a NEW Casting Thread (let's keep it nice)

[Harldin]

1 hour ago, Elder_Haman said:

 

Sophie Okonedo is a great addition. Oscar nominee and excellent actress. I'm excited by both of the new castings.

Thats good news because i think Siuan is one of the more complicated characters in WOT and won’t be easy to get right.

[Sammuel]

 

 

With Kae Alexander as Min, I like that they got someone who's proven themselves as a stage actress, and didn't go for any model type. I do have some concerns, that could be proven null and void by the time the show actually comes out. One, she looks very serious, which makes me worried that she won't be the snarky lovable regular gal of the series and more of a slow talking oracle type. And the only concern I have with her looking significantly older is that it might hint that they are going to kill her romantic storyline. If they keep it, awesome, good for the show featuring an older woman and younger man being in love. My concern is that they won't do that, and Elayne and Aviendha will be in a polyamorous relationship with Rand while Min will be more of a background advisor role. 

 

Still, excepted that the roles have been cast. Ready to move on to a future where I can come home from work and finally watch the premiere. 

Edited August 20, 2020 by Sammuel

[SinisterDeath]

10 hours ago, Sammuel said:

 

 

With Kae Alexander as Min, I like that they got someone who's proven themselves as a stage actress, and didn't go for any model type. I do have some concerns, that could be proven null and void by the time the show actually comes out. One, she looks very serious, which makes me worried that she won't be the snarky lovable regular gal of the series and more of a slow talking oracle type. And the only concern I have with her looking significantly older is that it might hint that they are going to kill her romantic storyline. If they keep it, awesome, good for the show featuring an older woman and younger man being in love. My concern is that they won't do that, and Elayne and Aviendha will be in a polyamorous relationship with Rand while Min will be more of a background advisor role. 

 

Still, excepted that the roles have been cast. Ready to move on to a future where I can come home from work and finally watch the premiere. 

You know it's funny. I cannot find that actresses age at all. Aside from her film career (which isn't tiny!) she's a ghost. She could be 20, or she could be 30.

 

18 hours ago, Elder_Haman said:

 

Sophie Okonedo is a great addition. Oscar nominee and excellent actress. I'm excited by both of the new castings.

So my first reaction when I saw the picture was "woah! She looks waaay younger than Moiraine!".

Then I checked out her IMDB profile. She's 11 years older than Rosamund.
 

[Sammuel]

44 minutes ago, SinisterDeath said:

You know it's funny. I cannot find that actresses age at all. Aside from her film career (which isn't tiny!) she's a ghost. She could be 20, or she could be 30.

I probably shouldn't have assumed I knew her age. I thought the lady playing Siuan was in her late 20's/early 30's and not 52.

[Thrasymachus]

Makeup, lighting and acting can go a long way to making an actor appear younger than their actual age, as well.  A 40-year-old playing a ~25-year-old is far more within the realm of doable than a 29-year-old playing a ~18-year-old.  But both have been done, and not always as laughably badly as that meme with Steve Buscemi.

 

Since we know that she graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2011, we can make an educated guess.  The Guildhall offer 3-year BA programs in acting, and 4-year programs, as well as an MA program.  If she did the 3-year program, then she's likely 30, 4-year, 31.  It's unlikely she has the MA degree from the Guildhall, else that's be touted in her bios alongside any undergraduate degree in acting or drama she might have. 

 

The earliest credit she has on imdb is for a 3-minute short that's listed as published in 2008-11, that looks like it could have been a student project, or possibly an audition project for the Guildhall, and her next one is 2012.  If her 2008 credit is an admission project, that suggests she did the 4-year program, which suggests she's 31.  A far cry from the 39 that was being tossed around on Twitter following her announcement.  And a 31-year-old playing a ~25-year-old is completely normal.

[Harldin]

2 hours ago, Sammuel said:

I probably shouldn't have assumed I knew her age. I thought the lady playing Siuan was in her late 20's/early 30's and not 52.

Sounds like a perfect fit for an Aes Sedai then

[Dovie'andi se tovya sagain]

 

?I'm so excited yesterday these amazing announcements and today got my copy of the WoT companion, feels good man ?

 

Now that we know Peter Franzen is playing Stepin the question I have regarding casting is this, who is playing Elyas?

[SinisterDeath]

8 hours ago, Thrasymachus said:

Since we know that she graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2011, we can make an educated guess.  The Guildhall offer 3-year BA programs in acting, and 4-year programs, as well as an MA program.  If she did the 3-year program, then she's likely 30, 4-year, 31.  It's unlikely she has the MA degree from the Guildhall, else that's be touted in her bios alongside any undergraduate degree in acting or drama she might have.

That's where my 20-30 range comes from. Cause she could have graduated highschool at like, 12 for all we know. ?

