Neil Jordan hasapproached Liam Neeson to join the cast of his upcoming black comedy BreakfastOn Pluto.

Neeson would playthe father of the main character, a boy who flees Ireland to end up as atransvestite prostitute in London, who will be played by rising Irish starCillian Murphy.

Jordan, whostarts shooting for Pathe Pictures in September, directed Neeson in 1996's MichaelCollins. Neeson is currently shooting Batman Begins with Murphy.

"I'm talking tohim," said Jordan, on promotional duty at Cannes. "He's a big man and a nicefellow."

Jordan said partsof Breakfast On Pluto are "like a musical". The director is stilldeciding if that will mean outright song-and-dance numbers, but the 1980s setstory will at least be full of fantasy sequences, music from the 70s and 80sand references to musicals such as South Pacific.

The youngprotagonist, Jordan explained, "turns everything into a day-glo version of adisco that he wants to live in."

Asked whether hecould dance, Murphy deadpanned: "I can ride a horse, dance and speak Italianfluently."