Benjamin Walker is Beast in X-Men First Class

We can officially throw another log on the X-Men First Class fire with this latest casting addition. According to Showbiz411, Benjamin Walker has signed on to star in the pivotal and furry role of Henry “Hank” McCoy in the film. He’ll be joining James McAvoy who’ll play the younger version of Professor Charles Xavier.

Walker is a Juilliard trained actor who currently stars in Public Theater’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.” He has a few TV and movie credits under his belt such as Harlon Block in Flags of Our Fathers and a young Kinsey in the 2004 film of the same name. The role of Beast was previously played by Kelsey Grammer in X3, who portrayed him as an established scientist and distinguished man of the state. In First Class, Walker will take us back to his humble beginnings as a confused kid dealing with his unexpected mutation.

To be completely honest Beast was the best thing to come out of X-Men: The Last Stand. I’ll even go as far to say that he was the only character in the film series who looked and behaved the way he did in the comic.

For those of you wondering what he can bring to the table here’s a video featuring a performance and an interview from Walker.

X-Men first Class is slated to hit theaters on June 3, 2011 and is directed by Matthew Vaughn.

What do you think of Benjamin Walker’s casting as Beast? Who should they have cast instead?