[Thrasymachus]

Yeah, she could be a prodigy and be younger than 30, but it's not very likely.  The only other clue I've found regarding her age is that she moved with her family to London when she was 10, but it doesn't say what year.  Someone could do a little digging and see if there's any publicly available info on her dad or mom that specifies what year they moved, but that's getting into creeper territory, imo.

[Sammuel]

On 8/20/2020 at 6:28 PM, Thrasymachus said:

Yeah, she could be a prodigy and be younger than 30, but it's not very likely.  The only other clue I've found regarding her age is that she moved with her family to London when she was 10, but it doesn't say what year.  Someone could do a little digging and see if there's any publicly available info on her dad or mom that specifies what year they moved, but that's getting into creeper territory, imo.

I felt guilty about trying to look up her age, and worse when I got to a page that had her relationship status and list of Ex's. Still feel dirty about that. I did find a video of her doing stand up for five minutes, so that was fun and I retract saying she looks too serious.

 

I was watching the Patrick Stewart version of Macbeth, and lady Macbeth is so hauntingly creepy in it that I couldn't help but think she would make the perfect Lanfear. She's so hauntingly terrifying in the role, and still darkly beautiful. Anyways, I looked up the actress, and it's Kate Fleetwood who's been cast as Liandrin. Sorry for the interruption.

[Elessar]

There is nothing wrong with looking up info on persons/celebrities on the internet. Millions do this out of natural curiosity and a wish to know more about people they admire. In this time and age we are told to feel shame/guilt about so many things in life and I think that is wrong.

 

According to a UK news article I came across on the internet (I have the link) this actress was 32 years old in 2017 which would make her around 35 years old now, presupposing the article was correct. But as someone said before, age will not matter here since make up artists will have no problem making her look a bit younger if that is necessary.

 

I am more intrigued to see how the showrunners are going to make the Aes Sedai faces smooth and ageless (and thereby clearly different from that of other women incl. the female Forsaken) like it is depicted in canon.

 

As for Min, I am glad she is finally cast and hope she will stay the same character in all ways as in the books.

[imlad]

6 hours ago, Elessar said:

There is nothing wrong with looking up info on persons/celebrities on the internet. Millions do this out of natural curiosity and a wish to know more about people they admire. In this time and age we are told to feel shame/guilt about so many things in life and I think that is wrong.

 

According to a UK news article I came across on the internet (I have the link) this actress was 32 years old in 2017 which would make her around 35 years old now, presupposing the article was correct. But as someone said before, age will not matter here since make up artists will have no problem making her look a bit younger if that is necessary.

 

I am more intrigued to see how the showrunners are going to make the Aes Sedai faces smooth and ageless (and thereby clearly different from that of other women incl. the female Forsaken) like it is depicted in canon.

 

As for Min, I am glad she is finally cast and hope she will stay the same character in all ways as in the books.

 

Could you share the link please, I'd like to see some corroboration on her age (not that I don't believe you, I just want to see it for myself, ya know? No offense to you, mate). Because she sure doesn't look that old. I tried searching for her age for a good amount of time, and got nowhere.

Edited August 22, 2020 by imlad

[Elessar]

I don't personally think she looks that old myself either, but then again it is often difficult to judge age and my impression (being a westerner) is that Asian women often look somewhat younger than they are..

 

I was not sure if it were allowed or frowned upon to post external weblinks here at DM, but since you ask I presume it is fine. The info I found was in a UK newspaper article (reputable/respectable London Evening Standard) where it says in an article called 'Meet the new generation of acting stars on the rise this autumn' posted on 6 September 2017:

 

 

Kae Alexander

 

GoT fans, look closely and see if you recognise Alexander. Granted, it’s not easy, given that the 32-year-old played one of the Children of the Forest, Leaf, in series six: so heavily made-up, with prosthetics glued onto her entire body, that ‘I was getting picked up at midnight to get into make-up at 1am, to be on set for 10am!’ Born in Kobe, Japan, at the age of 10 she moved to north London, where she became obsessed with Pineapple Studio classes and, aged 14, got into acting after she was dragged down to an opening day at the BRIT school by a friend..

 

 

This is the beginning of the part about Kae in the article, you can read the rest about 1/3 down the page in the link below:

 

https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/meet-the-new-generation-of-acting-stars-on-the-rise-this-autumn-a3627211.html

 

As mentioned, I can't confirm if this info is correct, but it looks like a serious article on up and coming acting stars from 2017 from a pretty reputable source.

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Elessar

[Rand520]

So based on last post she's 35-ish. I think they can make her the part/believable, more important is her acting and chemistry with me...err other Rand. I forget sometimes.  

[mistborn82]

Min is as old or a little older than Nyneave, who, I don't think it's ever said but I assume, is between 25 and 30 despite not looking it. Seems about right for Min then.

