By: Kristy Puchko

Character actor David Meunier has been a frequent face in television for over a decade, but he’s reached a new level of fame/familiarity thanks to his recurring role as Johnny Crowder on FX’s Justified . Playing the career criminal on the acclaimed drama series has helped Meunier catch the eye of film casting agents and director Antoine Fuqua. Deadline reports this TV actor is set to make the leap to film with Fuqua’s upcoming thriller The Equalizer. Meunier is joining a cast that already boasts such notable names as Academy Award-winners Denzel Washington and Melissa Leo , as well as eerie It girl Chloe Grace Moretz .

Based on the 1980s TV series of the same name, The Equalizer will star Washington as Robert McCall, a former covert agent who hires out his services to those in need. Leo will play McCall’s colleague, who clues him in on his clients and adversaries. Moretz will play the female lead, a teen prostitute named Teri, and for his part, Meunier will play her pimp,a brutal and sleazy Russian called Slavi.

The $50 million film has a few notable reteams. Washington is reteaming with Fuqua, who directed him in one of his Oscar-winning performances in Training Day. Washington shared the screen with Leo last year in the Oscar-nominated drama Flight. But this will mark the first time Moretz and Meunier have worked with any of the above.

Of course, Moretz has hardly had a misstep (let’s forget Dark Shadows, okay?) and Meunier has been working toward this breakthrough opportunity for some time. His previous film roles include bit roles as a soldier in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and The Incredible Hulk. Now not only does his character get a name, but he will be sharing what’s sure to be menacing screentime with one of Hollywood’s most highly regarded A-listers. If this goes well, we could be seeing a lot more of Meunier at the movies.

Sony has set The Equalizer to open on April 11, 2014.

Source: Cinema Blend