The casting thread

[Maedelin]

3 hours ago, Nym said:

 

GREAT looking actress, pretty much what I could have hoped for.  I am furious, furious, that they put such a sad misspelling in the tweet!  It's "shone" not "shown"!!!!!

Edited August 14, 2019 by Maedelin

[imlad]

I'm pretty happy with what I see (especially Mat, he has that look in his eyes if you ask me, he's just perfect).

 

But let me address the elephant in the room: many people on Twitter, and I'm sure other places online, are freaking out over the color of skin several of these actors have. I don't get why. I don't remember Jordan ever describing specifically any of the Emond's Fielders (other than Rand) as having pale skin, it was something he seems to have just never described (granted, I sometimes have crap for memory, but I have read the first eight books of the series at least 7 or 8 times each). And it is not as if the actors they cast that have darker skin have dark skin, their skin tone is that which is indicative of mixed ancestry, which makes sense in a world that has spent the better part of three thousand years homogenizing, especially if you figure that people of all races were spread out across the globe during the Age of Legends, and not necessarily only clumped in certain regions, as we see a lot of in today's world. Just imagine what Americans will look like in just a thousand years: pretty much what these people look like, at least as far as skin tone, if not features. So for Emond's Field to have people of multiple hues of skin, it only makes sense to me.

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by SinisterDeath
edited to add footnote

[SinisterDeath]

On 8/14/2019 at 3:29 PM, imlad said:

'm pretty happy with what I see (especially Mat, he has that look in his eyes if you ask me, he's just perfect).

 

But let me address the elephant in the room: many people on Twitter, and I'm sure other places online, are freaking out over the color of skin several of these actors have. I don't get why. I don't remember Jordan ever describing specifically any of the Emond's Fielders (other than Rand) as having pale skin, it was something he seems to have just never described (granted, I sometimes have crap for memory, but I have read the first eight books of the series at least 7 or 8 times each). And it is not as if the actors they cast that have darker skin have dark skin, their skin tone is that which is indicative of mixed ancestry, which makes sense in a world that has spent the better part of three thousand years homogenizing, especially if you figure that people of all races were spread out across the globe during the Age of Legends, and not necessarily only clumped in certain regions, as we see a lot of in today's world. Just imagine what Americans will look like in just a thousand years: pretty much what these people look like, at least as far as skin tone, if not features. So for Emond's Field to have people of multiple hues of skin, it only makes sense to me.

I've been helping to squash some of those complaints on Twitter & Facebook.
Jordan doesn't really describe any particular characters skin color except for basically Rand and Tuon.
At most, he describes Egwene as having 'fair' skin.. Which is rather vague in terms of color. (It can often mean young, or light, but it doesn't mean devoid of 'color'.)

My go to counter is this. 
The Two Rivers and it's people are loosely based on Charleston SC, where RJ lived. Why wouldn't RJ make the two rivers look like the people in Charleston?

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by SinisterDeath

[KingRodel]

Bold. That's word that comes to mind when I think about these casting decisions.

 

I mean, they cast three people of color in roles that are described in the book as white characters. I don't really have much of a problem with that, though it was a bit of shock at first. Not how I imagined them, certainly. But I'll probably get used to it. Plus, I think Sam Elliott's southern accent just became a bit less of a stumbling block for his chances at Thom. (I know, I know, he's not going to get the role. But I can wish.)

 

Here are my judgements on the casting  so far (disclaimer I have only ever seen Rosamund Pike on screen. Never even heard of the others before today):

 

Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred: 10/10. As far as I'm concerned, this was a perfect casting decision.

 

Barney Harris as Matrim Cauthon: 9/10. I think he should fit nicely into the role. The only reason I don't have him as 10/10 is because he wasn't my dream actor for the role.

 

Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara: 8/10. As I said, I was a bit taken aback when I saw that they cast a black actor in the role. But then I thought, why not? Rutherford has grown on me in the past few hours, and I think he might actually do a great job. My imaginary picture of Perrin has literally gone from Logan Lerman to Marcus Rutherford.

 

Josha Stradowski as Rand al'Thor: 7.5/10. He looks the part in some pictures, but not in others. Can't seem to find anything wrong with him, but he doesn't excite me too much.

 

Zoe Robins as Nynaeve al'Meara: 7.5/10. My reaction with Rutherford coupled with my ambivalence about Stradowski.