[imlad]

On 8/22/2020 at 5:34 PM, Elessar said:

I don't personally think she looks that old myself either, but then again it is often difficult to judge age and my impression (being a westerner) is that Asian women often look somewhat younger than they are..

 

I was not sure if it were allowed or frowned upon to post external weblinks here at DM, but since you ask I presume it is fine. The info I found was in a UK newspaper article (reputable/respectable London Evening Standard) where it says in an article called 'Meet the new generation of acting stars on the rise this autumn' posted on 6 September 2017:

 

 

Kae Alexander

 

GoT fans, look closely and see if you recognise Alexander. Granted, it’s not easy, given that the 32-year-old played one of the Children of the Forest, Leaf, in series six: so heavily made-up, with prosthetics glued onto her entire body, that ‘I was getting picked up at midnight to get into make-up at 1am, to be on set for 10am!’ Born in Kobe, Japan, at the age of 10 she moved to north London, where she became obsessed with Pineapple Studio classes and, aged 14, got into acting after she was dragged down to an opening day at the BRIT school by a friend..

 

 

This is the beginning of the part about Kae in the article, you can read the rest about 1/3 down the page in the link below:

 

https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/meet-the-new-generation-of-acting-stars-on-the-rise-this-autumn-a3627211.html

 

As mentioned, I can't confirm if this info is correct, but it looks like a serious article on up and coming acting stars from 2017 from a pretty reputable source.

 

 

Hey thank you! And I've never run into any issues posting links to external sites. In fact, if you look at the features across the top in the editor when writing a post you will see a button specifically for links (just to the right of the Strikethrough button). I've posted dozens of external links, links I know moderators have read and nobody has ever said anything to me about them. So no worries on that.

 

Anyhow, thank you for the link, good to have the information at hand now.

[SinisterDeath]

On 8/22/2020 at 4:34 PM, Elessar said:

I don't personally think she looks that old myself either, but then again it is often difficult to judge age and my impression (being a westerner) is that Asian women often look somewhat younger than they are..

 

I was not sure if it were allowed or frowned upon to post external weblinks here at DM, but since you ask I presume it is fine. The info I found was in a UK newspaper article (reputable/respectable London Evening Standard) where it says in an article called 'Meet the new generation of acting stars on the rise this autumn' posted on 6 September 2017:

 

 

Kae Alexander

 

GoT fans, look closely and see if you recognise Alexander. Granted, it’s not easy, given that the 32-year-old played one of the Children of the Forest, Leaf, in series six: so heavily made-up, with prosthetics glued onto her entire body, that ‘I was getting picked up at midnight to get into make-up at 1am, to be on set for 10am!’ Born in Kobe, Japan, at the age of 10 she moved to north London, where she became obsessed with Pineapple Studio classes and, aged 14, got into acting after she was dragged down to an opening day at the BRIT school by a friend..

 

 

This is the beginning of the part about Kae in the article, you can read the rest about 1/3 down the page in the link below:

 

https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/meet-the-new-generation-of-acting-stars-on-the-rise-this-autumn-a3627211.html

 

As mentioned, I can't confirm if this info is correct, but it looks like a serious article on up and coming acting stars from 2017 from a pretty reputable source.

 

External links, like to stories/news/etc are fine.

 

Advertising something not so much. Specially if your posting a "hey, join my forum!".

[imlad]

On 8/23/2020 at 11:56 PM, SinisterDeath said:

External links, like to stories/news/etc are fine.

 

Advertising something not so much. Specially if your posting a "hey, join my forum!".

 

"...you're posting..."

 

??

[imlad]

3 minutes ago, imlad said:

 

"...you're posting..."

 

??

 

Someone had to say it...

 

(and for a while, I was "Someone Else" so that basically means me)

Edited September 4, 2020 by imlad

[Sawyer]

When I heard Amazon planned on adapting 'The Wheel of Time,' it caught my attention big time. 

 

Like most people, I care more about a show's casting when I have read the book(s) it is based on. I did not read 'The Witcher,' so I barely noticed the casting in that show. But I did read the 'Game of Thrones' and was satisfied with the casting and most plot adaptions -  Very faithful to the books, especially early seasons  - obviously.

 

My impression of the casting:

 

1) Josha Stradowski  as Rand Al Thor. Seems faithful to the author's vision.

2) Kate Fleetwood as Liandrin Guirale: Don't like it. Don't see it at all.

3) Edmond Field characters casting: Not faithful to author's description or vision. The author made a particular point about how the Edmond Fielders looked compared to Rand and why that was so- not just a passing mention either. Clear foreshadowing from the descriptions/appearances were completely ignored as far as I can tell.

4) Rosamund Pike as Moraine: meh. Too model-like. I would have preferred someone with more character/edginess to her looks. I pictured someone like Janet Montgomery from "New Amsterdam." 

