The casting, which was first reported by Playbill.com columnist Harry Haun on Aug. 16, was one of the worst kept secrets on Broadway. Word of Nighy's involvement began to circulate in June, those officials for Vertical Hour declined to confirm.

Nighy is a British film with many credits. He received a great deal of attention for his turn as an aging rock star in the 2003 romantic comedy "Love Actually." Since then, he has appeared in "The Constant Gardener" and "Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest."

The Music Box Theatre will be the home to what is Julianne Moore's Broadway debut. The Vertical Hour, will be directed by Sam Mendes, in his first Broadway foray since piloting the Bernadette Peters revival of Gypsy.

Robert Fox, Neal Street Productions and Scott Rudin will produce.

The play is about "a young American war correspondent turned academic who now teaches Political Studies at Yale. A brief holiday with her boyfriend in the Welsh borders brings her into contact with a kind of Englishman whose culture and beliefs are a surprise and a challenge, both to her and to her relationship." The design team for The Vertical Hour includes Scott Pask (scenery), Ann Roth (costumes) and Brian MacDevitt (lighting).

Moore received her big break in films in Robert Altman's 1993 movie "Short Cuts," in which she famously had an argument with the actor playing her husband while half dressed. She then appeared in Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn's unorthodox film adaptation, "Uncle Vanya on 42nd Street." Subsequent films included "Nine Months," "Boogie Nights," "Safe," "The Big Lebowski," "The Ideal Husband" and "The End of the Affair." Her career reached a peak in 2002 with her acclaimed performances in "The Hours" (written by Hare) and "Far From Heaven," Todd Haynes' stylistic tribute to the films of Douglas Sirk. She was Oscar-nominated for both parts.