 

Madeleine Madden as Egwene al'Vere: 2.5/10. I'm sorry, I really can't see it at all.

 

Well, that's all. Here's hoping Sam Elliott gets Thom.

 

 

[DemandredFO]

From what I remember in EotW, Rand is described as white, tall with red hair, whereas the two rivers folk are considerably darker than Rand but not african black. For me, I'm legally blind so color isn't really my thing. As long they don't cast Tuon or seafolk as white or Saldeans as non asian, I'll be good.

[imlad]

On 8/14/2019 at 3:45 PM, SinisterDeath said:

I've been helping to squash some of those complaints on Twitter & Facebook.
Jordan doesn't really describe any particular characters skin color except for basically Rand and Tuon.
At most, he describes Egwene as having 'fair' skin.. Which is rather vague in terms of color. (It can often mean young, or light, but it doesn't mean devoid of 'color'.)

My go to counter is this. 
The Two Rivers and it's people are loosely based on Charleston SC, where RJ lived. Why wouldn't RJ make the two rivers look like the people in Charleston?

 

 

One of the few other descriptions of skin color I can recall with my cannabis-and-age-rattled brain is for Juilin Sandar who is described once I think as brown skinned, although maybe not in those words.

 

On 8/14/2019 at 3:53 PM, KingRodel said:

Bold. That's word that comes to mind when I think about these casting decisions.

 

I mean, they cast three people of color in roles that are described in the book as white characters. I don't really have much of a problem with that, though it was a bit of shock at first. Not how I imagined them, certainly. But I'll probably get used to it. Plus, I think Sam Elliott's southern accent just became a bit less of a stumbling block for his chances at Thom. (I know, I know, he's not going to get the role. But I can wish.)

 

Here are my judgements on the casting  so far (disclaimer I have only ever seen Rosamund Pike on screen. Never even heard of the others before today):

 

Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred: 10/10. As far as I'm concerned, this was a perfect casting decision.

 

Barney Harris as Matrim Cauthon: 9/10. I think he should fit nicely into the role. The only reason I don't have him as 10/10 is because he wasn't my dream actor for the role.

 

Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara: 8/10. As I said, I was a bit taken aback when I saw that they cast a black actor in the role. But then I thought, why not? Rutherford has grown on me in the past few hours, and I think he might actually do a great job. My imaginary picture of Perrin has literally gone from Logan Lerman to Marcus Rutherford.

 

Josha Stradowski as Rand al'Thor: 7.5/10. He looks the part in some pictures, but not in others. Can't seem to find anything wrong with him, but he doesn't excite me too much.

 

Zoe Robins as Nynaeve al'Meara: 7.5/10. My reaction with Rutherford coupled with my ambivalence about Stradowski.

 

Madeleine Madden as Egwene al'Vere: 2.5/10. I'm sorry, I really can't see it at all.

 

Well, that's all. Here's hoping Sam Elliott gets Thom.

 

 

 

I'm glad you have gotten used to the casting of non-white actors in those roles, given your initial "shock," but I just want to ask: where in the books does it describe Perrin or Nynaeve as being white? Seriously. I would like to know, since I don't recall such a description ever being given. I don't need a page number, just a chapter number and book title, and the appropriate quote and I'll look at it myself.

 

Personally, I think the problem here is that the vast majority of people (myself included) picked up the books, saw white characters on the cover, started reading, read a fantasy setting that was "European" in style and automatically assumed in their heads "white skinned characters." I know I did it myself. Heck, look at my casting list, almost entirely white (although I did leave off the Emond's Fielders, and even then I never actually imagined non-white actors in those roles). I'm sure even non-white readers did this, as almost all fantasy novels written in the West feature "white" characters as the primary protagonists (yes, there are starting to be more and more exceptions to this rule). And Jordan didn't bother, to my recollection, describing the skin color of characters until much later in the series, and only on rare occasions.

 

I'm not attacking you @KingRodel, I'm just asking you to provide quotes from the book that I must have missed in my multiple reads of the series that describe Perrin and Nynaeve as being light skinned, or any color of skin at all.

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by SinisterDeath

[KingRodel]

OK, @imlad no worries. You're not attacking me, I'm not defending myself. I just want to make that clear. I have no intention of getting involved in a pointless internet war.

