Casting the Movie Continued

[penandink]

Yeah, I could see that. Though it does open up the Arthur Dayne argument again...

*runs and hides*

Arthur Dayne--white guy that I think would stand out anywhere: Benno Furmann. and before you ask, yes, I looked at the Amok portrait, and I think they share some similar facial features, as well as some extremely striking eyes.

Right now, we've got an indian, two east-asians, a latino, and an italian. The Dothraki are supposed to be a homogeneous society, so they should look it. Since they seem to be modeled after the Mongolians, the ideal would be to cast people with that look. Any suggestions?

I think that if we are trying to do that, then we should stick with casting Indians for this. That is going to be our largest pool of racially consistent actors to choose from.

Also, it seems that Missy Pyle is a consensus choice for Brienne 'till we can come up with a better alternative.

Yes, except for the people who like Miriam Shor. I think Missi Pyle is creepy-looking and weird, not Brienne.

(edited to comment on Missy Pyle)

[Maester Yobjascz]

My personal choice for the Dothraki would be Korean... but I've only seen a few Korean films; not nearly enough for me to be familiar enough with the actors to make suggestions. Moreover, it might be difficult to find a really tall Korean actor capable of pulling off Drogo.

On Brienne: here's the Tower of the Hand physical description...

She has large, blue eyes, straw-colored hair, broad, coarse features, and a flat face. Her teeth are prominent and crooked, her mouth is too wide, her lips are swollen, her nose is battered and has been broken more than once, and her face is covered in freckles. She is tall and ungainly, thick for a woman.

Now, I don't recall seeing Shor in any of her roles... but my initial reaction is that her face is not flat/broad enough. I also can't find a reference anywhere for her height, whereas Missi Pyle is 5'11". The actress for Brienne *does* need to be tall. Broad shoulders are a plus, as they're harder to fake, but the height will be needed as she's supposed to be bigger than most of the other knights.

[Blah]

Jim Caveizel as Dayne..I like it. I can definitely see it.

I wanted to make a new suggestion for Alleras/Sallera. She is described as having dark skin (her mother was a Summer Islander) and so I think we ought to be looking for an African-American actress. That said, I would like to put forward Zoe Saldana as a possibility. She might be too pretty, but I think with the right makeup, etc., the strength of her facial features could be used against her.

You know what I think Zoe might be a very good match. She's not suppose to look ugly, she's suppose to make a handsome man and I think you could turn her into one.

[Darcia]

But would she look good as a red head?

Really, I think Julianne Moore is such a great pick for Cat that whoever plays Ned has to match up with her and Ioan Gruffudd would look too young next to her.

ETA: Maester Y, that looks like a white beard shot with dark to me!

Hmmm. There must be a noble-looking, dark-haired, long-faced actor in his late 30s/early 40s who could play Ned!

Lena seems to have the kind of face that suits any hair colour. She was a blonde in The Long Firm and a red head in Imagine me and you. This is her with some Tully red. pic

Personally I don't think Julianne is a perfect match for Cat. She looks younger than her age but if Ned is 35, then Cat should be under 35 and I don't Julianne looks that.

Cat should look about the same age as Cersei, and Tricia and Julianne don't look the same age to me.

[Lightsnake]

I honestly think the Starks are fine as they are

[WightMeWorry]

Random thought, how about Henry Ian Cusick for Ned. Like Caviezel, he's played Jesus Christ--so you know he can portray someone with the weight of the world on his shoulders Of course, he's probably better known as Desmond from Lost. Perhaps he belongs on the actors looking for roles page?

Saw a recent pic of Steven Seagal in Parade magazine and he'd fit as a Dothraki. I know, it Seagal. But the horselords don't talk much

[Maester Yobjascz]

Well, this information is certainly not canon, but seems accurate. According to the dates used there, Eddard is 35, and Catelyn 29. Of course, this timeline also makes Robb 14.

I don't think it's unreasonable to bump the ages of the kids up a couple of years... Robb makes much more sense as 16-18 years old, rather than 14. This should force the ages of his parents up as well, so Catelyn would be 32-35, and Eddard 37-39, which fits our expectations a bit better.

That said, DDL still isn't a bad choice for Eddard. Then again, Henry Ian Cusick is a good choice as well. Moreover, I think Cusick's face better lines up with the actors chosen for his kids (though not enough to make Robb, Bran, and Sansa favor Stark over Tully). What might be the deciding factor, in my mind, is that Cusick is still young enough to play a young Eddard. DDL can be made up to be younger, but I think he only shaves off enough to play Eddard normally. I don't think we can get another 20 years off him.

