Metallica has been full steam ahead of late, from a two-year tour promoting Death Magnetic and subsequent live album to a paid gig for Call of Duty and some rather high-profile shows featuring some rather high-profile friends. Yet despite the packed itinerary, drummer Lars Ulrich has still found time for another creative endeavor, only this time he’s tackling an entirely different medium: movies.

Blabbermouth.net reports that Ulrich has signed on to perform a role in HBO’s forthcoming drama, Hemingway & Gellhorn, alongside Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen. The Philip Kaufman-directed film is described as “a drama centered on the romance between Ernest Hemingway and WWII correspondent Martha Gellhorn, Hemingway’s inspiration for For Whom The Bell Tolls and the only woman who ever asked for a divorce from the writer.” As for Ulrich, he’s playing the role of Joris Ivens, a Dutch documentarian.

Hemingway & Gellhorn began filming in San Francisco this month and is due out sometime in 2012. Rollingstone.com has a photo from the set featuring Ulrich in full garb.

For those wondering, this isn’t Ulrich’s first time on the silver screen. Check out his cameo in the 2010 film Get Him To The Greek in the video below: