Canadian actor Kevin Zegers has been tapped for the role of Alec Lightwood in teen franchise hopeful “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones”, according to Just Jared. He joins Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell-Bower, Robert Sheehan, Jemima West and fellow Canadian Godfrey Gao in the production set to film next month.

Collins stars as Clary Fray, a seemingly ordinary human girl who discovers that she can see supernatural beings that no one else can and gets drawn into the world of the Shadowhunters, humans born with angelic blood who hunt and kill demons. Campbell-Bower is male lead and Clary’s love interest Jace Wayland, while Sheehan’s Simon is Clary’s best friend who harbors a secret crush on her and plays in a band. West plays fellow Shadowhunter Isabelle and Zegers’ Alec is Isabelle’s brother, also a Shadowhunter. He also harbors a secret flame for Jace and is cold towards Clary at first because of it, though he ultimately realizes Gao’s Magnus, an 800 year old warlock, is his true love. Harald Zwart is directing the first movie based on Cassandra Clare’s best-selling teen novels and the film is scheduled for release on August 23, 2013.

Zegers had roles in “Transamerica” opposite Felicity Huffman’s Oscar-nominated turn, “The Jane Austen Book Club” and is a recurring guest on The CW series “Gossip Girl.” He’s currently filming indie drama “All the Wrong Reasons” opposite Adam Brody and Sarah Gadon.