of two longtime partners (presumably Gyllenhaal & Pena), so it should be a fairly meaty role. Again, no confirmed release date but, again, most likely late 2012. Hopefully Ayer can make something original with a generic sounding plot. [The Playlist]

Are you looking forward to the two films? Which one looks better to you?