Wendell Pierce is one of those cats that just keeps working it seems. He may not be getting those coveted *leading man* roles, but he stays busy, and does good work when he’s presented with it, whether on stage or on screen.

He’s now in the cast of a Taylor Hackford thriller that already includes Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Clifton Collins Jr., Michael Chiklis, and Patti LuPone.

Titled Parker, the film is based on novel called Flashfire by Donald Westlake.

The story centers on a “thief who, though at times is forced to be a killer, still lives by a code of honor that includes never stealing money from people who need it.“

Statham plays the lead; Nolte is his mentor; Lopez plays “a real estate agent who finds that a little larceny may in fact be in the cards for her.;” no word on what role Wendell Pierce plays.

Shooting just began in new Orleans, with a release planned for October 12, 2012.