Both Lenny Kravitz and Bernie Mac - two men not exactly known for their dramatic acting work - have recently signed on to play roles that they hope will defy expectations. Mac will be joining Terrence Howard in PDR, the true-story-of-redemption swimming coach movie in which he'll play a janitor. Together, the two characters successfully keep a rec center (presumably that's where the swimming happens) open, and turn it into a "vital community center." I don't know about anyone else, but I feel uplifted already.

Kravitz, meanwhile, will be taking on a slightly darker role: he's agreed to star in a screen version of Ray Shell's forthcoming debut novel, Iced. In the movie, Kravitz will play a musician with a crack addiction (hopefully the second part of that is going to be a bigger stretch for him than the former); the story follows him over the course of his early career, as the impact of his drug use deepens. The film will be directed by Lee Daniels, whose short career has included production credits on Monster's Ball, The Woodsman, and Shadowboxer, his only other directorial effort.