NEW YORK -- Paul Dano will star opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in Paul Thomas Anderson's drama "There Will Be Blood."

In the turn-of-the-century period piece, which Anderson is shrouding in secrecy, the "Little Miss Sunshine" actor will play a gifted, charismatic young preacher who captivates churchgoers. Day-Lewis portrays a tycoon who strikes it rich after gaining oil rights to a family's ranch, turning the small town where Dano's character preaches into a boomtown. The film is loosely based on Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel "Oil!"

It's been a busy time for Dano. His Sundance Film Festival hit "Sunshine" raked in an estimated $51,000 per screen in limited release during the weekend. In addition to "Blood," his upcoming projects include Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's novel "Where the Wild Things Are" for Warner Bros. Pictures. For the film, Dano will be shot on digital video to portray a monster, with his movements and voice used as the model for a live-action puppet.

Dano also has completed Adam Bhala Lough's "Weapons," an indie drama about a series of teen killings in a suburban town in which he plays a disturbed social outcast who's starved for attention.

"Blood" is filming in Texas and Los Angeles. The project, executive produced by Scott Rudin, is being made through an equal partnership with Paramount Vantage and Miramax Films.

Dano is repped by the Gersh Agency and Industry Entertainment.