 

First, I assume that it is reasonable to infer from the cover that Perrin is white. He's pictured as white and red haired and bearded. I doubt the cover would be wrong.

 

 

 

 

Second, Andor is generally believed to be based on England or Great Britain. Which were, until, relatively recently, vastly white.

 

Third, (Rand is white, we can agree) Elaida in Chapter 40 of EotW pushes back Rand's sleeve and points out that his untanned skin is much lighter than most Two Rivers folk. Implying that Two Rivers folk are tanned white people, otherwise she wouldn't have had to push his sleeve back (it would have been obvious at first sight if they were a whole other skin color.)

 

Fourth, it seems to almost always mention the color of dark or even copper skinned characters (ie Tuon, the Sharans, the Sea Folk, the Domani). Mat often notes Tuon's dark skin. It probably wouldn't be a big deal if the the Two Rivers had citizens of comparable skin color.

 

Fifth, they are pictured as white in the graphic novel adaptations. Which, like the cover art, I consider to be accurate.

 

But to your point, I will admit that I cannot recall a specific mention of either Perrin or Nynaeve as being caucasian. Nor would I have any problem with it if they turned out to be black - I just don't think they are.

 

Except in the show, of course. Obviously they are black in the show.

 

Edited August 14, 2019 by KingRodel

[imlad]

46 minutes ago, KingRodel said:

OK, @imlad no worries. You're not attacking me, I'm not defending myself. I just want to make that clear. I have no intention of getting involved in a pointless internet war.

 

First, I assume that it is reasonable to infer from the cover that Perrin is white. He's pictured as white and red haired and bearded. I doubt the cover would be wrong.

 

 

 

 

Second, Andor is generally believed to be based on England or Great Britain. Which were, until, relatively recently, vastly white.

 

Third, (Rand is white, we can agree) Elaida in Chapter 40 of EotW pushes back Rand's sleeve and points out that his untanned skin is much lighter than most Two Rivers folk. Implying that Two Rivers folk are tanned white people, otherwise she wouldn't have had to push his sleeve back (it would have been obvious at first sight if they were a whole other skin color.)

 

Fourth, it seems to almost always mention the color of dark or even copper skinned characters (ie Tuon, the Sharans, the Sea Folk, the Domani). Mat often notes Tuon's dark skin. It probably wouldn't be a big deal if the the Two Rivers had citizens of comparable skin color.

 

Fifth, they are pictured as white in the graphic novel adaptations. Which, like the cover art, I consider to be accurate.

 

But to your point, I will admit that I cannot recall a specific mention of either Perrin or Nynaeve as being caucasian. Nor would I have any problem with it if they turned out to be black - I just don't think they are.

 

Except in the show, of course. Obviously they are black in the show.

 

 

Well, the cover art (namely the Darrel K Sweet artwork) for the series has been notoriously innacurate from the beginning (I'm sure with some digging you'll find many many discussions about how bad the Sweet covers are, both around the internet and I'm guessing even on this site, though I cannot be sure about that last bit as I haven't actually checked old discussions on Dragonmount about the cover art; I do remember many conversations about the artwork on wotmania.com and readandfindout.com, and the general concensus was that they were totally inaccurate and in one case physically impossible), but beyond that it just falls in line with the common assumption I pointed out that those of us in the West (ie Europe and North America, and Australia and New Zealand as well, despite them not being "in the West" technically) tend to automatically assume white for characters in fantasy when the setting is not blatantly something non-"European" in setting, and Randland is very much still within the style of a European setting.

 

This assumption is made by artists as well as readers (and the contracted artists are often rarely readers of the material they are doing covers or illustrations for, usually going off of a synopsis or a brief description of scenes), as they are only human too. And not all cover art is approved by the author (and I don't know either way in this case if RJ had such approval or not), so one can't always assume that the artwork on the cover of the book is correct. So yes, the covers can be wrong. And in the case of The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt they are definitely wrong, just to name two. Those covers do not match up in any way to what is in the books. And graphic artists, even if they read the material, bring their own biases with them (whether conscious or unconscious), so it is no surprise that whoever drew and colored the graphic novels painted them as white. This is just how typical fantasy artwork is done in America. At least until the past decade or so, when people started to actively be "woke."

