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Meet the 'Star Wars: Episode VII' Male Lead Hopefuls & Vote for Your Favorite!

Meet the 'Star Wars: Episode VII' Male Lead Hopefuls & Vote for Your Favorite!

Casting for the male lead in the highly anticipated film Star Wars: Episode VII is underway and now there are five actors at the top of director J.J. Abrams‘ list, according to Variety.

Meet the five guys below (in order of the photos above):

  • Ed Speelers, 25, is best known for his work on Downton Abbey, which he joined in the third season as the first footman Jimmy Kent. He hails from England and got his career start by playing the title role in the movie Eragon.
  • John Boyega, 21, is a British actor whose first film role in the movie Attack the Block earned him several awards, including the British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer.
  • Jesse Plemons, 25, is probably the most recognizable to American audiences for playing Todd Alquist in the final season of Breaking Bad. He was also seen in the full series run of Friday Night Lights as Landry Clarke.
  • Matthew James Thomas, 26, is a British actor who has been making a big splash on the theater scene for his Tony-nominated work in Pippin and being the alternate for the title role in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.
  • Ray Fisher, 26, is another theater actor who most recently played the role of boxer Muhammad Ali in the workshop of a play based on the athlete’s life.

It was recently announced that Girls actor Adam Driver is nearing a deal to play a Darth Vader-esque villain in the movie. Many actors from the original film trilogy are also rumored to return.

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