AnnaLynne McCord
In 2008, she was the eighteenth actress to be cast in The CW series "90210", portraying antiheroine Naomi Clark. Initially, the part of Clark was conceived as a supporting role. However, by the end of the first season, media outlets had begun referring to McCord as the series' lead. For the role of Naomi Clark, she was nominated for a Teen Choice Award and received the "Hollywood Life" Young Hollywood Superstar of Tomorrow award in 2009. In 2010, she won a Breakthrough of the Year Award in the category of "Breakthrough Standout Performance".
90210 (TV series)
The first actor to be cast was Dustin Milligan on April 1, 2008, followed by AnnaLynne McCord on April 14. Sachs found Milligan to be "really funny", and changed Ethan to better represent his personality. McCord was cast because, according to Sachs, "she's someone who is worldly, and there's a sophistication to her that's interesting". The role of Annie was given to Shenae Grimes, who says she was raised watching the original series. Sachs and Judah had seen Grimes' work before and knew "she had the acting chops", and she was cast after acting a dramatic scene which she "just killed". Sachs stated, "she can act, she's beautiful, and she can give this sweet cuteness [that lets us see] through her eyes into this world."