Jackass daredevil and all-round mentalist Chris Pontius has joined the cast of Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, a comedy/drama set in West Hollywood's Marmont hotel.
Pontius will play Sammy, best friend of Stephen Dorff's hell-raising actor who re-evaluates his life after a surprise visit from his 11 year-old daughter (Benjamin Button's Elle Fanning). We can only speculate, but with his Jackass track-record and a nickname like 'Party Boy', we'd expect Pontius' character to be more likely to represent the lure of booze, drugs and having your arse bitten by baby crocodiles than the forces of abstinence and responsibility.
On the face of it, it's a quirky bit of casting, although the common dominator is Coppola's ex, Spike Jonze, who was co-creator of Jackass and producer on Jackass: The Movie. Unless Coppola was a big fan of Pontius' turn as 'Irish Henchman' in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
Filming on Somewhere is due to start in June and will take place on location in the Marmont. With the man known as 'Pontius the Barbarian' checking in, staff may want to think about strapping down the plasma TVs.