Movie casting... your opinion?

[Paladin]

Ian McKellen would be great. He has the voice & the presence the only problem that I can foresee is that Thom's Character is very physical.

We're talking acrobatics, juggling, knife fights even the occasional assasination.

Whereas Gandalf was more CG horseriding & grand gestures.

 

The person who plays Thom must at least look like he's able to do a backflip while juggling and eating fire, without asking for a chiropractor afterwards.

[TheRedSon]

I don't know why red heads even try to act...  No one writes characters for us and when they do no one wants to see us play them...  Grr...  Come up with some red heads people. 

 

Give Cole Hauser or Damien Lewis a call.

[Majsju]

I don't know why red heads even try to act...  No one writes characters for us and when they do no one wants to see us play them...  Grr...  Come up with some red heads people. 

 

Give Cole Hauser or Damien Lewis a call.

 

Willow in Buffy. Awesomest character on the show, and very much a redhead.

[drunkengrizzly]

i'm probably way off on this one, but i've always pictured the saldeans as more middle eastern than asian.  the samurai cultures seem to be on the northeastern part of the blightborder, like shienar, and even the names sound a little japanese.  but the saldean names seem a little more ....musical...i guess, a little less phonetic, like the japanese language.  bashere for me seems more like Alexander siddig http://imdb.com/name/nm0796502/

[Majsju]

Saldaea: "a number of Middle Eastern cultures and several cultures in countries surrounding the Black Sea" (RJ) This is most directly recognizable in the "horse-culture" of Saldaea, which is evocative of many nomadic peoples of the Asian steppes. The name itself is similar to "Chaldaea," a section of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. Place names are suggestive. Davram Bashere is "Lord of Bashere, Tyr and Sidona." Bashir was a place in Central Asia, and Tyre and Sidon were cities in modern day Lebanon, Tyre being the place of origin of "Tyrean purple." More flavorings come in their first names, such as "Tenobia," which is similar to "Zenobia," a historical queen of the ancient kingdom of Palmyra, which was in the region. Physically, Saldaeans can be seen to resemble the Mongols, excepting the red-haired, green-eyed rarities like Sheriam.

 

http://www.darkfriends.net/wheel/3_sources/3.14_countries.html

[Cadsuane]

bashere for me seems more like Alexander siddig http://imdb.com/name/nm0796502/

 

That may be because he played Dr. Bashir on DS9.  The similar names could cause an association that would not otherwise have been there.

[DubbleChrisP]

DubbleCrisP,

 

Im not so sure about that.

I could be completely wrong but I have looked for any reffrences to Thom's age but the closest I have come is refrenceses to Thom as being "Old" but these referrences were made by teenagers for the most part.

And lets face it when your 19 years old, 40 is old and 55 seems positively Ancient.

 

Thom refers to himself as having been young & handsome when he and Morgase had thier fling.

 

Eleayne was a girl of about 4 at the time. Any younger and she would not have remembered him at all. So it has been approximately 15 years since he left Morgase.

 

I have always read the character as having been in his early forties when he was Court Bard. Leaving him in his mid fifties now.

 

I simply cannot picture a seventy year old man doing backflips without it ending in "Oh my Back!"

 

 

http://wotmania.com/faqtopic.asp?ID=84

 

Thom Merrilin  – b. circa 930 NE, about 70

He has white hair. People are surprised a man as old as Thom can do acrobatics. He was “in his prime” and became Morgase’s lover shortly after Taringail died in 984. A year later, Owyn was captured and he left Caemlyn and Morgase 15 years ago (The Dragon Reborn, To Race the Shadow). Thom was twice Morgase’s age in 984-5. She was 28, so he was in his mid 50s.

[drunkengrizzly]

bashere for me seems more like Alexander siddig http://imdb.com/name/nm0796502/

 

 

That may be because he played Dr. Bashir on DS9.  The similar names could cause an association that would not otherwise have been there.

 

 

 

actually, i've never seen or even heard of that.  i've just always pictured the saldeans as arabic, or persian.  and that dude has played a pretty good general before, i just liked it.

