With 'Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' Likely Hitting U.S. Theaters, It's Time For The HC Casting Couch!

Few literary tales are as bittersweet as the real-life story of author Stieg Larsson—the Swedish journalist who became a world-wide bestselling author only after his death in 2004. If you've wandered through a Barnes and Noble in the last couple of years, you've no doubt spotted the green and yellow-dappled cover of his mega-successful crime drama "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." Though a movie version of the book was released earlier this year in Europe, according to Variety, Sony has nabbed the English-language screen rights for the film with plans to produce it for an American audience.

The first novel and its sequels "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest” (known collectively as the "Millenium Trilogy") follow journalist Mikael Blomkvist and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander as they solve crimes in Sweden. A source Variety spoke with for its story called Lisbeth "one of the most compelling characters in contemporary fiction.” And it's true. She's intelligent, clever and doesn't take B.S. from anybody, which got us wondering who could bring this complex character to life. Thus, another edition of Hollywood Crush's Casting Couch!

In case you haven't read the novel, here's how Stieg thoroughly describes his 24-year-old heroine:

She is "a pale, anorexic young woman who had hair as short as a fuse, and a pierced nose and eyebrows... She was a natural redhead, but she dyed her hair raven black... She had a wide mouth, a small nose, and high cheekbones that gave her an almost Asian look." And of course, she has a dragon tattoo (among others). With that in mind, here are our top three picks for Lisbeth:

Shannyn Sossamon

If I were to leave my duties as your faithful blogger and take up a career as a Hollywood casting agent, my No. 1 pick for this role would be Shannyn Sossamon. Best known for her early '00s roles in "A Knight's Tale" and "40 Days and 40 Nights" this exotic brunette is a perfect physical facsimile of how I imagine Lisbeth to look.

Samaire Armstrong

Another young starlet who's just the right mix of delicate and dangerous is "Dirty Sexy Money" and "O.C." actress Samaire Armstrong. Plus, with stints on T.V. crime shows like "NYPD Blue," "Numb3rs" and "CSI: Miami," she's no stranger to a little detective work.

Kate Moennig

We loved Kate Moennig as tough-as-nails (with a heart of gold) lesbian Shane McCutcheon in "The L Word." Pretty yet androgynous, we hope Kate would consider a hiatus from her role as Dr. Miranda Foster on the medical drama "Three Rivers" to step into Lisbeth's well-worn combat boots.

Who do you think would make a perfect Lisbeth Salander?

Tags Books, Kate Moennig, Samaire Armstrong, Shannyn Sossamon, Stieg Larsson, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo