X-23 - Eliza Dushku
If you don't know the history, X-23 is an experimental clone that was created from Wolverine's genetic material. Because the Y chromosomes of the sample was damaged, they were forced to duplicate the X, thereby creating a female child clone of Wolverine (on their 23rd attempt). As for trivia, it's interesting to note that the character of X-23 bears the distinction of being one of the only to start on television (in the animated series X-Men: Evolution) and later become a fully realized character in comic form.
In terms of casting, this one was a puzzle. The girl needed to look like an adolescent female version of Hugh Jackman (the current pick for Wolverine), while still looking the part of X-23 and having the ability to play the role. Let's face it, I don't know any girls that look like Hugh. It's weird even trying to picture that. But after considering the circumstances of the cloning project (what, with the duplication of the X chromosomes and all), I think that it's plausible that X-23 could be interpreted as the hyper-feminized version of Wolverine, 100% female with only the most basic of overlapping traits (such as hair color, eye color, etc). With that in mind, I found myself more free to find the most appropriate actress, without killing myself over finding the best visual match.
I found my pick for X-23 after circling back to some previously diqualified candidates. I was looking for someone along the lines of Mila Kunis (if you could make her somehow even the least bit threatening), and was almost dissapointed that I had already used up Alexa Davalos as Kitty Pryde (seeing as her ferocity in The Chronicles of Riddick would have been completely appropriate here). But in the end, it's none other than Eliza Dushku that I feel is most suited for the role.
The best thing Eliza's got going for her (aside from actually looking a lot like X-23) is that she's already played this role in Buffy as the on-again-off-again psycho killer, Faith. As a rogue Slayer, Faith had both the superhuman power, and the serious inner turmoil that drove her to the brink more than a few times. X-23 would require the same, and much more. Regardless of whether or not you're a fan of Eliza, you've got to admit, she's a lock.
Omega Red - Vladimir Kulich
Ever heard the name Vladimir Kulich? Yeah, me neither. Although you might have seen him around a few times without even knowing it. Finding this guy was the result of way too much time meandering through IMDB profiles. But back to the point, Vladimir was born in Czechoslovakia (which might help with the accent work for Omega Red), and has acted in a number of films. Most of them really play up the guy's frame... all 6 feet 5 inches of it. Seriously, the dude's a giant. And that's not bad, because Omega Red is supposed to stand at 6 feet 11 inches (What do they put in the water over there in Russia? Whatever it is, it's working. Colossus and Omega Red? That's just greedy)!
If you want this famous nemesis of Wolverine's to be truly frightening, you're going to want a guy that can put a little fear into you, and after imagining Vladimir in full Omega Red armor, I'm thinking I would pay the price of admission just to see the ensuing carnage.
Sabretooth - Josh Holloway
And lastly, the most famous of all of Wolverine's foes: Sabretooth. Honestly, I think that if you asked a hundred fans who they thought should play Sabretooth, you could get nearly the same amount of different answers. So I had to put some serious filters into place to whittle down the enormous pool of dark action hero types into something more manageable.
First of all, I had to take into account that Sabretooth is not just a one-clash-foe for Wolverine. Even a character like Omega Red doesn't require a great deal of depth to pull off. But Sabretooth has history with Wolverine. Go back far enough, and you find that they knew each other long before they became lifelong enemies.
If Sabertooth was brought to screen, I'd want him to be a fully fleshed out character, starting with the childhood abuse that contributed to his pychopathic sadism. The last thing I want is to cast a wrestler in the role. Granted, they seem to be going with more of a character actor in Liev Schreiber for Sabretooth's role in Wolverine: Origins, but in that case, I think they swung too far to the other end of the spectrum. I mean, seriously... who's afraid of Liev Schreiber? Exactly.
I chose Josh Holloway for a number of reasons. After watching every episode of Lost to date, I'm certain that Josh knows how to do inner conflict. Furthermore, I'm convinced that he can do rage, though they seem to be letting that out sparingly over the run of the show. And while most of the time Sawyer's just a cool, slick talking con-man... the moments when that shell cracks, you see the kind of acting that Sabretooth requires. The other main reason that I chose Josh, was because I can see him as Wolverine's foil (in a literary sense). Sabretooth is everything Wolverine doesn't want to be, yet somehow... is. So my choice reflects my desire to see someone who can hold his own against Hugh. And to me, imagining Hugh Jackman and Josh Holloway battling it out in both a physical and psychological sense just feels right.
That's it for now. Still to come in the future: The Lehnsherr Family Tree, the Brotherhood, and possibly some of the less prominent X-Men.
Awesome Parting Trivia: Every one of the people I've cast here in this article (aside from Hugh Jackman) has guest starred in at least one episode of Angel: Josh Holloway was in the Pilot episode as a vampire that Angel stakes, Eliza Dushku reprises her role from Buffy as Faith (now a somewhat-reformed convict), and Vladimir (under heavy makeup and prosthetics) inhabits the role of the Beast in Season 4! Talk about poaching the entire cast of a show!
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