Amy Schumer taking detour into drama for PTSD film from American Sniper writer

The film will mark the comedy actor's first dramatic role

(Getty)

Amy Schumer, best known for starring in comedies, is taking a plunge into the drama genre for the first time.

Deadline has reported how the Trainwreck actor will star in Thank You For Your Service, a film that follows a group of US soldiers - stricken by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - who return from Iraq struggling to integrate themselves back into civilian life.

That the film will be directed by Jason Hall may come as no surprise; he wrote the Clint Eastwood-directed American Sniper which treads similar ground in its focus on the after effects of war on returning veterans.

The adaptation of David Finkel's novel is now in production and also stars Miles Teller, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Peaky Blinders' Joe Cole.

This marks an impressive career turn for Schumer who could have easily coasted on comedy roles for as long as she chose; the actor was Golden Globe-nominated for her role in Trainwreck, a film that she wrote, and, in January, her satirical sketch show Inside Amy Schumer was renewed for a sixth season.

It was recently revealed that Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence were writing a screenplay for a film in which the two would star as sisters.