[lou]

I don't know why red heads even try to act...  No one writes characters for us and when they do no one wants to see us play them...  Grr...  Come up with some red heads people. 

 

Give Cole Hauser or Damien Lewis a call.

 

Willow in Buffy. Awesomest character on the show, and very much a redhead.

[/quote/]

 

she is a wonderful character, but for me, it was james marsters: spike ;D

[dmanmiller34]

I would Love to See "The ROck" Play Lan. He has the Muscle tone, The size, and most important he has the Chisled stony face. But For Perrin it has to be the Clark kent on Smallville.(Idon't kow his name) He has black hair and is muscualr.

[reyler]

Shouldn't the most important thing be the ability to act?

 

Oh, and lou, I love you. Spike rocks my socks, even when I'm not wearing socks!  ;D I have James Marsters on my list as Asmodean, though he'd better not get any older or he won't fit so well  :(

[TheRedSon]

Shouldn't the most important thing be the ability to act?

 

I would agree with this statement on every character except Lan.  Why would Lan need to be able to act?  Just stand there and look cool.  Hug the babe every now and then.  Ride a horse.  I have to disagree with the Rock because he doesn't look mature enough to me and his type of muscle doesn't seem very practical.  I've always thought of Lan's mass as leaner than your average WWE type.

 

Alyson Hannigan doens't have red hair.  Willow has red hair.  Besides, I was talking about red headed men.  They're the ones that never get leading roles.  Red headed women have their own stereotypes to deal with, but those don't usually involve troulbe getting hired in Hollywood.

[Guest malone_tymes]

I am stealing the format from the beginning because I am too tired....lol

 

The Ta'veren

Rand: Jonathan Rhys Meyers

http://l.yimg.com/img.tv.yahoo.com/tv/us/img/site/87/56/0000038756_20070327162213.jpg

 

Mat: James McAvoy

http://www.newchatter.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/james-mcavoy.jpg

 

Perrin: Stanislav Ianevski

http://i.mugglenet.com/gof/stanislav.jpg

 

The Main Ladies

Egwene: Ilsa Fisher

http://images.askmen.com/galleries/model/isla-fisher/pictures/isla-fisher-picture-6.jpg

 

Nynaeve: Anne Hathaway

http://www.wallpaperbase.com/wallpapers/celebs/annehathaway/anne_hathaway_7.jpg

 

Min: Ellen Page

http://images.askmen.com/women/celeb_profiles_actress/36_ellen_page.jpg

 

Aviendha: Camilla Belle

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g205/SexiiDork/Camilla%20Belle/Camilla_Belle_5b.jpg

 

Faile: Chiaki Kuriyama

http://int.kateigaho.com/spr05/images/chiaki-kuriyama3.jpg

 

House Trakand

Morgase: Helen Mirren

http://blogs.nypost.com/movies/movies/mirren

 

Elayne: Keri Russell

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/2006-04/27/xin_5204032911381461412938.jpg

 

 

The Warders

Lan: Dwayne Johnson

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0277296/8956.jpg

 

Birgitte: Hilary Swank

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/NrllAless/blog/news/covergirls/hilary_swank_esq_6.jpg

 

The Aes Sedai

Moiraine: Jennifer Gardner

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm182884352/nm0004950

 

The Supporting Cast

Thom: Christopher Walkens

http://www.positivecurfew.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/walken_speaks.jpg

 

Loial: Robbie Coltrane

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/gallery/2002/10/23/Hagrid3.jpg

 

Some of the Bad Guys (cause they can)

Angelina Jolie

Alan Cumming

Eddie Izzard

Johnny Depp

Helena Bonham Carter

David Thewlis

Alan Rickman

Tilda Swinton

 

[nashdude]

I disagree with most of your choices---no offense, just personal opinion. Especially Morgase---WAY too old (and kinda homely hehe). Remember, Morgase is BEAUTIFUL, so much so that Talanvor---about 10 years her junior---is absolutely smitten with her. Also, she had Elayne when she was young, and Elayne is only around twenty now. That would put Morgase in her late thirties or early forties.

