Sam Rockwell continues to impress me with his diverse roles. I initially wrote him off as just a comedic supporting actor thanks to movies like Galaxy Quest and Midsummer Night’s Dream. While he may have continued the supporting role shtick in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, he proved that he can handle more than the second fiddle roles with a part that might as well have been the lead, while impressing the eight people who actually gave Confessions of a Dangerous Mind the time of day.

Now Rockwell is sporting a major beard for his upcoming flick, which puts him back in a leading role for a part that sounds like it could be both comedic and serious. The actor told MTV Movies Blog about his upcoming project with director Duncan Jones, titled Moon.

In the movie, Rockwell will play a man who winds up stranded on the moon for three years. It’s a science-fiction piece, although how the character gets to the moon or why he’s stranded there hasn’t been disclosed.

If you ask me, one of the hardest tasks an actor can pull off is a believably portraying a character stranded or exiled. Tom Hanks has done it, as has Will Smith. Will Rockwell be the next name added to the list?