EXCLUSIVE: Rose Byrne up for 'X-Men' role

5:44 PM PDT 8/15/2010 by Borys Kit, AP

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Would play love interest to James McAvoy's Charles Xavier

"Damages" star Rose Byrne is in negotiations to join the cast of Fox's "X-Men First Class," being directed by Matthew Vaughn.

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Fox is gearing up for a London shoot at the end of this month and zeroing on the last key pieces of its important franchise.

The movie, whose story line remains under wraps, focuses on Marvel's superpowered X-Men team in a younger incarnation than seen in the previous trilogy.

Byrne will play Moira MacTaggert, a scientist and an authority on genetic mutation. She'll be the love interest of James McAvoy, who plays mutant telepath Charles Xavier.

Among the cast are Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult and Alice Eve.

Byrne, repped by CAA and Australia's RGM Artist Group, recently received her second Emmy nomination for her work opposite Glenn Close in "Damages." She is shooting Universal comedy "Bridesmaids" with Kristen Wiig and appeared in this summer's "Get Him to the Greek." Also among her film credits are "28 Weeks Later" and "Troy."