According to The Hollywood Reporter, Academy Award winner Chris Cooper and Ryan Phillippe will topline Breach, an espionage thriller that Billy Ray is directing for Universal Pictures. The picture will be produced by Scott Kroopf for Intermedia and Bobby Newmyer and Scott Strauss via their Outlaw Films banner.

The story, which follows true recent accounts, centers on aspiring FBI agent Eric O'Neill (Phillippe), who is handpicked to work for renowned operative Robert Hanssen (Cooper) within information assurance, a new division created to protect all classified FBI intelligence. The young trainee develops a growing respect for the arrogant uber-agent, only to find that his mentor might be the nation's most dangerous security risk.