 

As to the comparison Elaida makes of Rand's skin to Emond's Fielder's it doesn't imply "tanned white people" at all, it just implies tanned colored skin, or at least skin darker than Rand's. Tuon's skin color is noted multiple times because it is much darker, many shades darker I would assume than the skin tone of the actors we saw announced today (who are actually rather light skinned compared to most of the black people I know). And the Domani skin color is a particular shade, darker than what we are seeing in the actors cast for these characters.

 

Andor is only based on England in terms of accent and in some ways culture, not on ethnic make up. Remember, during the Age of Legends global travel was just as easy as it is today, if not easier (Travelling, anyone?), so it stands to reason that migration was just as common then as it is today, if not moreso. Which would mean that people of many different races were spread throughout the world at the time the Breaking of the World started. This would lead to people of many different shades and hues being found all over the place. Sure, some regions have more of some skin colors than others, but many of the largest cities would still be very cosmopolitan (look at Tear for instance, which has people of many skin colors from Siuan's pale skin to Juilin's brown skin, and both are from the poor underclass). Manetheren would have been one such city, and when it fell it's survivors would have interbred with each other, leaving descendants millenia later with a neutral skin tone we see from these actors: not pale white as we get from Europeans, and not dark brown as we get from sub Saharan Africans in the real world. Some variance would be expected (see the actor playing Mat).

 

Glad you're taking this conversation in stride, as this is one topic that can easily get out of hand. 

Edited August 14, 2019 by imlad
forgot stuff

[Guest MTGraves]

I am so excited after waiting decades for this series to come to life in a film/tv medium. I think the casting choices were spot on with the book descriptions and my own mental pictures, especially Mat.

 

As for the skin color debate I don't ever remember Perrin's skin color being referenced, but as for Egwene and Nynaeve...

 

Book One, Chapter 3.

 

"Egwene stood a few paces behind the Wisdom, watching intently. Of a height with Nynaeve, and with the same dark coloring..."

[Elaevia]

To be honest, the book covers are not an accurate portrayal of the contents. For instance this scene never happens. Does Perrin use a shield? Where did that head band thing come from? Not sure Mat was waring fancy shirts at this point and Rand certainly wasn't dressed as some sort of noble with a nice clean white shirt thing.

 

 

I was kinda glad when the UK editions changed cover style as I didn't really like most of this sort of one, despite it making my book shelf look odd. Though I love most of the ebook cover art, accurate or not.

 

I can honestly say I have been influenced by the covers, my own bias about fantasy as a genre, and my tendancy to skim personal descriptions (so it's took me longer to recognise certain characters than it should have done) but I don't think any of the casting decisions are bad ones, and I can't wait to see how they will look in costume.

 

Back to the casting:

 

Marcus with an axe over one shoulder, Barney peaking out from under a hat, Josha working the sword forms. I can completly see Zoe staring down the village council. I think I'm having more trouble with Madeleine because in the head shot they are using she is the only one not looking at the camera, but maybe that's a 'looking for adventure' type shot.

 

I am excited because each time we get information like this the series is actually getting realer to me.

 

 

[Ryrin]

6 hours ago, Polskija said:

So far I like what I'm seeing. Young actors/actresses that look the part. 

 

I'm especially happy for Madeleine Madden as Egwene and Barney Harris as Mat. 

 

Here's a short clip from Barney's IMDB: (WITH THE BLOODY HAT!)

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6905444/videoplayer/vi1536015385?ref_=nm_ov_vi

 

Robert Jordan described his characters, their clothing, appearance, and cultures in great detail. That is not Egwene. 

[DemandredFO]

To me they'll have to Egwene the most from the books because as I've said before, she's too good at everything. Now I want Thom, I the casting of him is almost as important as the fab five and Tam is important too. He doesnt appear often but they'll need someone with presence. I vote sean bean for someone who survives.

[Elaevia]

I would love to see Sean Bean as Lan ?

 

or have him as a random villager / towns person at some point...... have him exchange maybe two lines with someone in a tavern...... all set up to be a main character....... then trollocs attack and next we see him he's dead and gone already ?

[DemandredFO]

No, he needs a role to survive until the end, he probably has the sword skills to be a blademaster by now.

[SinisterDeath]

2 hours ago, KingRodel said:

First, I assume that it is reasonable to infer from the cover that Perrin is white. He's pictured as white and red haired and bearded. I doubt the cover would be wrong.

It would be wrong, since he's described as having Dark Brown Curly hair in the Books.