 

I WILL however say that your pick for Rand has potential. My experience with that actor is limited, so I'd have to see something with him in it before I would give thumbs up or down.

 

And incidentally, your giving Eddie Izzard an honorable mention as a bad guy---CLASSIC!!! I should have thought of him earlier. He would have been a good Asmodean, if I hadn't already fixed Jeremy Irons in my mind  ::)

[cheyjade]

That would put Morgase in her late thirties or early forties.

 

Plus, didn't she slow a bit?

[tmortn]

I like a lot of the ideas thrown out a couple of posts up... Macavoy for Mat is one of the better ideas I have seen for him and Rhys Meyers might actually make a damn fine rand and that is the first Perrin I have seen that I agree with. For those unfamiliar with Rhys you really ought to check out "The Tudors" He is playing a young Henry the 8th and it would not take much alteration of that character to fit the Rand of the later books. He isn't a great physical fit... but he is one of the very few I can see playing the whole range of Rand's Character, and the window is closing fast on him being convincing as a young innocent.

 

From other lists I love Buschemi as Fain. Robert Carlyle  also fits the bill I think. I think both should have roles.

 

Some folks that should fit somewhere but are understandably not making the rounds

 

John Tutoro, the man is perhaps one of the most under rated character actors out there.

Morgan Freeman, he has got to be able to fit somewhere.

Ewen McGregor

Sly Stone & Bruce Willis should be impossible to overlook with all the military parts.

Pretty much all of the James Bond Actors ... I mean really, how has Connery not popped up on the lists for something here? Brosnan? Craig? They all have good presence and would be good choices for good or bad characters.

I don't think any Ocean's 11 folks have showed up and that is a pretty talented bunch.

 

 

 

As for the women... well I don't think there will ever be agreement there. For one I always wonder just exactly how Berelain and Lanfear would be significantly distanced from the other Hollywood glitz... you can only do so much with makeup and costuming and most of the other characters have plenty of reason to be gussied up. That being said I think most people are going way to young for some of the cast. 

 

For Verin I throw out Francis Mcdormand (sp?) or perhaps Kathy Bates. If Mcdomand could be prettied up she might make a good choice for Moriane as she would certainly have the gravitas to pull off the character if not strictly speaking the looks.... or perhaps more likely would be Siuan. Both should definitely fit somewhere in any movie of this scope with this many 'strong' female characters. They don't all have to be Playboy calibre... many of these roles really need some serious acting to be taken seriously. 

 

I am highly surprised not to see Roberts, Hunt, Foster, Kidman, Streep, Blanchet, Carter and others in that range as more common suggestions in the large range of non starlet age roles.

 

Judi Dench as Siuan would work excellent until you had to deal with Stilling... though even the 'ageless' look would be a bitch.

 

All in all, Jordan made casting the women in his epic all but impossible with the whole ageless concept for female power wielders under the oath. First you have the problem of younger actresses having to play roles of far older wiser women and pulling it off without seeming just plain silly... or makeup disasters trying to make older women look younger. Don't even mention how you would deal with the changes in Siuan and similar.

 

 

Anyway, I could go on and on much in the same vein this discussion has been going pretty much since the The Eye of the World captured so many imaginations... but in all honesty I just choke on the sheer scope of any such project, at least from a traditional Hollywood movie approach. About the only thing that has come even close would be the Potter series and they have already run so long that the original casting has just plain outstripped their characters. Death has made its mark and the swapping of directors etc.... Live action film is so fragile in production I just don't see it working to cover this scope. Jackson did something special with capturing all three movies in one go... a similar effort of almost 4-5 times the scale would have to be made to even consider capturing WOT in live action with at least the effectiveness of Jackson's LOTR's.

