T.J. Miller Lands Lead in Columbia's 'Road to Nardo' Comedy (Exclusive)

T.J. Miller is in negotiations grab one of the two leads in Road to Nardo, a Columbia picture that is acting as the feature-directing debut of comedy scribe Scot Armstrong.

Neal Moritz, Ravi Nandan and Armstrong are producing the project, which centers on two roommates who go to great and dangerous lengths to save their friend Nardo, who is naked and stranded in Mexico.

Miller will play a fast-talking and slobby guy in his 20s who lives to gamble, drink and hook-up. He jumps into action when he hears Nardo is in a major bind and recruits his more upwardly mobile roommate for the rescue mission.

The role will be a breakthrough for Miller, a stand-up comedian whose feature debut was the J.J. Abrams-produced creature feature Cloverfield. Since then Miller’s had parts in movies such as Extract, She’s Out of My League and Yogi Bear, with a notable role in Tony Scott’s Unstoppable as one of the railworkers that sets the train on its collision course.

Nardo will be the first toplining role for Miller, who is repped by WME and 3 Arts Entertainment, and will reprise the voice of Tuffnut in the sequel to How to Train Your Dragon.