Taylor Schilling has grabbed a female lead role opposite Zac Efron in The Lucky One, THR says. To nab the highly sought role, she has beaten out other high profile actresses, including as Abbie Cornish and Katie Cassidy, who were also in the running.

The film, based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel of the same title, follows Efron’s character of a soldier who has survived three tours of duty in Iraq and attributes his good luck to a photograph he carried of a woman, portrayed by Schilling, whom he doesn’t even know. When he returns to the States, he will seek out the girl and later they develop a relationship.