 

I think to do WOT justice on the screen you would have to go new style anime. Beowulf showed the way in my opinion. Physical limitations no longer apply and voice/emotion becomes the real limiting factor for choice of actors, though I think their mental imagery will come along for the ride to some extent but it is highly manipulatable. You can create the inhuman beauty of Lanfear ala Grendals mother, Turn an otherwise un-imposing actor into the mythic hero, deal easily with the ageless effect of the Aes Sedai etc and keep a consistent look and feel without the problems of physical locations etc... True to life animation is getting damn close to jumping the uncanny divide with the realistic looking people. Beowulf was light years past the Final Fantasy debacle... and the next step I honestly think will be there.

 

Even if you solve the casting and production issues, Jordan has left Movie makers with a final stumper. He overlaps the time line as a standard device. This isn't a-linear Tarentino style... it isn't standard quick fill in the blank flashback stuff... it is full on extensive covering of multiple plot lines during simultaneous times in the story. Hell one book is about 6 plot lines or more going through the same couple of days. This is one of the more frustrating aspects of Jordan and the bane of the series from about book 5 on. This is the problem of  making the LOTR trilogy to the umpteenth power. To show/tell the parallel stories and keep people up to speed is hard enough with the dedicated and all but impossible with the masses... and it is far worse in film than it is in books. By their nature you are dealing with a larger commitment to details and time with a reader than you are with a movie goer. Look at the LOTR movies... Jackson rarely spent more than a couple of minutes explaining events that happened simultaneously... instead he picked the thread he wanted to focus on and only backfilled to the extent absolutely necessary to badly patch the gaping holes that left in the story told by Tolkien... and where he bothered he did it VERY quickly. LOTR is at heart a far simpler story with a far better defined central chain of events than WOT has become... and it was deemed all but impossible to do in movie form in large part because of the grand scale and convoluted intertwining stories. While I think Jackson made a spectacular set of movies, I would debate he didn't really tell Tolkien's story. He told part of it as well as he knew how and he told that part well. Perhaps that is the best one could realistically hope for with regards to WOT... but I want to hold out for more.

[Guest malone_tymes]

I know Helen Mirren was a bad choice, but I CANNOT get her out of my head as a queen.  Cate Blanchett would be my next choice.  But if I could have a young Julie Andrews... it would be over for me.

[aevogt]

The attitude is more important than the appearance.

 

Padan Fain - D.J. Qualls - goes without saying

 

Semihrage - Angela Bassett -this woman is beautiful but a little scary

 

Elayne - Kate Hudson - pretty, but gives the appearance of not much going on upstairs

 

Cadsuane - Joan Allen - Very stern, no nonsense kind of lady

 

Min - Ming Na

 

I've got the rest of the entire cast list tucked away somewhere but it's not on this machine.

[Darth_Andrea]

I have a few personal preferences as most do.

 

Lan - Kurt Russell

 

Moraine - Kate Winslet

 

Egwene - Emmy Rossum

 

Nyneave - Jessica Biel

 

Tuon - Shavon Kirksey

 

Taim - James Marsters

 

Leanna - Elisabeth Röhm

 

Suian - Teresa Palmer

 

Elaida - Alana De La Garza

 

Thom - Dennis Hopper

 

[glow=green,1,500]Darth_Andrea[/glow]   

[nornagest]

Clive Owen as Rand ???? yes i can see Why its been said but clive is 44 (same age as me!) ......and even 20 years ago he would not have made a good Rand ( but a good Mat) as he was skinny back then, well toned but no real bulk.

he could have played the part (he is a damned good actor) even then, as i knew him when we were both in the same youth theatre.

he would make a great Ruarch or even Lan ( but i think bruce willis would be really good there, check out Sin City and compare.

[safwd]

Here is my list. Tried to keep ages right and as close to Dragonmount discription as i could. Sorry no pictures, im not that smart.

 

The Main Chars

Rand- Jared Padalecki

Mat- Justin Chatwin

Perrin- Stanislav Ianevski (took this from malone_tymes, best i have seen)

Egwene- Emma Roberts (perfect fit)

Nynaeve- Natalie Portman (perfect fit)

Moraine- Andrea Corr (not sure if she can act but looks perfect)

Lan- Kevin Sorbo (I was against this when i first saw it,thought he was too good looking. But have seen recent pictures of him and he has aged into the role i think. Perfect size and build, plus knows how to use a sword and martial arts.)