 

Quote

Third, (Rand is white, we can agree) Elaida in Chapter 40 of EotW pushes back Rand's sleeve and points out that his untanned skin is much lighter than most Two Rivers folk. Implying that Two Rivers folk are tanned white people, otherwise she wouldn't have had to push his sleeve back (it would have been obvious at first sight if they were a whole other skin color.)

Being a post-utopia, post-apocalyptic setting, we don't even know how much 'skin color' was really a factor during the Age of Legends, let alone if our worlds view of race and ethnicity even carried over during the breaking.

 

Quote

Fourth, it seems to almost always mention the color of dark or even copper skinned characters (ie Tuon, the Sharans, the Sea Folk, the Domani). Mat often notes Tuon's dark skin. It probably wouldn't be a big deal if the the Two Rivers had citizens of comparable skin color.

 

Fifth, they are pictured as white in the graphic novel adaptations. Which, like the cover art, I consider to be accurate.

 

But to your point, I will admit that I cannot recall a specific mention of either Perrin or Nynaeve as being caucasian. Nor would I have any problem with it if they turned out to be black - I just don't think they are.

 

Except in the show, of course. Obviously they are black in the show.

Well Tuon is described as having skin like Ebony. These actors are very light skinned by comparison.

 

Quote

As for the skin color debate I don't ever remember Perrin's skin color being referenced, but as for Egwene and Nynaeve...

 

Book One, Chapter 3.

 

"Egwene stood a few paces behind the Wisdom, watching intently. Of a height with Nynaeve, and with the same dark coloring..."

Nice catch!
I always pictured Perrin as slightly more tanned/darker complexion then the rest of the boys. Probably because that's what I seem to always picture Black Smiths in general as. Probably based on the covers, I always pictured Nyneave as really, really white, , and Egwene as just 'tanned'. (Probably thanks to Guinevere)

 

Quote

 think I'm having more trouble with Madeleine because in the head shot they are using she is the only one not looking at the camera, but maybe that's a 'looking for adventure' type shot.

I really like the casting of Madeleine... Though she's way prettier then I expected for Egwene. lol

 

Quote

Now I want Thom, I the casting of him is almost as important as the fab five and Tam is important too. He doesnt appear often but they'll need someone with presence. I vote sean bean for someone who survives.

Someone Mentioned it earlier in this thread, but I really like Hugh Laurie for Thom. He's got the limp down, and the man can sing!

Quote

I would love to see Sean Bean as Lan

I'm actually picturing Ken Watanabe as Lan.

Lan is 45 during the Eye of the World.

I also really want Steve Buscemi as Padan Fain

[Ryrin]

A friend mentioned to me that the Three Rivers was an isolated community (the back end of nowhere) & had the rare visitor from outside. It would be assumed that a community such as this would be insular and would marry among themselves and perhaps the villages close by. This would not lend to a rainbow of people.

 

That being said, another mentioned that the actors may have done a great job in the auditions at portraying the characters. So there’s that.

 

I think it’s ridiculous to say that it’s “racism” of any form that drives those who disagree with the casting based on the descriptions provided by Robert Jordan himself.

 

Let’s hope these actors do a bang up job on the series!!

Edited August 15, 2019 by Ryrin

[Ryrin]

58 minutes ago, SinisterDeath said:

It would be wrong, since he's described as having Dark Brown Curly hair in the Books.

 

Being a post-utopia, post-apocalyptic setting, we don't even know how much 'skin color' was really a factor during the Age of Legends, let alone if our worlds view of race and ethnicity even carried over during the breaking.

 

Well Tuon is described as having skin like Ebony. These actors are very light skinned by comparison.

 

Nice catch!
I always pictured Perrin as slightly more tanned/darker complexion then the rest of the boys. Probably because that's what I seem to always picture Black Smiths in general as. Probably based on the covers, I always pictured Nyneave as really, really white, , and Egwene as just 'tanned'. (Probably thanks to Guinevere)

 

I really like the casting of Madeleine... Though she's way prettier then I expected for Egwene. lol

 

Someone Mentioned it earlier in this thread, but I really like Hugh Laurie for Thom. He's got the limp down, and the man can sing!

I'm actually picturing Ken Watanabe as Lan.

Lan is 45 during the Eye of the World.

I also really want Steve Buscemi as Padan Fain

 

Great Paiden Fain. 

