James Franco to play gay pastor in new role

Los Angeles  - Emma Roberts and Zachary Quinto have joined the cast of Michael.

The 23-year-old actress and the Heroes star will join James Franco in the upcoming drama about an anti-gay pastor who was once gay himself, Variety reports.

While Franco will take on the role of the pastor, Quinto will play his former boyfriend and Roberts is to star as his current girlfriend, with The Amazing Spider-Man's Chris Zylka also attached to the project as a past love interest.

Michael is based on a New York Times Magazine article titled My Ex-Gay Friend by Benoit Denizet-Lewis about Michael Glatze, a Christian minister who was so entrenched in gay culture before he rejected his homosexuality that he founded a gay youth magazine.

Justin Kelly has been lined up as director while Gus van Sant is executive producer alongside Franco, Vince Jolivette, Michael Mendelsohn, Ron Singer and Scott Reed.

Kelly said of the project: "This isn't just a story about an 'ex-gay'. It's actually a very relatable story about the power of belief and the desire to belong."

Denizet-Lewis added: "I'm excited that everyone involved in this project is intent on telling a story that captures the full breadth of Michael's unusual life, from the inspiring gay leader I knew when I was young to the Christian pastor he is today."

Roberts recently starred alongside Franco in Palo Alto and is currently filming for upcoming comedy-drama Ashby while Quinto, 37, is currently shooting Agent 47, in which he has the lead role.