Stormlight Archive Fantasy Casting

[DiscoDubber]

Hello, all!

 

I thought I'd share this here, and get some input on it as well.

I'm a truck driver, and as such, I rarely have time to actually crack open a book and read. So I enjoy Mr. Sanderson's work through audio books as I drive. With my overly active imagination, I began to think "What if this was a movie or a miniseries? Who would I cast in these roles?"

It's kind of become a little game my brother (also a trucker) and I play, like others might play fantasy sports.

So here's some of the characters and the actors I pick to play them. I want your help and feedback. Tell me what you think of my cast. Tell me who you see where. People with (?) are roles I'm not sure of.

 

Dalinar -- Adrian Paul

Jasnah -- Claudia Black

Navani -- Kate Mulgrew (?)

Sadeas -- Alan Rickman

Szeth -- Tom Hardy (?)

Adolin -- Chris Pine

Syl -- Amanda Seyfried

Teft -- Sam Elliott

Pattern -- Jim Parsons

Sebarial -- John de Lancie

 

THIS ONE makes me chuckle because I can TOTALLY see him killing it in this role...

Hoid -- "Weird Al" Yankovic (yes, he is too an actor)

 

I kinda see Dolph Lundgren (or some other big, beefy body builder type) as Rock. My problem is the way Michael Kramer reads Rock is with a kind of Pacific Islander accent (which given the language of the Horneaters, which sounds a little Hawaiian, makes sense). So we'd have to find a tall, bulky, pale skinned actor (like Lundgren) who can do an Islander accent.

 

With Shallan, I picked the first perky ginger that came to mind, and that was one of my favorite YouTubers and musicians, Lindsey Stirling. However, I'm not sure if she's much of an actress.

 

This is all I can remember right now. I'll add up others as they come to me.

 

EDIT: Just thought of another!

Lopen -- Simon Pegg

​

ALSO, I know of one cameo voice appearance that I thought of (and it may have been what started this whole thing) as soon as I heard it read.

Nightblood -- George Takei (Heellllooo! Would you like to slay some evil today?...)

Edited October 25, 2015 by DiscoDubber

[+Slowswift]

SOMEONE ELSE THINKS ADOLIN SHOULD BE PLAYED BY CHRIS PINE HALLELUJAH! I feel validated now.

[DiscoDubber]

SOMEONE ELSE THINKS ADOLIN SHOULD BE PLAYED BY CHRIS PINE HALLELUJAH! I feel validated now.

 

I considered it in WoK, but what really sold it for me was when he and Shallan were courting in WoR.

[maxal]

SOMEONE ELSE THINKS ADOLIN SHOULD BE PLAYED BY CHRIS PINE HALLELUJAH! I feel validated now.

 

Too old. Adolin is a young guy who looks young. As a mid-thirty individual, I do have issues with mid-thirties actors trying to pass for early twenties characters.

 

Besides, he is not blond enough.

[DiscoDubber]

Chris Pine plays Captain James T Kirk in the new Star Trek movies. Kirk is mid-twenties, and Chris Pine plays it very convincingly. Many actors do this. Think of Abby Sciuto of NCIS... Abby is in her mid-to-late twenties, maybe early thirties. Pauley Perrette is actually 46.

 

As far as hair goes, they do wonderful things these days with bleaches and dyes...

Edited October 25, 2015 by DiscoDubber

[maxal]

 

Chris Pine plays Captain James T Kirk in the new Star Trek movies. Kirk is mid-twenties, and Chris Pine plays it very convincingly. Many actors do this. Think of Abby Sciuto of NCIS... Abby is in her mid-to-late twenties, maybe early thirties. Pauley Perrette is actually 46.

 

As far as hair goes, they do wonderful things these days with bleaches and dyes...

 

35 years old is too old to play 23 years old, especially for men. Chris Pine filmed the first Star Trek movie when he was about 28 years old which was actually closer to the character's age. Nowadays Chris Pine absolutely does not look like young youthful Adolin: you wouldn't call him "boy" or "lad" while remaining credible. He can't be the young still in training son of Dalinar Kholin: he is too mature for that. Late teens to early twenties characters are awfully hard to cast because age shows easily during this decade. For older characters, it is not as critic. Once you reach thirty, it is much easier to cast.

