Aksel Hennie, the Norwegian star of World War II epic "Max Manus,"has signed on to play the lead in Morten Tyldum's "Headhunters," the new crime thriller from Norway's Friland and "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" producers Yellow Bird. Hennie will play Roger Brown, the unscrupulous corporate headhunter and secret art thief from the best seller by Jo Nesbø. Shooting is set to start in Norway in August. The script is from Ulf Ryberg, one of the writers on "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," the final film in the "Millennium" trilogy that began with "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."
Hennie is currently playing alongside Sean Bean and Danny Dyer in Adrian Vitoria's war drama "Age of Heroes." He also had a supporting role in Hans Petter Moland's "A Somewhat Gentle Man," which Strand Releasing recently picked up for U.S. distribution.