Sir Ben Kingsley has joined Robert Pattinson and Dane DeHaan in photographer-turned-filmmaker Anton Corbijn's much-anticipated James Dean movie.

Corbijn has begun principal photography on Life, and he has added a heavyweight to his cast.

The Oscar-winning Sexy Beast star and Italian actress Alessandra Mastronardi will be part of the project, in which DeHaan will play tragic movie icon Dean.

The film centres upon a 1955 road trip that James Dean took with Life Magazine photographer Dennis Stock (Pattinson), months before his death. Stock is credited with taking some of the most iconic images of Dean.

It's not clear who Kingsley and Mastronardi will be playing in the movie.