Sam Keeley cast beside Brendan Gleeson and Cillian Murphy

Sam Keeley’s acting career has taken another step up this week, with news that he’s been cast alongside Brendan Gleeson and Cillian Murphy in “In the Heart of the Sea”.

Scheduled to begin shooting in September, the Warner Bros/Village Roadshow action picture is based on the work of Nathaniel Philbrick.

Directed by Ron Howard, “In the Heart of the Sea” will follow the crew of a whaling ship destroyed by a sperm whale and stranded at sea for 90 days.

Brendan Gleeson is to play an older version of one of the crew’s surviving members who is interviewed years later by “Moby Dick” author Herman Melville about his experiences aboard the ship.

Sam Keeley is to play one of the crew members.

“In the Heart of the Sea” will be produced by Brian Grazer, Joe Roth, Paula Weinstein and William Ward, with Roth Films president Palak Pattel executive producer.

This really is Sam Keeley’s year. The son of singer songwriter Brendan Keeley was last May revealed as being cast in “Monsters: Dark Continent”, the sequel to the critically acclaimed science-fiction horror “Monsters”.

Sam’s latest successes follow his first foray into the acting world aged 19 in “The Other Side of Sleep”, a local production directed by Rebecca Daly. Winning the part of Jamie in “Misfits” followed, while other credits include “This Must Be The Place” alongside Sean Penn.