Meet your Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Despite a number of big name actors like Adrien Brody, Timothy Olyphant and Eric Bana supposedly testing for the lead role in the Timur Bekmambetov flick ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, the role was cast yesterday with a relative unknown: Benjamin Walker. Keen JoBlo.com readers will recognize Walker’s name as being originally cast as Beast in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS before a prior engagement forced him to bow out (he was replaced by Nicholas Hoult in the film). That prior engagement was a stint in the off-Broadway musical “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” so Walker certainly brings with him some presidential experience.

Fox, Bekmambetov and producer Tim Burton cast a wide net for their Abraham Lincoln and just because they didn’t pick a “name” actor for the lead role, don’t expect that there won’t be another star-studded addition to the cast. The studio was chasing Tom Hardy to play Henry Sturges, the man who trains Lincoln in the way of vampire hunting, but Hardy’s commitment to THE DARK KNIGHT RISES prohibited his involvement in this film. The creative team is looking to fill that role with a more familiar face than Walker’s.

Walker will have to play our former president from the ages of 20 (described as a lanky boy) to mid-50s, when he’s an experienced fighter.

While some people might be aware of Walker’s close call with X-MEN or his work in “Andrew Jackson,” what you might not know is that he’s also an established stand-up comic working in NYC. This is a set Walker did a few years back at Caroline’s (uploaded to YouTube by the man himself):

Not bad, huh? It’s likely that sense of comedic timing, as well as his charming persona that was able to get him the role of our most beloved president. What do you think of the casting (and Walker’s comedy chops)?