Michele Morrone Cast as Sexy Enzo in “The Housemaid ”with Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney (Exclusive)

The upcoming film, directed by Paul Feig, is based on the hit book by Freida McFadden

Dec 17, 2024 - 12:19
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Michele Morrone Cast as Sexy Enzo in “The Housemaid ”with Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney (Exclusive)

The upcoming film, directed by Paul Feig, is based on the hit book by Freida McFadden

Courtesy of Getty Images/Daniele Venturelli/WireImage; Grand Central Publishing From L: Michele Morrone; cover of The Housemaid (2022) by Freida McFadden

Courtesy of Getty Images/Daniele Venturelli/WireImage; Grand Central Publishing From L: Michele Morrone; cover of The Housemaid (2022) by Freida McFadden

Michele Morrone is the latest addition to The Housemaid's cast.

PEOPLE can exclusively reveal that Morrone, of 365 Days fame, will play Enzo, the sexy groundskeeper with a mysterious past who works for Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and her husband, as a woman named Millie (Sydney Sweeney) arrives to work as a new housemaid.

Based on the first novel in the bestselling thriller series by Freida McFadden, The Housemaid will be directed by Paul Feig, with Rebecca Sonnenshine writing the script.

Morrone, 34, tells PEOPLE he "heard rumblings about how incredible this book and series was from a number of people" and immediately related to the character.

"When it was mentioned that the character of Enzo was actually an Italian landscaper, I thought, 'Well, that couldn’t be any closer to my journey.' Because before I started working as an actor, I actually was a landscaper in Italy, which I loved," says the actor, who starred opposite Megan Fox in the recent viral hit Subservience.

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Grand Central Publishing Cover of The Housemaid (2022) by Freida McFadden

Grand Central Publishing Cover of The Housemaid (2022) by Freida McFadden

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In the book, protagonist Millie develops a close relationship with Enzo while working for Nina and Andrew Winchester (It Ends With Us star Brandon Sklenar), cleaning their home, cooking and keeping an eye on their daughter Cecilia.

But things soon begin to unravel inside the Winchester home, with Millie, who has a marred past of her own, discovering more than she bargained for — and a twist ending that readers have buzzed about since The Housemaid was published in 2022.

There have since been two more books in the series, 2023's The Housemaid's Secret and 2024's The Housemaid Is Watching, along with McFadden's recently published companion short story The Housemaid's Wedding.

"I can’t even express how excited I am to announce that #TheHousemaidMovie is coming soon!!! " wrote McFadden on Instagram in October. "@Lionsgate has come up with the absolute perfect cast and director, and I am just so grateful! I mean, Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, and Paul Feig … mind blown!!!!"

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Getty Images for Armani Beauty; WireImage From L: Sydney Sweeney in Venice, Italy, on Aug. 31, 2024; Amanda Seyfried in New York City on Oct. 23, 2024

Getty Images for Armani Beauty; WireImage From L: Sydney Sweeney in Venice, Italy, on Aug. 31, 2024; Amanda Seyfried in New York City on Oct. 23, 2024

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Morrone says, "I am really excited to take this journey with Enzo because I think he will have some very interesting and secretive plot lines layered into the movie."

He has also already met Sweeney, 27, sharing that the two became acquainted on a Zoom call "recently while we were shooting other projects, and we had such a great conversation about the movie, the characters and about life. She is a lot of fun."

"I haven’t met Amanda, but I am looking forward to meeting her," Morrone adds of Seyfried, 39. "I can't wait to be back on set with Paul Feig again and to be all together making the books come to life!" (Morrone is also set to appear in Feig's upcoming A Simple Favor 2.)

Feig, 62, will co-produce The Housemaid alongside Laura Fischer and Hidden Pictures’ Todd Lieberman, while the latter company's Carly Kleinbart Elter will oversee the project. Chelsea Kujawa and Erin Jones-Wesley are overseeing for distributor Lionsgate.

Aside from their starring roles, Sweeney and Seyfried serve as executive producers, alongside Alex Young and McFadden.