Who would you cast?- A fun thread to discuss alternate casting, no limitations.

[malickfan]

Although I generally felt casting was one of Jackson's strong points in both trilogies, and the performances of the cast were by and large great (with several stand outs i.m.o- Ken Stott, Ian McKellen, Sean Bean and Cate Blanchett were all perfec casting, and I find it very hard to think of 'replacements') I thought I'd start a new thread about alternate casting as I've found it's lead to some interesting discussions on other forums, and due to the multitude of Tolkien inspired artwork and his usually quite vague character description every reader seems to have their own interpretation.

-No limitations, be as serious, or random as you want, as long as you have reasons!

(Taking nothing away from the performances of the credited actors of course, just for a bit of fun)

Anyway My Alternate LOTR Cast (niether of these lists are complete)

John Hurt as Gandalf (obvious casting probably, but he's a fantastic character actor, with arguably more auuthority and frality than Ian McKelellen)

Frank Langella as Saruman, he's got the age, eyebrows, authority and slightly disarming charm, I loved Lee's Saruman, but he had been type cast as a Bad Guy for a while, Langella is more of a character actor and I think wouldn't have been as easy to write into a corner.

Ignoring the complete joke that was Dain in BOTFA, I think Billy Connoly may have pulled off quite a decent Gimli 20 years ago, although he's primarily known as a comic actor, he does have a pretty decent range, and can bring authority and toughness when required

Patrick Stewart as Denethor (weird casting perhaps when you compare to John Noble, but Stewart has a very striking voice and alot of charisma, he never really seems to play 'bad guys' so I think the director would be less inclined to pidgeon hole his denethor as obviously crazy as Jackson did...)

Brian Blessed as Tom Bombadil-he's a big, old, bearded bloke, known to be eccentric, frequently spouting nonsense at high volume, and at ease in the wild (apparently climbing mountain chains for a hobby), wouldn't be surprised if he lived partime in the woods in real life...

Colm Meaney as Bilbo...now I'm not actually sure about this, as most of the things I've seen Meaney in he is merely required to chew the scenery, and he's more of a character actor than leading man, but I think he's got the comic timing, and as an Irish Chracter actor not a fusty Englishman he wouldn't be the obvious choice, he's just feels 'hobbitish' to me for some reason...

Bill Nighy as Radagast-I'm not sure whether Raddy really needs a place in any TH/LOTR adaptation, even if you were inclined to expand on the Dol Guldor stuff, but Nighy's qot decent comic timing and a kind of a eccentricity that would be great fun in a cameo role, he'd probably make a decent enough Theoden


Eva Green as Galadriel-great, beautiful actress, has the age and looks to pull off a slighty otherworldy take on the character,

Paul McGann as Aragorn-excellent character actor, with the looks, height and charm to pull off Aragorn, although Tolkien (its been a while since I've read the books so I might be wrong) gave the impression Aragorn was perhaps a bit more weather beaten and aged than McGann, in my minds eye Aragorn was always more 'regal' than the angle Jackson took, his power and danger coming more from his actions than his looks, McGann has proven in Who he can play an unpredictable, yet charming hero just with his voice, I think he'd do alot more with a big franchise role.

Ian Mcshane as Thorin-for reasons I've explained before.


And that's as far as I've got so far (very hard to think of 'Hobbitish' actors...)

[Mrs Figg]

interesting choices. I agree about Frank Langella, and he played Dracula once too.

I would have had Jim Broadbent as Bombadill, he has the startling blue eyes and can alternate between fey and dangerous in the blink of an eye. thinking of his performance in Cloud Atlas.

[Forest Shepherd]

Arrrggh!! I approve this casting!

[Pettytyrant101]

I think Christopher Lee once said Tolkien wanted him to play Gandalf, or thought he would be a good Gandalf- not sure if its true or not but Id like to have seen Lee's take on Gandalf- I think he would have met more with my approval in terms of seeming more dangerous and more distant and more crabbit, that his merriment and anger, as in the book would be wont to come in blazing flashes.

[dak]

I'd like to see timothy Spall in somewhere - maybe as Butterbur.

[azriel]

Timothy Spall has that Curmudgeon way about him

[Elthir]

Ah... Eva Green as Galadriel... interesting.

Anyway, as always, my imagined cast (in the 1980s I had cast Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg as Arwen) is not to be imagined with Peter Jackson directing.

Jackson is out. Along with the ham and cheese he too often gets from usually good actors. Ah, in my opinion.

[Radaghast]

If I'd my druthers, LotR would be animated (and episodic) so I'd have to come up with voice castings.

[Elthir]

Actually I've thought about animation too.

And me directing

[azriel]

So instead of discussing colour of horses we could discuss eye colour ? David Bowie has two, each one different

[Elthir]

So instead of discussing colour of horses we could discuss eye colour?

Absolutely. Does Eva Green have green eyes, for example?

[Radaghast]

Actually I've thought about animation too.

And me directing

I don't know you but I'm sure you're a better director than Peter Jackson.

[Pettytyrant101]

My left testicle would make a better director of Tolkien works than PJ, and its the unsavoury one

[azriel]

Not the one that lost the great haggis battle in 1852 ? Left for dead on the battle field with scars & burns ? nay, it cannot be true !


Were you given an artificial one ? its grand what they can do with prosthetics now

[dak]

Timely topic for me. I just started watching the documentary Casting By, not bad so far. How casting directors weren't like they are now (at least in the US). It sounded like in the old studio system if they had a doctor part they just checked their list of employed actors and picked who had played a doctor before. Not sure how that would have worked for fantasy movies though.

[Pettytyrant101]

Not the one that lost the great haggis battle in 1852 ? Left for dead on the battle field with scars & burns ? - Azriel

I dont like to talk about it.

(And for the record it made its own way home)

[Pettytyrant101]

It sounded like in the old studio system if they had a doctor part they just checked their list of employed actors and picked who had played a doctor before.- dak

That sounds very much like the old BBC method of casting too.

[azriel]

It was found, years later, in the sewer system under St Scabbious & the Holy tripe & is now on display at the National Scotshobbit Museum for very antique antiquities.

[Pettytyrant101]

All I will divulge is that the Banks family were involved, which obviously means scurrilous goings on

[azriel]

Aye, sinister goings on during the Left Bollock Massacre, what with the tripe disillusionment & jelly scones being on ration

[Forest Shepherd]

'Od's teeth! What a calamitous time it was to be alive, for sure!

[ElendilTheShort]

Daniel Day Lewis as Aragorn, fits the physical description in the book and supplementary sources very well, if not perfectly.

[Radaghast]

Daniel Day Lewis as Aragorn, fits the physical description in the book and supplementary sources very well, if not perfectly.

I'm not sure but I think he was asked.

[Forest Shepherd]

He would have been the bee's knees I think. It would definitely have changed my perspective on the movie character as I know Day-Lewis best as Natty Bumppo (Hawkeye) in The Last of the Mohicans.

I will always prefer Viggo Mortensen of course, as I think the actor himself actually has an inner sort of dignity in the midst of his roughness when he plays violent or wild characters. Of course I do wish that his accent didn't change in some scenes, and that he would whisper his lines less. Whispering of lines is overdone I feel, or has been in fantasy movies.

Actually, now that I think about it the greatest offender on that score is the film The Merchant of Venice (200...6?) in which whats-his-face whispers practically ever single bloody line that he delivers.

[bungobaggins]

Would like to see how Sean Connery would've done as Gandalf.