The Scene

The Fresh Faces of 'X-Men: First Class'

Published on Monday, June 06 2011
Written by Andre Chautard

 

 

1. Jennifer Lawrence - Mystique

Already Oscar-nominated for Best Actress for her indelible performance in last year's indie drama Winter's Bone, Lawrence is a superstar-in-the-making, having landed the lead in the much-anticipated The Hunger Games, the film adaptation of the first in a series of young adult novels with a fanatical following. Many are saying it could be the next Twilight. 

FUN FACT: Years ago, Lawrence actually auditioned to play Bella in Twilight before director Catherine Hardwicke had met with Kristen Stewart.

 

 

2. Nicholas Hoult - Beast

Hoult is best known for playing the kid that Hugh Grant takes under his wing in the well-liked 2002 hit About a Boy. A more mature Hoult played the college student who developed a certain interest in his professor, played by Colin Firth, in A Single Man, and Hoult also starred in the original U.K. version of "Skins," the racy and controversial teen drama which MTV adapted for American audiences.

FUN FACT: Bryan Singer, the director of the first two X-Men films, chose Hoult to play the title character in next year's big-budget Jack the Giant Killer, a revisionist, action-oriented take on the "Jack and the Beanstalk" fairy tale.

 

 

3. Caleb Landry Jones - Banshee

Jones spooked audiences as the way-creepy brother of Ashley Bell in last year's horror hit The Last Exorcism, and will be seen next year in the action film Contraband, starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale.

FUN FACT: Jones had a bit part in The Social Network, where his character was credited as just "Fraternity Guy."

 

 

4. Zoë Kravitz - Angel

The daughter of rocker Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet ("The Cosby Show"), Zoë first captured Hollywood's attention with her brief but memorable portrayal of a teenage prostitute opposite Jodie Foster in The Brave One. Her credits include the indie films It's Kind of a Funny Story and Twelve, and a recurring role on the most recent season of Showtime's "Californication," where she played the lead singer of an all-girl band.

FUN FACT: She fronts her own band, Elevator Fight, which has played at SXSW, although she has said she only considers music a "fun hobby."

 

 

5. Lucas Till - Havok

Till played the love interest to Miley Cyrus in 2009's Hannah Montana: The Movie and had a small role as one of the military guys fighting against an alien invasion in Battle: Los Angeles earlier this year.

FUN FACT: In a flashback sequence in the Oscar-winning 2005 film Walk the Line, Till played Johnny Cash's older brother, who died in a tragic childhood accident, which haunted Cash throughout his life.

 

 

6. Edi Gathegi - Darwin

Twi-hards know Gathegi as the villainous vampire Laurent in the first two Twilight films, and Gathegi co-starred in the recent indie film adaptation of the classic Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged.

FUN FACT: Gathegi had a recurring role on the fourth season of "House" as a Mormon doctor who once punched Dr. House for insulting his religion.

 

 

- Andre Chautard, YH Staff