Kevin Smith (who has been busy of late with next feature Red State) has been talking on his podcast about the lead he’s cast in his long-in-gestation hockey comedy Hit Somebody.

The director originally wanted Seann William Scott for the role but has settled on a younger actor by the name of Nicholas Braun instead. 22 year-old Braun probably won’t be recognisable over this side of the pond, but he had a part in superhero high school comedy Sky High, and he’s the male lead in the (yet unseen in the UK) ABC TV family series Ten Things I Hate About You – a spin-off from the 1999 feature of the same name.

The director claims that Braun “is the perfect lead”, having discovered him when he was cast in a small part in Red State.

Hit Somebody is scheduled to begin filming sometime next summer.