 

IMHO, Bleaches and dyes never look natural. So no. Sorry, but no. For Adolin, I want a natural blond head who actually is under the age of 25. Anyone older I deemed too old for the role. The same goes for Kaladin.

 

Apart from the age issues, even we could de-age him, I still don't see him as the part. He just does not have the right face or vibe for me, but that's personal.

 

Anyway before someone jumps in there, I'll say casting SA is impossible. There's a reason threads on casting are never made. Alethi are not exactly white: they are tanned with Asian-like eyes. While they are not exactly Asian either and tan is not very dark (you can google skin color tones to see, tan skin is actually found in many ethnicity including Caucasian), but the resulting mix is quite hard to fit with proper real-life actors, especially for blond headed half-blooded Alethi Adolin. So you can't really find an actor that would fit, but that's a nice effort nonetheless.

Edited October 25, 2015 by maxal

[Skyblue676]

I think Russel Crowe should be casted as Dalinar, they seem like a perfect match.

[Iredomi]

If we're going to  fancast for stormlight I think having any white actor playing anyone other than Szeth is a big no no.

[Skyblue676]

If we're going to fancast for stormlight I think having any white actor playing anyone other than Szeth is a big no no.

That is true but like Maxal said above, it will be hard to find an exact match for skin tones and facial structure of each character.

[mirahound]

If we're going to  fancast for stormlight I think having any white actor playing anyone other than Szeth is a big no no.

Wait, I actually thought Szeth was the only "white" character in WoK. Did I miss something?

[Khyrindor]

Vedens and Horneaters have pale skin as well I believe. But IMO, you have to sacrifice for movies anyway, just because there is no actual race on earth to match Alethi, doesn't mean that you couldn't make a movie. It just wouldn't 110% true to the book.

Here's a few options from my end. Too lazy to do too many right now:

 

Kaladin: Sam Claflin. He's the guy that played Philip the priest in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and he is tall and well built enough to play Kaladin I think. He also played Finnick in The Hunger Games--two very different roles. As Philip I think he did depressed well enough, and he was good at fighting as Finnick. 

 

Hoid: Robert Carlyle. He played Dr. Rush in Stargate Universe, and Rumpelstiltskin in Once Upon a Time (though I admit I haven't seen much of that) If you dialed down the silly just a bit, I think he'd make a great Wit. 

Edited October 25, 2015 by Khyrindor

[DreamEternal]

Vedens and Horneaters have pale skin as well I believe. But IMO, you have to sacrifice for movies anyway, just because there is no actual race on earth to match Alethi, doesn't mean that you couldn't make a movie. It just wouldn't 110% true to the book.

Or it could be adapted as an animation. Nothing says you can't tell a serious story that way.

Of course, it needs to have a mostly realistic looking style, at least when it comes to proportions . Animated does not mean "cartoony".

[DiscoDubber]

Or it could be adapted as an animation. Nothing says you can't tell a serious story that way.

Of course, it needs to have a mostly realistic looking style, at least when it comes to proportions . Animated does not mean "cartoony".

 

We'll get DreamWorks to do it... Prince of Egypt style! lol

[DiscoDubber]

Vedens and Horneaters have pale skin as well I believe. But IMO, you have to sacrifice for movies anyway, just because there is no actual race on earth to match Alethi, doesn't mean that you couldn't make a movie. It just wouldn't 110% true to the book.

Here's a few options from my end. Too lazy to do too many right now:

 

Kaladin: Sam Claflin. He's the guy that played Philip the priest in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and he is tall and well built enough to play Kaladin I think. He also played Finnick in The Hunger Games--two very different roles. As Philip I think he did depressed well enough, and he was good at fighting as Finnick. 

 

Hoid: Robert Carlyle. He played Dr. Rush in Stargate Universe, and Rumpelstiltskin in Once Upon a Time (though I admit I haven't seen much of that) If you dialed down the silly just a bit, I think he'd make a great Wit. 

 

I'm not sure who Sam Claflin is. I've not seen any of the works you listed. But from his Google images, he LOOKS the part. Although at 29, he may be too old to play a 19-20 year old...