[Ryrin]

Is Marcus Rutherford a big guy or does he have to bulk up for Perrin? ?

[SinisterDeath]

9 hours ago, Ryrin said:

Is Marcus Rutherford a big guy or does he have to bulk up for Perrin? ?

Yea he needs to bulk up massively.
But Hey this is Chris Hemsworth before and after Thor... Anythings possible. lol

Edited August 15, 2019 by SinisterDeath
Got the right Chris this time.

[SinisterDeath]

20 minutes ago, Ryrin said:

I think it’s ridiculous to say that it’s “racism” of any form that drives those who disagree with the casting based on the descriptions provided by Robert Jordan himself.

It's not intrinsically that when it comes to those who disagree the casting. There's obviously more than one reason people can disagree with the casting. What it boils down to is how they disagree with the casting, and the verbiage they use to explain why they disagree with it, that really shows if they disagree with the casting for that reason. 
I wasn't sold on Nyneave when I first saw her. I always pictured her as a slightly older, white lady with brown hair in a long Braid, in a Green Dress... But I've also probably gotten that image from the cover art (which isn't that great), and the various fan-art.
Looking back, re-reading character descriptions, we're learning that things like skin color of these characters is rather vague, and It's not even defined in the WoT Companion! (I've always pictured Perrin as more of Spanish Decent)

Ultimately, at the end of the day, all that matters is if these kids are good actors. That alone will make or break the show. No one wants another "MTV" cast.
 

[ferrasa]

WOT casting by Robert Jordan (the author of the series)

 

 

Rand: a young Ben Affleck

Mat: James Garner at age 21

Perrin: a young Val Kilmer

Egwene: Audrey Hepburn at age 18

Nynaeve: a young Jacqueline Bisset

Aviendha: a young Sophia Loren

Elayne: Nicole Kidman at age 18

Min: Isabella Rossellini

Tuon: Halle Berry

Moiraine: Hedy Lamarr

Lan: Liam Neeson in one of his craggier roles

Birgitte: Lucy Lawless of Xena

Faile: Cher at age 19

Thom: Patrick Stewart with hair

Verin: a young Margaret Rutherford

Siuan (after stilling): Renee Zellweger (before appearance change)

Gareth Bryne: a combination Charlton Heston and John Wayne

Morgase: Michelle Pfeiffer

Berelain: Isabelle Adjani

Padan Fain: Alan Rickman

Semirhage: Naomi Campbell or Tyra Banks

Demandred: Omar Sharif

Lanfear: a younger Catherine Deneuve

[Jaglover]

12 hours ago, SinisterDeath said:

 

I can see Rand, Mat, & Perrin. Just not Nyneave so much, but here's hoping her acting is good! 
 

Also, I've Never heard of these actors before.

 

Yep agreed on many of those, Egwene looks OK too. 

 

Can't see Nynaeve which is a big disappointment as she is one of my favourites, certainly my favourite of the female characters. 

[Jaglover]

7 hours ago, DemandredFO said:

From what I remember in EotW, Rand is described as white, tall with red hair, whereas the two rivers folk are considerably darker than Rand but not african black. For me, I'm legally blind so color isn't really my thing. As long they don't cast Tuon or seafolk as white or Saldeans as non asian, I'll be good.

From the physical descriptions two rivers folk are basically Welsh.  The girls are small and dark haired and eyed with fair skin.

 

Diversity is all very well until you end up with an actress who looks nothing like a physical description you've held in your head for the last twenty years and questionable whether it was required given the diversity that already exists in WOT world. 

[DemandredFO]

All well and good to be as exact as possible but I don't think even Amazon has the budget to comb through every welsh village with posters of vague descriptions. Also they're fictional characters, if people are going to get hung on the difference between a light skinned black person or a dark complected white person, then someone has issues.

[Jaglover]

3 hours ago, Ryrin said:

A friend mentioned to me that the Three Rivers was an isolated community (the back end of nowhere) & had the rare visitor from outside. It would be assumed that a community such as this would be insular and would marry among themselves and perhaps the villages close by. This would not lend to a rainbow of people.

 

It is also a big thing that Taren Ferry intermingles with the outside in the books so doesn't have the "true blood of mantheren" as it is put in the books. So yes the core two rivers folk are intermarried and ethnically homogenous and have a much higher rate of those who are born with the spark or who can be taught.