Thom- Hugh Laurie (personnal Favorite)

Min- Havent found my Min yet.

 

The Trakands

Morgase- Kate Winslet

Elayne- Katie Cassidy

Gwayne- Chase Crawford

Galad- Hayden Christianson (i dont like him, but i dont like Galad either. And the girls think he is good looking)

 

Other goodies

Faile- Noureen Dewolf or Tania Raymonde

Berelien- Minka Kelly

Aram- Taylor Kitsch

Julian- Mekhi Phifer

Domon- Michael Cudlitz or James Gandopfini

Egeanin- Yancy Butler

Tuon- Lauren London

Bashere- Harvey Keitel

Noal- Michael Caine (good idea whoever)

Logain- Tom Welling (most like him as Rand or Perrin but he is too old (30), he fits Logain well)

Birgitte- Ali Larder

Elyas- Tommy Lee Jones

Tam- Richard Gere

Tylin- Demi Moore (perfect i think, plus she already knows how to tell much younger men what to do)

Alliandre- Melissa Joan Hart

Gareth Bythe- Sean Connory (who else?)

Olver- Brent or Shane Kinsman

Luca- Johnny Depp

 

Aes Sedai (how will they pull off the ageless thing?)

Siuan- Zooey Deschanel

Leane- Katherine Heigl

(for these two i would have makeup make them a little older and ageless for pre stilling, then normal for post)

Alanna- Navi Rawat

Verin- Kathy Bates

Elaida- Claire Forlani (not feeling great about this one)

Casuane- Helen Mirren

Valdene/Adeleas- Jayne Atkinson

Sheriam- Gale O'Grady (with some red hair dye)

Lelaine- Femke Janssen (she may be a better Aiel wise one)

Anaiya- Kali Rocha

Romanda- Kiane Keaton

Alviarin- Kathryn Morris

Galina- Jolene Blalock (the lips got this role)

 

Aiel (choices based on all Aiel being really tall, I think Rand is a slightly below average height for a male aiel)

Avienda- Amanda Righetti

Rhuarc- Liam Neeson (he is a bit old but better then what i had before)

Gaul- Daniel Cudmore (Gaul is a head taller then Perrin so probably around 6'7" )

Chiad- Bryce Dallas Howard

Bain- Laura Prepon

Amys- Heather Graham

Melaine- Elizabeth Hurley

Sorilea- Annie Lennox (again i dont know if she can act but looks great)

Sulin- Lisa Ryder

Sevanna- Leelee Sobieski (i like her even if she isnt an exact fit)

Therava- Allson Janney

Bael- Robert Maillett (about 7' tall)

Braun- Sid Eudy (Psyco Sid/Sid Vicious for you wrestling fans)

 

The bad guys/girls

Taim- Cole Hauser

Fain- Steve Buscemi (too tall but i like him for this part, he does crazy well)

Moghedien- Joely Fisher

Sammael- Sean Bean

Ishamael- Victor Webster

Moridin- James Lafferty (most are going with an older actor but he is discribed as looking a couple years older then Rand)

Demandred- Still looking

Graendal- Rose McGowan

Mesaana- Courtney Cox or Liv Tyler (i would like to see her in the movie)

Semirhage- Aisha Tyler

Asmodean- I like Antonio Banderas but im not sure if Asmo looks spanish

Aran'gar- Megan Fox (Jessica Alba is a favorite (of mine also) but i went with someone more sultry)

Osangar- Adrien Brody

Lanfear- Kate Beckinsale (one of the most beautiful women on the planet)

Cyndane- Kristen bell

Belal- ? we dont see him much

Rahvin- Dwayne Johnson (discribed as bigger then Rand and dark skinned)

Aginor- we dont see him but for like 5 minutes so it doesnt matter much

Balthamel- see Aginor, plus he wears a mask

Shaidar Haran- not sure how to do the Super Fade

 

[Darth_Andrea]

I have seen many of you pick

 

Perrin- Stanislav Ianevski

 

I have seen him in a couple of things but I haven't heard him attempt him to speak with out his native bulgarian accent. He would need alot of vocial coaching to be able to drop it and speak like a southern farm boy, which is how Perrin should sound.