 

Robert Carlyle would be an interesting Hoid, but is he right for "Wit"? Is he snarky enough without being obnoxiously unlikable. I don't mean this as an insult to him or his skill as an actor. But all I've sampled of his work is SGU, Eragon, and OUAT, and from what I've sampled, he's very good at playing characters you the viewer come to hate (especially Rush). Wit, on the other hand is a likeable kind of obnoxious. Sarcastic and mischievous, but deep and caring. Satirical at the expense of people who's personalities could benefit from his caricaturizing. *I* would need a better sample size of his work, maybe something in that vein, before *I* would cast him, but he'd definitely look the part of Wit.

 

I think Russel Crowe should be casted as Dalinar, they seem like a perfect match.

 

Russell Crowe would indeed be a good Dalinar.

[maxal]

Not that I meant to be the devil's advocate, but isn't Russell Crowe too good looking to play Dalinar? I haven't seen him recently, but in his Gladiator days, he was quite handsome.

 

I agree Sam Caflin also is too old for Kaladin. There are plenty of young talented actors out there, no need to go with someone who's a decade older than the part.

[DreamEternal]

We'll get DreamWorks to do it... Prince of Egypt style! lol

Actualy, that could be very awesome, and some of the themes of Prince of Egypt align well with some parts of WoK.

Edited October 25, 2015 by CognitivePulsePattern

[DiscoDubber]

Russell Crow is indeed starting to show his age. He's probably still more handsom than Dalinar is supposed to be. But just like the age thing, Hollywood is known to make allowances on things (one only needs to look at the Marvel and DC Comics movies to see this). It could be acceptable in the grand scheme to cast older actors for younger characters (as long as it seems believable) as well as actors that don't quite fit the descriptions.

 

This is why book/comic nerds always get mad when thier favorite books get turned into movies or shows. The artistic license. Also realize that even with a long format miniseries, say 2 hours run time per episode, they will still cut out story ("non-important" interludes, minor plot devices), move things around (i.e. Kaladin's last battle in Amaram's army from both points of view would likely be merged into one, and would probably be placed in the later flashback spot), and change minor (even major if they deem it necessary) details to fit time, budget, and feasibility constraits.

I wouldn't expect the landscape to match the one Brandon describes, because where will you find the Shattered Plains on Earth? And If you could find a location, would it be cost effective to film there? Same goes for set building and green screen/ CGI.

Actors are the same. The characters are figments of Brandon's imagination, and may or may not be inspired by a real person. Also, considering how long he's been working on these stories, anyone that may have inspired a character probably doesn't much resemble that character anymore. So a casting crew will take rough descriptions of apparent age and other characteristics, as well as personalities and try to find the best actor they can find to play that character.

"Could Chris Pine play Adolin?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He's young. Maybe not 26, but could be made believable. He's got the right attitude. Sarcastic and a little narcissistic without being obnoxiously so. He's dashing and debonair with a charming smile..."

 

And in the end, let's be honest. Most viewers of said show or movie will not have read the books. Hollywood caters to this crowd rather than the smaller group of sticklers most movie-goers ignore when they start complaining about the differences.

 

So if you're the type who watches the Lord of the Rings movies and gets pissed because "that's not how it happened in the books. The books are so much better than the movie..." then you will likely not be happy with anything they'd do if they made a Stormlight movie/ show.

 

All I'm trying to do with this little game of mine is fill the imaginary shoes of a Hollywood producer trying to cast a movie in realistic terms. Although, I'm leaning more miniseries.Longer episodes than a TV show, more space for those details that may get cut from a movie. We are talking about books that translate into 48 hour long audio books...

Edited October 25, 2015 by DiscoDubber

[maxal]

...

 

I disagree with this a lot.

 

Yes, Hollywood can and will take some liberty when it comes to casting, but some liberties should not be taken. 

 

Adolin, Kaladin and Shallan are characters who exist because they are young. If you age them by a decade, you are not telling the same stories. When you cast someone young, you have to be careful, because the difference between an early twenties male and a late twenties male exists. 

