James Paxton takes late father Bill's role in new film

More than seven years after Bill Paxton's death, his son James is stepping into a role his father was originally slated to star in.

Malcolm McDowell told People magazine that his upcoming movie Last Train to Fortune co-stars James in a role that Titanic actor Bill was slated to fill.

The veteran actor noted that he originally intended to make Last Train to Fortune with late director Lindsay Anderson in the early 1990s.

"I said, 'I've always loved that script. It's such a beautiful script, really. Why don't we get James Paxton to do it?' He'd be the same age as his dad was, almost. A little bit younger, but even better," McDowell recalls.

Bill Paxton, who died in February 2017 following a stroke at age 61, was originally teed up to star opposite McDowell, who's now 81.

"We did a read-through at my house and I think everybody went 'Wow'. It's pretty good when you hear it aloud for the first time," McDowell says.

"I must say that he's pretty levelheaded," he adds of working with James, who has been acting since 2003. "Of course, there is the weight of his dad, but that's every day in life he's had that, and he's a very fine young actor."

Last Train to Fortune stars McDowell as a schoolteacher travelling across the Old West in the early 1870s to take up a teaching job in a new town. He misses a train and teams up with an outlaw (Paxton) to travel together.

The film is expected to be released this autumn.