It was bound to happen sooner or later.  Another host from E!‘s The Soup would start to get the attention he/she deserved

Back in 1991, actor Greg Kinnear kicked off what was then known as Talk Soup.  He is now probably better known for his Oscar-nominated work in As Good as It Gets.  Since then, other hosts have moved on from that weekly program to varying degrees of success.  (The most notable ones being Hal Sparks and Aisha Tyler.)  Could current frontman Joel McHale soon be outgrowing the recap roundup as well?

It has just been announced that the 36-year-old comedian will be branching out from the clip show to work on a much larger project.  Joel will soon be starring in The Informant, a new movie from director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven).  McHale is slated to play an FBI agent who will work alongside Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap) and Matt Damon.

Although this is definitely not McHale’s first acting gig - he was most recently on an episode of Pushing Daisies - it’s probably his most high-profile one yet.

Informant will be an adaptation of a 2000 book by journalist Kurt Eichenwald.  The story revolves around a agri-business whistleblower (Damon) who blew the lid off of some price-fixing activities.

Although the movie’s subject matter is far more serious than what we would have normally imagined McHale for, he is actually one of several comedic actors being cast.  Soderbergh is reportedly hoping to infuse this thriller with some dark comedic tones.