George Clooney in "Michael Clayton"

George Clooney is set to play the title character in Michael Clayton. Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton and Sydney Pollack have also joined the cast with Tony Gilroy making his directorial debut from his own script.

Clooney's character is an attorney at a high-powered law firm; he's sort of a "janitor" who is called in to fix messes that no one else can handle. However, when Michael's friend and old associate, Arthur Edens (Wilkinson), goes off his meds, melts down in a deposition, and starts helping the plaintiffs build their class action case against Agtek, a chemical company that is the firm's most lucrative client, Michael has his work cut out for him. Arthur's sudden "suicide" has Michael wondering what role Agtek has played in the death.

Production is scheduled to begin January in New York.