Mark Obama Ndesandjo, US President Barack Obama's half-brother will have a small role in Jiang Wen's new movie, Let the Bullets Fly (Rang Zidan Fei), the movie's director of promotions, surnamed Yang confirmed Sunday.

Jiang has gathered some of the country's most popular actors to make the Chinese version of Ocean's Eleven. The cast includes Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-fat, Ge You, Hu Jun, Chen Kun, Yao Lu, Liao Fan, Shao Bing, Zhang Mo, Jiang Wen's brother Jiang Wu, and the director himself.

Ndesandjo will make his debut as a priest in an important scene, which will be filmed by the end of December. Filming started in October and is expected to be released next fall.

"Mark is in good shape and he is a good-looking man. Most importantly, his Chinese is quite good, which is perfect for this role," according to some crew members.

Ndesandjo, who took the name of his step-father, left the US in 2002 to start a new life in the southern Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen. He taught piano to orphans, practiced calligraphy and opened a chain of barbecue restaurants with a friend.

In exchange for his movie appearance, Ndesandjo will donate his salary to charity.