Michael Pena to play astronaut Jose Hernandez in A Million Miles Away

Michael Pena is to play the astronaut Jose Hernandez in 'A Million Miles Away'.

The 46-year-old actor has been tapped to appear in the drama from director Alejandra Marquez Abella for Amazon Studios.

The picture is based on Hernandez's autobiography 'Reaching for the Stars'. The late Bettina Gilois wrote the initial script with Abella and Hernan Jimenez working on subsequent drafts.

Mark Ciardi and Campbell McInnes are producing via the former's Select Films banner.

Hernandez has been described as the first migrant worker to travel into space. He did not learn English until the age of 12 and spent his childhood working alongside his family on the farms of California.

He refused to give up on his dream of travelling on a rocket and ventured into the world of science. Hernandez co-developed the first full-field mammography imaging system to detect early breast cancer and overcame 11 rejections to become a crew member on the Space Shuttle mission STS-128.

Film chiefs are hoping to begin production in Mexico City at the end of next month.

Michael is also starring in the family action movie 'Secret Headquarters' with Owen Wilson.

The flick is being directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. Michael and Owen will be joined in the movie by Walker Scobell, Momona Tamada, Keith L. Williams, Abby James Witherspoon and Kezii Curtis.

The plot follows a kid who discovers the secret headquarters of the world's most powerful superhero hidden underneath his home and must protect it with his friends when it is attacked by villains. It is not yet known who Pena will be playing.