Mike Birbiglia Cast In ‘The Fault In Our Stars’

Comedian Mike Birbiglia has been cast in The Fault in Our Stars.

Author John Green tweeted the news Wednesday, writing, “So excited to announce that one of my all-time favorite comedians/humans, Mike Birbiglia, will play Patrick in the TFiOS movie.”

Birbiglia joins Shailene Woodley, who plays Hazel, and Ansel Elgort, who plays Augustus. Birbiglia’s Patrick is the leader of the Cancer Kid Support Group that both Hazel and Augustus join to deal with their diagnoses.

Birbiglia is best known for his one-man off-Broadway show, Sleepwalk with Me. A film based on the show premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and won the NEXT Audience Award. He is also a contributor on This American Life. The 35-year-old Shrewsbury, Massachusetts native has also appeared in Going the Distance, Cedar Rapids, and Girls.

TFiOS‘s star, Shailene Woodley, prepared for her role as Hazel by donating her hair to Children with Hair Loss, an organization that makes free wigs for kids who have lost their hair due to a medical condition. John Green said that the decision was Woodley’s idea, and that he wasn’t sure the studio was aware of what she was doing.

Woodley explained that she had been trying to grow her hair as long as possible, but about halfway through, she thought about why she was so determined to grow it. She said the decision to cut it came after her brother played Regina Spektor’s “Ghost of Corporate Future” for her. The song says, “Maybe you should just cut your own hair, ’cause that can be so funny. It doesn’t cost any money and it always grows back, hair grows even after you’re dead.”

Woodley took the message to heart and went from “sacralizing the length of my hair, to appreciating the spontaneity of chopping it off. And also recognizing the beauty of freedom.”

Filming for The Fault in Our Stars began August 26 on location in Pittsburgh. The film will also shoot in Amsterdam.