Perfect Casting Part Three

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I have to say, up until very recently, I saw no redeeming qualities about Grant Ward, a character on Marvel's Agents of Shield.  He's played by Brett Dalton, and he was my least favorite character.  But recently, there have been some new developments, and I'm looking at the character, and the actor playing him, in a new light.  And suddenly it popped into my head.

At least physically, Brett Dalton can pull off Harry.  We'll have to see if his acting range improves, and I don't know if he could deliver snark.  I still think the best physical and snark fit for Harry is Eric Balfour.

Is Dalton too pretty to play Harry?

I think so, but only because you'd want there to be a marked contrast between him and Thomas. 

[Longfellow]

Per the WOJ, it doesnt' matter to him what the actor looks like, it is how well they can play the character.

I'm 50/50 between Jim and some of you that feel the actor should look as much like the character as possible. 

However, here are some of my pet peeves regarding picking actors for my all-time favorite book series:

The "DO's"....
1.  They DO need to be of the same gender as the character in the book.
2.  They DO need to reflect their character's background, for example, if their character was born and raised in Chicago, then they should have a Chicago accent.
3.  They DO need to portray the personality of the character somewhat close to how he/she was described in the books.  Don't be one of those actors that doesn't even look at the books because they are so arrogant that they want to "put their own spin on the character".  These are established characters, don't think you can just go ahead and completely re-create them just because YOU are an AC-tor! 

The "DO NOT's"....
1.  They do NOT need to be the same height as the character is described in the book
2.  They do NOT need to have the same exact hair color, length of hair, or the same number of gray hairs!
3.  They do NOT need to be of the same color skin as the character in the book.

That being said, the lead actors probably should resemble their characters as much as possible, but as you get into the supporting cast, you can pretty much just get actors that will play the character well, not worrying too much about appearance, unless it relates directly to the story line.

[Quantus]

Per the WOJ, it doesnt' matter to him what the actor looks like, it how well the can play the character.

Meh, if they ever do it Im not going to complain, we're just daydreaming about ideals here.

1.  They DO need to be of the same gender as the character in the book.

90% of the time yes, but Elementary proved to me that it can work great sometimes.

2.  They DO need to reflect their character's background, for example, if their character was born and raised in Chicago, then they should have a Chicago accent.

Aggreed, I so very tired of every foreigner having a genrically british accent.  But if it is set in that location then I prefer to tone down the accents as a whole.  So if its set in Chicago you dont need every character with a thick Chicago accent

3.  They DO need to portray the personality of the character somewhat close to how he/she was described in the books.  Don't be one of those actors that doesn't even look at the books because they are so arrogant that they want to "put their own spin on the character".  These are established characters, don't think you can just go ahead and completely re-create them just because YOU are an AC-tor! 

The only time Im ok with that sort of re-imagining is when A) the character as written just wouldnt translate to the screen for some odd reason (CGI notwithstanding) or B) its part of a larger re-imagining, usually because of cultural changes because it was written in a Present that was decades ago. 

The "DO NOT's"....
1.  They do NOT need to be the same height as the character is described in the book

Aggreed, but it is nice if possible, especially when the height it a relevant plot of character point.  Hugh Jackman is a fantastic wolverine, but he's huge. Originally the character's nature was influenced heavily by his Napoleon complex, especially when interacting with Cyclops who was a full foot taller (5'3" vs 6'3")

2.  They do NOT need to have the same exact hair color, length of hair, or the same number of gray hairs!
3.  They do NOT need to be of the same color skin as the character in the book.

Within the bounds of plot and genetics, yes.  But if you have two character that are supposed to be biologic siblings Id prefer they stay consistent, rather than rewrite the characters, per Do#3 (Im looking at you F4 reboot)

[Longfellow]

If I recall, if Jim had his way, he has said that he would love Will Smith to be Harry.  I can see it, but then that would mean Thomas would have to be black too, unless Malcolm was black and Margaret was white, then they could get away with a black and white half brothers.

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If I recall, if Jim had his way, he has said that he would love Will Smith to be Harry.  I can see it, but then that would mean Thomas would have to be black too, unless Malcolm was black and Margaret was white, then they could get away with a black and white half brothers.

Really?  Last WOJ on it I recall seeing had Michael Fassbender as Harry, and it was Alexis Denisof before that

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Really?  Last WOJ on it I recall seeing had Michael Fassbender as Harry, and it was Alexis Denisof before that

Absolutely 100% heard "Will Smith" come out of Jim Butcher's mouth in a YouTube video for one of his Q&A sessions at a book signing.  If I'm not mistaken, it was in 2011.   

