Celebrity crush: Jaimie Alexander

Today's actress is not a goddess, but she's played one on a movie theater near you this summer.

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Name: Jaimie Alexander (images | Web site | Twitter)
Hometown: Born in Greenville, S.C., but raised in Grapevine, Texas, for most of her childhood, according to her Wikipedia profile.
Best Known For: Jaimie appeared in this summer's Marvel Comics-inspired movie Thor as the Asgardian warrior goddess Sif. She previously had a regular role in the cast of the ABC Family science fiction series Kyle XY as "Jessi (XX)," a female counterpart to the titular lead character -- both of them superpowered teenagers who had been grown in a laboratory. (In a genius bit of casting, former Brat Packer Ally Sheedy -- to whom she bears more than a passing resemblance -- played her mother.)

Since the premature cancellation of Kyle XY, she's recurred on Nurse Jackie as a sister-in-law of Edie Falco's chemically altered nurse character. Her credits also include guest appearances on CSI: Miami, Bones, and fellow celebrity crush Piper Perabo's spy series Covert Affairs.
Humble Beginnings: Early TV roles include appearances on the edgy comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the short-lived hostage negotiator drama Standoff. Early film roles include the horror film Rest Stop and the comedy Squirrel Trap (the latter her first film credit, around age 20).
The Courteney Cox Factor: Jaimie has appeared in a music video for a song by Matthew Perryman Jones, of whom I had never heard before writing this.

Why Ye Olde Podcaster Likes Her: A wrestler in her high school years, Jaimie Alexander has the physical presence to play these action roles; she can not only take your breath away with her beauty, but she could also knock it out of you.

While I thought the casting of fellow crush Adrianne Palicki for David E. Kelley's ill-fated Wonder Woman TV pilot was a good, if offbeat choice -- loving her work on Friday Night Lights and thinking her genre work on Smallville and in the Aquaman pilot both suggested she'd be up for an adventure role -- Jaimie's comments on the Wonder Woman character at a fan site make me think she'd be the best possible pick for the part:

“I actually read ‘Wonder Woman,’ and here’s the thing about her: she’s more of a physical presence than anything else,” she told FilmCritic. “You don’t get to really know her on the inside. It’s all about her boobs. And I can say that; I actually read the comics. Even though she had one of the coolest story lines, they still made her the all-American beauty queen.”

And despite my posting a cheesecake covered-topless photo of Jaimie Alexander here, I genuinely think she gets Wonder Woman and, based on her Kyle XY work (where she played a multi-layered, not quite angelic, character), that she would have the chops for the role beyond the physical demands. (In my opinion, the David E. Kelley pilot was doomed ... from the moment it became a David E. Kelley project.)

From JaimieAlexander.net.

Her commitments with Marvel films may make it impossible for Jaimie Alexander to play the part now even if the right script came along -- I seem to recall hearing that the actors getting involved in their films were now signing a standard nine-picture deal, but I'm not sure whether that's just the leads or also the supporting actors and actresses -- but she'd kick ass as Diana.
Film and TV-movie credits: Savannah (2012) (Amazon | iTunes) * Thor (Amazon | iTunes) * Loosies (Amazon | iTunes) * Love and Other Drugs (Amazon | iTunes) * The Face of Purgatory (2008 short) (Amazon | iTunes) * Hallowed Ground (2007) (Amazon | iTunes) * Rest Stop (2006) (Amazon | iTunes) * The Other Side (2006) (Amazon | iTunes) * Squirrel Trap (Amazon | iTunes)
Music video appearance: "Save You" by Matthew Perryman Jones (iTunes)

The fact she's guest-starred on Bones makes
me realize -- she kinda reminds me of that
show's star, Emily Deschanel, too.

Voice work: Thor: God of Thunder (2011 video game) (Amazon)
TV and Web series credits: Covert Affairs, season 2 (Amazon | iTunes) * Nurse Jackie, season 3 (Amazon | iTunes) * Ultradome, season 1: "Han Solo vs. Indiana Jones" (Amazon | iTunes) * Bones, season 4: "The Beaver in the Otter" (Amazon | iTunes) * CSI: Miami, season 7: "Flight Risk" (Amazon | iTunes) * Kyle XY, season 3 (Amazon | iTunes) * Kyle XY, season 2 (Amazon | iTunes) * Kyle XY, season 1 (note: she's not in the first season, but it obviously lays the groundwork for the two-thirds where she DOES appear) (Amazon | iTunes) * Watch Over Me (2006) (Amazon | iTunes) * Standoff (2006): Pilot (Amazon | iTunes) * It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, season 1: "Underage Drinking: A National Concern" (Amazon | iTunes)