Twilight star Xavier Samuel joins Sam Worthington's surfing thriller, Drift

Saying you were in the best film of the Twilight franchise is a lot like saying you appeared on the highest rated episode of The Magic Johnson Show. But that's exactly what Xavier Samuel can say, appearing as chief villain Riley Biers in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. His performance was enough to earn him some other high profile gigs, primarily in Roland Emmerich's Shakespeare conspiracy flick, Anonymous. Now he's lined up another one which will pair him up with another popular Aussie actor, Sam Worthington.

Variety reports that Biers has joined the cast of Drift, an action flick set in the world of competitive surfing.  Morgan O’Neill and Ben Nott are directing, with the story surrounding the Fisher Brothers, Andy and Jimmy, who risk everything to start their own surf business amidst a heavy criminal element.  Worthing is set to play a photographer who plays a big role in the Fishers' rise to prominence. Samuel, along with Myles Pollard, will play the two brothers.

Shooting is set to begin in Australia in August, with a planned summer 2012 release. Check out the synopsis below for more on the Fisher Brothers' story...

PLOT

Australia, 1970s. The Fisher brothers, Andy (28) and Jimmy (22), have one great passion: riding big waves. As kids, their mother escaped from Sydney to Margaret River, a sleepy coastal town with some of the world's most challenging and dangerous waves. For the next 12 years, the boys perfected their surfing skills, always searching for the perfect ride. Free-spirited Jimmy is a gifted surfer and innovator but he starts to slip toward a life of crime to help the family out of debt. Andy makes a big decision. Quitting a stable job, he bets on Jimmy's surf inventions and his own business skills and launches a backyard surf gear business. They rethink board design, craft homemade wetsuits and sell their merchandise out of their van.
Encouraged by their new friends, travelling bohemian surf photographer and filmmaker JB (Sam Worthington) and his gorgeous Hawaiian surfer companion, Lani, who stirs the two brothers' hearts, they start to seek ways to expand.
After they get mixed up with a local drug dealer, it looks like everything they built up, will be ruined...
Set in breathtaking locations and inspired by the true story of Australia's legendary surfwear moguls, the film chronicles the rise of surf brands and the expansion of the laidback surf attitude as a global lifestyle. A story of passion and corruption, friendship and loyalty, deadly addictions and fractured relationships, Drift tells a tale of courage and the will to survive against all odds.