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*twirls in place Three times, widdershins*  Serack Serack Serack, I summon THEE!!

Can you point me to this Q&A?

[Serack]

Really?  Last WOJ on it I recall seeing had Michael Fassbender as Harry, and it was Alexis Denisof before that

I'm pretty sure he said Will Smith loooong ago... like some time between 2006 and 2011 (not to narrow it down or anything).  I'm searching now.

Edit:  If you held a gun to my head, I'd guess the 2010 Powell's books Q&A

And if I get that right, I'll probably stand up and do a snoopy dance

[Serack]

BOOM (youtube video link qued' to the time where he says it)

*snoopy dance*

Edit:  *Goes and checks*  Stupid forum search function should have pointed me right at the transcript but is stupid *mutter*

[Rasins]

I realize it's not possible, but as long as we are fantasizing about cast memebers, what do you think about the interaction we'd get with Sean Connery as Ebenezar and Alec Guiness as Langtry?

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BOOM (youtube video link qued' to the time where he says it)

*snoopy dance*

Edit:  *Goes and checks*  Stupid forum search function should have pointed me right at the transcript but is stupid *mutter*

Damn, never actually read the transcript.    Im really intrigued about this "Enemy of the Vord" concept...I wonder if a Protoss-esk race exist in CA 

I realize it's not possible, but as long as we are fantasizing about cast memebers, what do you think about the interaction we'd get with Sean Connery as Ebenezar and Alec Guiness as Langtry?

Depends, would Alec be glowing blue?

[Rasins]

Depends, would Alec be glowing blue?

LOL ... does Langtry?

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Damn, never actually read the transcript.    Im really intrigued about this "Enemy of the Vord" concept...I wonder if a Protoss-esk race exist in CA 

My CA WoJ fu isn't nearly as strong, but there is a WoJ that's been brought to my attention rather recently that the Vord are actually a biological colonizing agent for another entity that is dispersed intergelactically through spore like transportation

Edit:  Here are a few relevant WoJ's:

The really fun stories to write would be:
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4) About 150 years later, when Alera looks a lot more steampunky than it does currently--and when the ancient enemies of the Vord show up to scour the face of the world clean of them.

Not just /were/ grabbed.  /Are/ grabbed, on an ongoing basis.  Day after tomorrow, maybe a mechanized armored division of the US Army vanishes in a sandstorm and shows up on the plains of Placida.  It could happen!  It's how the Romans got there originally.  Week after that, maybe several square miles of the surface of some planet filled with sentient fungii suddenly replaces several acres in Maraul.  It happens on a much slower scale than that, of course, but that's the general process.

And I think I've said that when the Alerans showed up, there were several MORE sentient races, which they spent the next several centuries exterminating, and eventually came out on top of the Darwinian dogpile.

The only race that didn't get sucked there through a wormhole was the Vord.  The Vord arrived via means of old-fashioned sub-light speed spore-style dispersion from other worlds.  The Valley of Silence, in FoC, is a meteor crater.

It is my oppion that the vord are a pice of organic tech invented by some advaced race who don't live in what would be a habitable inviroment for us. They send the vord to a world like Earth or Carna the vord adapt their forms to best suit thier enemy then wipe out all life and begin altering the atmosphere and soil to better suit the needs their creators. My main reason for thinking this comes from when Amara is speaking with the queen in AF and she speaks of the "Great Purpose".

God I love it when someone picks up the little puzzle pieces I don't illuminate with a spotlight and puts them together.   I mean, I'm not even trying to hide the big plot tropes, like the identity of Tavi's parents and so on.  They're staples of the fantasy genre.  It's the smaller details and background and the character conflict/interests that are happening beneath the surface that I've tried to put extra work into.  It's really gratifying to see that readers are smart and that they're connecting the dots.

Very astute inductive reasoning, divad.

[Griffyn612]

Speaking of Senior Council...

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My CA WoJ fu isn't nearly as strong, but there is a WoJ that's been brought to my attention rather recently that the Vord are actually a biological colonizing agent for another entity that is dispersed intergelactically through spore like transportation

So would the the "Ancient Enemy" be a rival of the Parent Race, or the Parent Race itself cleaning up after their terraforming tech?  Or the rival terriforming tech of a Rival Parent Race?

Speaking of Senior Council...

I like your Rashid and McCoy, but the rest are way too young for my tastes as SC members.  And Mai specifically would need to be a tiny and frail looking old woman, to my mind.