As far as Julienne Moore goes... she's walking that line. She looks like she could still pull off mid-30's. But like DDL, if there's a need for a younger Catelyn in a flashback (say, to the duel between Brandon and Petyr Baelish), I don't think she'll make it... at which point we'd have to find a 'young' Catelyn Tully. Of course, if we get a new Catelyn to replace Moore, we'll likely also have to find a new Lysa Tully to replace Kirstie Alley...

The 'young' version actor/actress issue isn't a huge one, but it's a slight pain.

[penandink]

Well, this information is certainly not canon, but seems accurate. According to the dates used there, Eddard is 35, and Catelyn 29. Of course, this timeline also makes Robb 14.

I don't think it's unreasonable to bump the ages of the kids up a couple of years... Robb makes much more sense as 16-18 years old, rather than 14. This should force the ages of his parents up as well, so Catelyn would be 32-35, and Eddard 37-39, which fits our expectations a bit better.

Wait . . . how does that make sense? Why is it a good thing to change the ages to fit what we want? That makes no sense whatsoever. Apparently, we need to start looking for younger characters all around, not arbitrarily changing their ages so we can have our favorite actors there.

[Tysha]

Wait . . . how does that make sense? Why is it a good thing to change the ages to fit what we want? That makes no sense whatsoever. Apparently, we need to start looking for younger characters all around, not arbitrarily changing their ages so we can have our favorite actors there.

I don't think that's quite what he's suggesting!

Robb, Jon, Dany, Sansa, Joffrey, etc, all need to look young for their character development to make sense but I think as long as they just look like teenagers we don't need to be too militant about getting the ages exactly right.

William Moseley, for example, is 19 but he's a great Robb. Robb needs to simultaneously look both too young to be a king and capable of ruling. Moseley pulls that off better than an actual 14/15 year old would, IMO. Similarly Rachel Hurd Wood is 16 but ... come on, look at that picture! That is Sansa! Jon and Dany need to match up with Jon looking about a year older as their births fall at specific places in the timeline. I'm not entirely convinced Jamie Bell does that or that he can pull off the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch but I'll come back that at some point!

Anyway, Henry Ian Cuisack is a good pick for Ned. I think he and Julianne Moore look okay as a couple. Pic of him. Pic of her. That said, it can't hurt to throw some alternative names for Cat around. Anyone?

Yes, except for the people who like Miriam Shor. I think Missi Pyle is creepy-looking and weird, not Brienne.

Yeah ... everything about her seems to fit on paper - tall, masculine looks, blue eyes - but I just can't get that alien out of my head when I look at her! Or Violet's mother or the woman with the eyebrows. She's kinda scary looking.

I have no idea how tall Shor is but the idea of her character in Hedwig... was that no-one would know if s/he was a man or a woman, so she's got to be pretty tall.

[Darcia]

I like Miriam much better than Missi. Missi Pyle looks a little scary.

Tysha - I kinda liked your suggestion of Billie Piper for Brienne, she's small but is height that important? A woman can be manish and strong without being tall. And Billie certainly looks young enough. It's funny when Billie was a popstar I loathed the sight of her but since Dr Who I think there is nothing she can't do!

Also what about Kate Winslet as Cat. She was rocking the red hair in Titanic.

[Lightsnake]

i don't think Kate's kept the physical look, though..

[Tysha]

Tysha - I kinda liked your suggestion of Billie Piper for Brienne, she's small but is height that important? A woman can be manish and strong without being tall. And Billie certainly looks young enough. It's funny when Billie was a popstar I loathed the sight of her but since Dr Who I think there is nothing she can't do!

LOL, me too! When I first heard she'd been cast I was all, "You fools! You idiots! You're ruining the sanctity of Doctor Who!" but then by the end of the second episode I adored her.

On Catelyn, I think Kate Winslet might be a bit young. She's only 31 and looks younger, I don't know if I'd buy that she had a 14 year old son.

A few other possibilities: Geraldine Somerville (age 39), Natasha Little (36), and Tara Fitzgerald (39).

[Maester Yobjascz]

Tysha - Thanks for clarifying... I was in a rush to leave the office, and didn't explain my point quite enough. Not only is it hard to find good actors and actresses who are the ages of Sansa, Robb,, Arya and Brann (and Daenerys!) in the books, but it's doubtful that a modern audience would accept them. While the ages that GRRM uses are faithful to medieval society, I doubt that a modern audience would accept the idea of a 14 year-old boy-king, leading grown men into battle and fighting them successfully. Nor would they likely accept a 13-year old girl being married off to a strange warrior and, effectively, being raped repeatedly.

