Lucy Punch is the next Nicole Kidman -- in the new Woody Allen film.

The British actress wowed the writer-director with a screen test and secured the role that Kidman had taken in March and vacated weeks later because of a scheduling conflict.

The relative unknown, who starred on the CBS series "The Class" and had roles in "Hot Fuzz" and "Ella Enchanted," joins Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins in the untitled project.

The film will shoot in London in the summer.

Punch also will appear in "Young Americans," a Universal Pictures comedy scheduled for release in January.

(China Daily/Agencies May 31, 2009)