'Mercy' actress joins Zac Efron film 'Lucky One'

LOS ANGELES  - Taylor Schilling, one of the stars of NBC's recently canceled medical drama "Mercy," has nabbed the coveted female lead opposite Zac Efron in "The Lucky One," a romantic drama based on the Nicholas Sparks novel.

Efron stars as a U.S. Marine who's survived three tours of duty in Iraq and attributes his good luck to a photograph he carried of a woman (Schilling) he doesn't even know. When he returns to the States, he sets out to find her.

The role was highly sought after among young Hollywood, with Warner Bros. conducting screen tests over the past two weeks. Among the actresses in the running were Abbie Cornish and Katie Cassidy.

Australian filmmaker Scott Hicks ("Shine") is directing "The Lucky One," which goes before cameras in the fall.