5) Daniel Henney as Lan: A Very Good fit.

 

After seeing the casting choices, not sure I will watch it. Which is o.k. I enjoyed the books and that is enough; I don' t need to watch any more telly. I plan on finishing the Elric of Melnibone series that I started ages ago.

 

 

[Fano'Lan Redux]

When I think WoT casting, I think Egwene's eyes.  <check's Madeleine Madden IMBD page> Yes, looking forward to S1E1 very much, very much indeed.

Edited October 4, 2020 by Fano'Lan Redux

[imlad]

On 10/4/2020 at 6:33 AM, Sawyer said:

When I heard Amazon planned on adapting 'The Wheel of Time,' it caught my attention big time. 

 

Like most people, I care more about a show's casting when I have read the book(s) it is based on. I did not read 'The Witcher,' so I barely noticed the casting in that show. But I did read the 'Game of Thrones' and was satisfied with the casting and most plot adaptions -  Very faithful to the books, especially early seasons  - obviously.

 

My impression of the casting:

 

.........

3) Edmond Field characters casting: Not faithful to author's description or vision. The author made a particular point about how the Edmond Fielders looked compared to Rand and why that was so- not just a passing mention either. Clear foreshadowing from the descriptions/appearances were completely ignored as far as I can tell.

 

As to the casting in Game of Thrones, no, it wasn't accurate. Ned Stark and Arya are both clearly described as having long lean faces (I think "horse-faced" was even used a time or two), and Ned as having dark black hair. That was not lived up to with the show. Tyrion Lannister was described as having very pale, almost white, blond hair, was exceptionally ugly of face and having eyes of two different colors. That was not the case (and most women I know call Dinklage a rather good looking man). He was also much shorter and more deformed than was portrayed on the show. So please, do not call it accurate. Especially with what you have to say about the casting for the show based on Jordan's work.

 

On to The Wheel of Time.

 

You definitely need to watch these two videos (at least the first one), in which they draw upon the AUTHOR'S own notes and texts to prove that your interpretation is wholly inaccurate.

 

 

 

 

And THAT should be the end of that particular aspect of the casting conversation in this thread. Check and mate.

Edited October 7, 2020 by imlad

[bmarluke]

On 10/4/2020 at 3:33 AM, Sawyer said:

When I heard Amazon planned on adapting 'The Wheel of Time,' it caught my attention big time. 

 

Like most people, I care more about a show's casting when I have read the book(s) it is based on. I did not read 'The Witcher,' so I barely noticed the casting in that show. But I did read the 'Game of Thrones' and was satisfied with the casting and most plot adaptions -  Very faithful to the books, especially early seasons  - obviously.

 

My impression of the casting:

 

1) Josha Stradowski  as Rand Al Thor. Seems faithful to the author's vision.

2) Kate Fleetwood as Liandrin Guirale: Don't like it. Don't see it at all.

3) Edmond Field characters casting: Not faithful to author's description or vision. The author made a particular point about how the Edmond Fielders looked compared to Rand and why that was so- not just a passing mention either. Clear foreshadowing from the descriptions/appearances were completely ignored as far as I can tell.

4) Rosamund Pike as Moraine: meh. Too model-like. I would have preferred someone with more character/edginess to her looks. I pictured someone like Janet Montgomery from "New Amsterdam." 

5) Daniel Henney as Lan: A Very Good fit.

 

After seeing the casting choices, not sure I will watch it. Which is o.k. I enjoyed the books and that is enough; I don' t need to watch any more telly. I plan on finishing the Elric of Melnibone series that I started ages ago.

 

 

Ultimately, what you prefer has no bases on how the characters will look and feel on screen. Your reading bias is like all bias, often inaccurate and entirely dependent on personal experience. 
 

I recommend you: 

1. Write down a character description from memory. 
2. Listen to the books on tape so you can focus on how the characters are written. Stop of the book when they are described. Write that down.

3. Compare your version to what is written. 
4. Sit back and gaze in wonder how your bias somehow changed what was actually written.    Mind blown 

[imlad]

5 minutes ago, bmarluke said:

Ultimately, what you prefer has no bases on how the characters will look and feel on screen. Your reading bias is like all bias, often inaccurate and entirely dependent on personal experience. 
 

I recommend you: 

1. Write down a character description from memory. 
2. Listen to the books on tape so you can focus on how the characters are written. Stop of the book when they are described. Write that down.

3. Compare your version to what is written. 
4. Sit back and gaze in wonder how your bias somehow changed what was actually written.    Mind blown 

 

If there was a thumbs up button I would be slamming it right now...

[Fano'Lan Redux]

19 hours ago, imlad said:

 

If there was a thumbs up button I would be slamming it right now...

 

For you both, kudos on the replies and the patience exhibited.