Jacob Tremblay to Star in Xavier Dolan's 'The Death and Life of John F. Donovan' (Exclusive)

Jessica Chastain and Natalie Portman are also among the cast for the film, which is being sold at Berlin's EFM by Seville International.

Jacob Tremblay, who broke out with his heart-breaking work in Oscar-nominated drama Room, has joined the high-wattage cast of The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, the new drama from Xavier Dolan.

Tremblay will star alongside Kit Harington, Jessica Chastain, Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon and Kathy Bates.

The movie is already shooting in Montreal and will move to Prague, the U.K. and New York.

Set in the early 2000s, Donovan centers on an adult American TV star (Harington) and his correspondence with a young actor-to-be (Tremblay) living with his mother (Portman) in England. Their lives take dramatic turns when the existence of their pen pal relationship is publicly exposed, eliciting the most ill-founded assumptions, and sending Donovan into a tailspin. The movie is set in two time periods, with the other being a decade later, when the young actor recollects his relationship with his past idol over the course of an interview.

Seville International is handling international sales of the film with select exceptions. In France, Mars Films has the rights. In the U.S., CAA is repping the rights. eOne and Les Films Séville will directly distribute the film throughout Canada including Quebec.

Dolan and frequent collaborator Nancy Grant are producing along with Lyse Lafontaine of Lyla Films. Joe Iacono is exec producing.

Room earned Tremblay a SAG nomination as well as awards such as the Canadian Screen Award, Critics' Choice Award and National Board of Review award.

Since busting out in Room, Tremblay has nabbed roles placing him with in-demand directors and high-profile actors. He is starring in Wonder, Lionsgate’s adaptation of the R.J. Palacio novel by Stephen Chbosky that also stars Julia Roberts, and The Book of Henry, a dramatic thriller from Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow that also stars Naomi Watts. Most recently, he landed a leading role in Shane Black’s Predator reboot for Fox.

He is repped by UTA, Play Management and Jackoway Tyerman.