Paul Dano has joined kidnap/revenge thriller “Prisoners” opposite Hugh Jackman, Melissa Leo and Jake Gyllenhaal, according to Variety. Denis Villeneuve will direct in early 2013 the actioner that follows a small-town carpenter (Jackman) whose daughter and daughter’s best friend are kidnapped. When the police fail to find them in a timely manner, he takes the law into his own hands, running into opposition from a big-city detective (Gyllenhaal) on the case. Aaron Guzikowski wrote the script.

Dano can currently be seen playing Joseph Gordon Levitt’s best friend in Rian Johnson’s “Looper”, and was last on screen as the writer who breathed life into Zoe Kazan’s “Ruby Sparks” over the summer. A staple of the indie scene as the star of such films as “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Meek’s Cutoff” and “For Ellen”, he also turned up on some big budget blockbuster shortlists over the past year or so, suggesting he may be keen on more mainstream exposure as well. Dano recently wrapped up filming on Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” opposite Micheal Fassbender.