 

 

[glow=green,1,500]Darth_Andrea[/glow]           

[nashdude]

I think to do WOT justice on the screen you would have to go new style anime. Beowulf showed the way in my opinion.

 

You know, I was just thinking that! The CGI employed for Beowulf would be the only way you could really put the perfect actor in the perfect role---age notwithstanding. You could tweak every look (to include the ageless effect) and even get voice doubles in the event one of the actors could not complete his obligation to the movie (death, etc).

 

Also, it would pave the way for me to put my FAVORITE choice of actor in there... Carolyn Seymour as Elaida! I've never added her into my actor lists because she's just too dang old to play an Aes Sedai, but if WoT were done in CGI, I couldn't see ANYONE doing Elaida as well as her.

 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the perfect picture to post for her, but Quantum Leap fans should recognize her. She played Zoe---the observer for the Evil Leaper Alia---and also Pricilla Stoltz in "A Portrait for Troyan", as the personal assistant (and ghost, it turns out!) to a woman who thinks she is being haunted by her dead husband.

 

http://theforce.net/videogames/kotor/voc/carolynseymour.jpg -- This picture here should give you an idea of what she looks like.

 

http://www.quantumleap-alsplace.com/episodeguide/portraitfortroian.htm -- Go here next and look at stills #3 and #6, and you should get an idea of why I like her. She has the PERFECT arrogant air, with chilling eyes that match Elaida's... ummm... perfectly ;)

 

 

I have a few personal preferences as most do.

 

Lan - Kurt Russell

 

I dunno. He's an interesting choice---especially after the cold, mechanical role he played in "Soldier"---but even then he had too much... I dunno... "sadness" in his eyes. Lan has to be hard as a rock to start the series, lightening up only a touch when Ny comes into the picture, and stepping to the edge of madness when Moiraine goes through the doorway ter'angreal. And all this has to reflect in the actor's eyes.

 

Personally, I like Jason Momoa for this, because most of it he can pull off without even trying. But Kurt... ahhh... I dunno...

 

BTW... I've been meaning to ask... What actress did you use as the model for your avatar? She's hot! :D

 

(PS... NOT hitting on you in any way. I just think she looks familiar ;D)

[Majsju]

Made quite a few changes to my list.

 

Nynaeve - Holly Marie Combs

Lan – William Fichtner

Egwene - Michelle Trachtenberg

Gawyn - Drew Fuller

Morgase – Julie Delpy

Gareth Bryne – Edward James Olmos

Davram Bashere - J.K Simmons

Narishma – Milo Ventimiglia

Logain – Hayden Christiansen

Noal - Sean Penn

Min – Allison Mack

Elayne – Emily De Ravin (if she can learn a  british accent, nothing against aussie accent, but does not quite fit here)

Thom – Anthony Stewart Head

Moiraine - Torri Higginson

Tam – Richard Dean Anderson

Alanna – Marion Cotrillard

 

Fain – Robert Knepper

Aram - Vincent Kartheiser

Masema - Chris Meloni

Pedron Niall - Keith Szarabajka

Elaida - Marcia Cross

Tylin - Claudia Black

Berelain - Alyssa milano

 

Ishamael - John Glover

Moridin - Justin Hartley (Had him as a possible Rand first, but I'm sticking to keeping the three ta'veren lads for no-names)

Lanfear - Juliet Landau

Demandred – Adrian Pasdar

Graendal - Rose McGowan

Moghedien – Tilda Swinton

Rahvin – Julian McMahon

Sammael – James Marsters

Asmodean – James Callis

Aran'gar - Morena Baccarin

Mesaana – Amanda Tapping

Osan'gar - Mark Margolis

 

Taim – Michael Rosenbaum

 

Edit: Note to self: Read before posting so all changes actually makes it from head to screen...

[trakand_01]

I've just realised my PERFECT Logain, but alas it will never be.

 

Heath Ledger.