LOST Cast Scoop

Clip from Syfyportal regarding the new cast members on LOST:

With speculation running high that ABC's "Lost" won't return until the February sweeps period in early 2008, fans are craving any information they can find about the new faces appearing on the show.

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the program's executive producers, shed a little light on the actors and the roles they will be playing in the new season.

For example, Ken Leung was on the producers' "must-have" list after they saw "Remember When," an episode of "The Sopranos."The part he's playing -- it's a character we wrote very specifically for Ken. Nobody else read for it. It had to be him," Lindelof said.

"It is so specifically geared to what we thought he could do as an actor that if he had said no, we would have had to scrap the character and rewrite him and come up with a different one," noted Cuse.

Regarding Lance Reddick, best known for the HBO series "The Wire," Cuse said, "We had been interested in Lance back when we were casting the Mr. Eko part, but he was unavailable. That's how we started circling around Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who ultimately took the role. When a window of opportunity arose after the recent season of 'The Wire,' we jumped on it, with a part that seemed right for his complete focus and intensity."

Reddick will apparently play a "corporate recruiter," defined by the "Lost" crew as a character with a skill set best used for coercion.

When Rebecca Mader, who starred in "The Devil Wears Prada," auditioned, the producer who was taping her noticed a lot of her resume included work for the BBC in Great Britain and asked her, "Are you British?"

According to Lindelof, "She said yes, and we asked her to read it again, this time as a Brit, and it opened up another dimension we hadn't foreseen. Now she's English."

If anyone knows what it's like to live in an exotic area like the remote island on "Lost," it is likely that Jeff Fahey, who appeared in "The Lawnmower Man," has a good idea.

"He's been running an orphanage in Kabul, Afghanistan," said Cuse. In fact, when the actor was called to offer him the part, "he was in Caracas, Venezuela, using the same model to set up an orphanage there."

Another New LOST Island Member!!

Quoted from BuddyTv:

Yet, another Lost casting scoop has made its way onto the internet. This time it concerns a mysterious Tall and Thin man that was described in a recent casting notice for ABC's hit drama. In addition to who will be playing this mysterious character, a new twist has arisen concerning some Lost casting news that was broken earlier this week.

Read on, but be aware of minor spoilers.TV Guide's Michael Ausiello has reported that the role of Arthur, a tall, thin, and ominous corporate recruiter will be played by The Wire alum Lance Reddick. Besides starring on The Wire, Reddick also appeared on Oz with returning Lost regular Harold Perrineau. Fans who keep their ears to the ground on casting calls will remember that prior to the appearance of Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell), his character was also described as a corporate recruiter.

When he appeared, it was to woo Elizabeth Mitchell's Juliet to come work on the Island. Could “Arthur” have a similar agenda?Ausiello also updated his previous scoop that Soprano's guest star Ken Leung would be joining Lost by revealing that Leung is not in line for the role of Russell - a mysterious mathematician with a penchant for the paranormal - but instead will be taking on a top secret role that is known only to key Lost crew members AKA “The Powers That Be.”

That bit of ambiguity is more then enough to get Lost fans' theory engines purring again. Already, Leung's nationality had the constantly computing brains of Lost's hardcore fandom eyeballing the talented actor as a possible compatriot of Sun's corporate-oppressor daddy, or even a younger version of the mysterious Dr. SomthingToDoWithCandles.

It seems to be evident with every casting scoop that Lost is intent on adding some actors with serious range. Both Reddick and Leung are well known for being able to manifest intensity of the scary variety, but also capable of playing the cool intelligent types. One can only guess what the focus on that range means for season 4.

New LOST Cast Member: CONFIRMED

Ken Leung – whose memorable turn as Uncle Junior's mentally unstable protégé on The Sopranos last season turned many a head in Hollywood (mine included) – is joining the cast of Lost next season, sources confirm to me exclusively.

It's believed Leung will be playing the recurring role of Russell*, a brilliant mathematician who is capable of great insights and has a tremendous knowledge across various scientific fields. He's expected to first turn up in February's season premiere.

Non-Sopranos fans may know Leung from his role as Kid Omega in Brett Ratner's franchise killer, X-Men: The Last Stand.