The best way to resolve these issues is to make the characters a couple years older... just enough that audiences will accept it more easily, and that actors and actresses can be found who have a bit more experience.

As to Brienne...

Brienne is supposed to be tall... and that's a hard one to go against. She's often confused for a man, and it's not, I don't think, because her face is 'man-ish', but because she's got a man's build: broad shoulders, tall, and muscular, with no noticeable breasts. Thus, while Miriam Shor could pass for a man, the pictures of her would make her look like a slender, androgynous man... much like Alleras. And I don't get the impression that she's particularly tall.

Missi Pyle, on the other hand, is tall, and has a broad build. More importantly, she's creepy looking... and it's much easier to go from creepy to ugly then it is to go from attractive to ugly. While Miriam Shor could pass for a man, she did it with fake beard stubble, additional eyebrow makeup, and other things that Brienne wouldn't have. I guess my point is that it's one thing to dress up in drag convincingly, and another to be a big man-like woman who's ugly.

As far as Brienne being confused for a male, my memory is that this is when she's armored with the helm down. I believe Catelyn noted that people recognized her as female from seeing her face... but that she was mistaken for a man when seen from behind. This would suggest that she's got female facial features... and they're unattractive.

I think Missi Pyle fits better... and it's hard for me to reject her simply because she's been memorable in other roles.

[Darcia]

Tysha - Cat was a teen bride when she married Ned and was pregnant after the wedding night, so Kate could do it. Still I like your suggestion of Natasha Little. She looked great as a red head in Vanity Fair, and plays a good bitch...

Lightsnake - Do you mean that Kate is too fat to be Cat?

[Q T Pie]

Here's one for Brienne I'll through out to be torn to shreds and devoured:

Lucy Lawless, she is over 6 feet tall, has beautiful blue eyes and can ugly up pretty good.

[Maester Yobjascz]

Actually, Lucy Lawless is listed on IMDB as 5'10-1/2"... under 6', and shorter than Missi Pyle.

She's also getting a bit old for Brienne.

Otherwise, not a bad suggestion.

Catelyn Tully-Stark -

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of Kate Winslet as Catelyn. Compare recent photos of her, like this one with the photos of the kids playing Robb, Sansa, and Bran. Also compare with the actor playing Edmure, and the one playing Hoster Tully... Hoster's the most off, but the rest are pretty damn close. She's about the right age (32), and she's a fabulous actress... and she's got a face that would be *really* creepy once made up to be pasty, soft, and bloodless for her role as the unCat.

[Maester Yobjascz]

Another suggestion:

They're not actors, but the roles are non-speaking... they should be able to pull off playing Left and Right, Lady Olenna Tyrell's two seven-foot-tall bodyguards.

Rutger Hauer would make a good Gerion Lannister... should he ever re-appear in the series.

[Lyanna Stark-Targaryen]

Alright, so what're the updates for today? Is anything agreed on enough to get posted?

[WightMeWorry]

I almost found Sarella (alas, unfortunate logisticlal problems related to gender cropped up). But I imagine Alleras to look somewhat like Javin Reed. Find a girl who looks like this dude from Heroes and you're set. Javin is a guy, right?

[Lann_Boys'Girl]

okay, i definitely agree that Henry Ian Cusick makes a GREAT Ned. I can totally see him as the honorable, resigned man who loves his children and would do anything for them. DDL never struck me as a good Ned...but I'm also biased b/c I know him best from Gangs of New York, when he was wielding around that butcher's axe and had a glass eye - def. not Ned, lol.

I kind of still like Julianne Moore as Cat, though. I think she could do a great 'helpless woman that no one is listening to', lol. With her hair in a bun in the middle of the back of her head...

Jim Caviezel is an AWESOME Arthur Dayne.

ETA: I'm not sure if I agree with the choices for Val and Dalla. I felt like Dalla was older than Val, and I think Mena Suvari is younger than Mira Sorvino. Suvari plays high school/college girls, Sorvino plays near-thirty women that are going to high school reunions

Val should be like really hot...the Amok portrait paints her as someone really sexy, and she's the Wildling Princess after all

I also think Topher Grace is too old for Pyp, but haven't yet found a better choice.

Can we switch Adewale for Xhondo? I feel like he could play the sex-loving sailor better than the silent exile prince.