Vincent Kartheiser

"Mad Men" star Vincent Kartheiser has joined the cast of Andrew Niccol’s untitled sci-fi thriller, formerly known as "I’m.mortal," the actor’s representation at Paradigm has confirmed to TheWrap.

Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy star in the film, which is set in a world where no one ages beyond 25, except for those who can afford to buy more time.

Timberlake will play a rebel from the ghetto who is falsely accused of murdering a wealthy man for his time. He ends up taking a beautiful hostage and going on the run from a ruthless law enforcement officer named Timekeeper Leon (Murphy).

The 31-year-old Kartheiser will play Seyfried’s father, despite a mere 7-year age difference. His character will be forced to choose between the daughter he loves and the oppressive time system that he has prospered from.

Collins Pennie ("Half Nelson," "Prom Night" — talk about a difference in quality!) has also joined the cast as Murphy’s right-hand man.

Niccol wrote the New Regency movie, which will be distributed by 20th Century Fox. Eric Newman and Marc Abraham are producing through their company Strike Entertainment, whose Kristel Laiblin will exec produce.

I’m pleased to see that all the parties involved came to their senses and decided to ditch the original, overly-clever title. It might look good on the cover of a screenplay but for a teen-oriented movie, it would’ve seemed a little pretentious on a theater marquee.

As for Kartheiser, the gifted actor first came to my attention in 1997’s "Masterminds," a fun-but-forgettable film in which he played a teenage troublemaker thrown into a "Die Hard"-type scenario when his prep school is taken over by a bunch of bad guys led by Patrick Stewart.

He followed that up with a serious, star-making turn opposite James Woods in Larry Clark’s "Another Day in Paradise," and by that time, he had cemented himself in my then-14-year-old book as an actor to watch.

Sure enough, Kartheiser went on to play Connor on the popular TV show "Angel," and he currently stars as the weaselly Pete Campbell on AMC’s Emmy-winning series.

In addition to Paradigm, Kartheiser is represented by Untitled Entertainment. His casting was first reported by Variety.