Paul Dano has joined the cast of Twelve Years A Slave, the Steve McQueen-directed adaptation of Solomon Northup’s novel about a free black man who, promised a job playing violin in the circus, is drugged and dragged to Louisiana and sold into slavery, Deadline reported.

Dano will play one of the slave owners who brutalize him. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt also star for New Regency.

Dano stars in and is executive producer of Ruby Sparks, the Fox Searchlight film that was directed by Little Miss Sunshine’s Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, with script by Zoe Kazan. That film opens July 25, and he follows with Looper and For Ellen.