Paul Mescal is stepping into the spy world for the first time.

The Emmy and BAFTA-winning Normal People breakout, recently seen in festival favorite Aftersun and last year’s The Lost Daughter, is set to lead A Spy By Nature for Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (The Mauritanian, The Last King of Scotland, State of Play). HanWay Film is launching the project at the American Film Market, with CAA co-repping U.S. rights.

Described as a smart, modern espionage thriller, A Spy By Nature explores a young spy’s growing talent for lying and subterfuge, and the consequences this has on his professional and private lives. The film is adapted by BAFTA winner and Academy Awardnominee John Hodge (Trainspotting, The Beach) from the first novel in Charles Cumming’s bestselling Alec Milius spy series, with the most recent draft by Joseph Charlton (Industry. The film is produced by Chris Clark (All the Money in the World, Calvary, Legend) and Quentin Curtis (All the Money in the World, Legend). Serving as executive producers, HanWay Films and Ingenious Media developed the project together with the producers.

“I’ve wanted to make A Spy By Nature for many years — and when I met Paul Mescal, with his beguiling mixture of intelligence, skill and youth, I knew I’d found the perfect star,” said MacDonald. “This is a very modern spy story — sexy, dangerous, morally ambivalent — and only an actor of Paul’s talent could pull it off.”