September brings us the last day of summer and the first day of fall. It also brings Twilight Saga fans around the globe their very first morsel of casting news for the much anticipated, final, big screen chapter, Breaking Dawn! The actor of the hour is Rami Malek. Perhaps you’ve never heard of him before, but he will portray Benjamin, the Egyptian vampire and friend to the Cullen Clan.
It was Entertainment Tonight that first reported the part had been cast by the young LA-born actor who has walked like an Egyptian before, or at least previously worn a historical golden costume. Malek played the pharaoh, Ahkmenrah, in Night at the Museum and in the sequel, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. So the casting decision may not be a stretch, but the spotlight will definitely be brighter when it comes to screaming girl-fans. Edward Cullen, in Stephenie Meyer’s books, especially likes Benjamin who has a sense of morality, you know, for a bloodsucker, as Jacob Black might say. Fans of the books will remember the Egyptian coven also includes Tia, Amun and Kebi. We likely won’t meet them until part two of Breaking Dawn in November 2011.
Malek was at the Emmy Award ceremony recently because of his role in The Pacific, the HBO project produced by Tom Hanks, which was recognized as most Outstanding Miniseries. Just like the swansong to the Harry Potter film series, The Deathly Hallows, (see a trailer) Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn will be split into two films. True Twihards will also need to take note that their beloved Edward was beaten out for the title of sexiest beast by another vampire, Jackson Rathbone, their Civil War hero vamp will be on television, and Kristen Stewart (and R-Pats, too, to an extent) has been making news with On the Road and Welcome to the Rileys.
