August 7, 2012 - 10:00pm
New casting announcements shine light on two fiercely talented young stars
BY KAYLA UPADHYAYA
- CW
With the fall television season quickly approaching (finally!), the entertainment buzz blogs have been ablaze with the latest in casting news and rumors. If nothing else is for certain, Gary Cole will make a guest appearance in at least three shows on every network. That’s always a given.
I must admit that I’ve been apathetic at best towards most casting decisions made this summer, but every once in awhile, a show makes an announcement that elicits not just one, but a whole slew of excited, blabbering tweets from me. This week, I got two in a row. Time to buy my first lottery ticket?
Today’s announcement was quite literally a dream come true (Exhibits A and B). Yep, Phoebe Tonkin, best known for her knockout performance as the enchanting head witch in charge Faye Chamberlain on “The Secret Circle”, is moving to Mystic Falls.
Tonkin was easily the best part of “Circle,” which the CW prematurely canceled (RIP) after only one promising season, as it failed to pull in the staggering numbers of its lead-in, “The Vampire Diaries.” Teen drama mastermind and expert in all things having to do with serial killers Kevin Williamson, who created “Vampire Diaries” and executive produced “Circle”, joked earlier this summer that he’d like to somehow keep Tonkin, one of the best young actors to emerge from last year’s TV season, around.
And so, to the great excitement of anyone who had the pleasure of falling for Tonkin’s explosive Faye, she has officially been cast as Hayley, a friend from Tyler’s (Michael Trevino) past. Considering Tonkin has pretty exclusively played supernatural beings -- a witch on “Circle” and a mermaid on the Australian series “H20: Just Add Water” -- I have a feeling this Hayley won’t be of the regular ol’ human variety … but who is in Mystic Falls these days?
For anyone who has seen the hilarious “H2O” (it’s all on Netflix Instant, what are you waiting for?!) and is familiar with Tonkin’s signature oh-no-I-just-spilled-water-on-myself-and-now-I’m-turning-into-a-mermaid face (read: hilarious), it’ll be fun to see Tonkin reunite with “H2O” costar and “Vampire Diaries” fan favorite Claire Holt (who plays the lovely, terrifying Rebekah).
The other piece of wonderful casting news came yesterday, and while it wasn’t something I had explicitly wished for, it still feels like a decision that directly appeals to all of my interests. Dilshad Vadsaria has been cast in a recurring role on none other than my favorite new show of last fall, “Revenge.”
Vadsaria is best known for her work on ABC Family’s “Greek”, where she played the bitchy and brazen Rebecca Logan, who was kinda sorta one of the best female characters ever. Seriously. And a lot of that had to do with Vadsaria’s pitch-perfect delivery and alluring physicality.
Like Tonkin, Vadsaria was a standout sensation in her early work and yet remains extremely underrated. But joining a sleeper hit like “Revenge” early on could finally get her the attention she deserves.
TV Line reports that she is to play Padma, an employee at Nolan’s (Gabriel Mann) company. Vadsaria and Mann both have ultra-bold presences, and she has more than enough of a bite to keep up with the endless quips of Nolan Ross.
Well, my luck with casting decisions is sure to run dry soon (or already has, considering the abysmal short list for Finnick Odair possibilities). But in case it hasn’t … can we get Lizzy Kaplan on “Happy Endings”? Carla Gugino in a recurring role on “Justified”? Sarah Michelle Gellar on something successful (preferably on the CW)? Mary Louise Parker on something better? Tricia Helfer on anything? McKayla Maroney on “Pretty Little Liars”? OK, that last one will probably be pretty hard to accomplish, but have you seen that girl’s Rosewood-ready bitchface?
