Young actor Charlie Plummer is taking the indie world by storm. He has just landed the lead in Andrew Haigh‘s (Weekend) passion project Lean on Pete, according to Deadline. Plummer will play Charley Thompson, a teenage boy abandoned by his mother as a baby and recently left alone after his father’s death. The story follows Charley’s long journey to finding a long lost relative with the stolen racehorse, Lean on Pete, as his only companion. Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs) is already locked in to play the character Del.

According to Haigh, this film, an adaptation of the novel by Willy Vlautin, has been on his bucket list for some time as a filmmaker. Haigh’s breakout film was the acclaimed LGBT drama Weekend (2011). Last year, he made another poignant drama with 45 Years which garnered its lead actress, Charlotte Rampling, an Oscar nomination. Haigh has also written and directed several episodes of HBO’s Looking as well as Looking: The Movie.

Plummer may still be an unknown to most moviegoers, but the actor is making moves to change that. He starred in this year’s coming-of-age tale King Jack which won the audience award at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. Coming up before Lean on Pete, Plummer will be appearing in The Dinner opposite Richard Gere and Laura Linney as well as in Behold My Heart with Marisa Tomei and Timothy Olyphant. Plummer will also be leading the adaptation of the popular children’s novel Stargirl.