 

Chris Pine has pass the age where he can still convincingly play a young adult character. Nobody would think to cast him in a teen movie or as a 20 years old character. Why? He has gotten too old. You can't decide Adolin suddenly is 30 years old while still being the love interest of teenage Shallan... This is exactly the kind of casting women all across the world get horribly mad about. Also, Chris Pine is just not youthful anymore and more importantly he does not resemble Adolin. 

 

You may, when you cast, ignore issues such as hair color and eye color, when they aren't relevant to the story plot. For instance, you can cast Sean Penn as Boromir, even though he does not resemble the physical description of the character (book Boromir is dark haired with grey eyes), because nobody cares what hair or eye color Boromir has. It is irrelevant to his story arc, but the same cannot be said about Adolin. He is a golden haired kid in a sea of black haired vaguely resembling Asian people. He is a half-blood who looks more like his mother than his father. He clashes which is why nearly all characters comment on his physical looks. You have to take this into consideration. Besides, Hollywood swarms with blond headed early twenties young male actors with a modicum of talent. You don't have to go to someone who's a decade too old to play him simply because you feel Captain Kirk must be the same character as Adolin.... They aren't. They are unbelievably widely different. In fact, both character have little in common... so I again disagree with Chris Pine. There also is not such as thing as "Chris Pine has the right attitude". Chris Pine is an actor who'll act the part he is given, just like any other actor and as it turns out, he is too old for the part. There is absolutely no need to have a 35 years old actor to play Adolin. There is no purpose. You'd ruin the character by doing so.

 

Also when it comes to all Alethi, you have to take the eye structure into consideration when you do a casting. Their eyes are Asian-like, which I do agree can be found outside Asia, but the whole nation is not made to look like America. Their average is darker than Bristish descendant Americans, their hair are black, not brown, but black (you could get away with dark brown) and more importantly, they are a uniform bunch. True, the lighteyes are more mixed when it comes to blood: this gives you latitude. Adolin being only half-Alethi gives you latitude as well, but other characters such as Dalinar and Kaladin must reflect their specific ethnicity, even if it's hard to find. 

 

If you are looking at American actors, then you should look for those with Native or Asian origins within their bloodlines or Hawaiian actors. For Adolin and Shallan, you could go with those with Eastern Europe origins, to roughly get the eyes shape right while keeping the right hair coloring.

 

That's my take, but sincerely, anyone above 25 years of age is too old for either Adolin or Kaladin. I'd rather they were both cast with 20 years old actors who could age with the part.

Edited October 26, 2015 by maxal

[Curiosity]

Re: Jim Parsons as Pattern

 

I'm curious; did you actually want him to voice Pattern, or were you casting Sheldon Cooper as Pattern? I understand the "I don't get humanity" kind of a vibe that gives, but I would probably be a little more open-minded as to who would be in the role. Honestly, I'm not sure who would do a good job, but I've always imagined Pattern's voice as a cross between Mac automated speech and pseudo-Dalek buzzing. Intonation would probably be variable between natural and odd, since he's a spren. 

 

Has anyone considered Clancy Brown for Dalinar? I think he's got the general look right. Perhaps I've only seen him in military roles, but I think he might be able to pull it off. 

[DiscoDubber]

I was actually thinking of Jim's voice. I get my inspiration from the way the characters are voiced in the audio books. Kate Reading's choice kinda reminded me of Jim Parsons. Yes the Sheldon aspect has merit to it, but since this is a voice role, that loses a bit as you don't see Sheldon. It was mostly the voice.

 

As far as Clancy Brown goes, I hadn't really known who you were talking about until I googled him. Yes! If you were to dye the hair black with some white at the temples and shave the goatee, he'd look the part. I have seen some of his stuff (other than Mr. Krabs), but I don't remember his voice. It's said he has a deep, resonate voice. That plus his height usually lands him in the part of villains or authority figures, which would play in nicely...

[DiscoDubber]

Maxal, I say lets agree to disagree before this debate turns into an argument and the thread gets shut down.

 

You do have many valid points. Why do I think Chris Pine would be a good Adolin? Because I see many resemblances between Adolin and characters Chris has played in the past. Yes, James T. Kirk is one of those.

 

Are there many other young actors who could pull off the role of 24 year old Adolin as well, even better than Chris? Absolutely. Can't think of one right now...

25 years old max? Maybe for 20 year old Kaladin and Shallan. 1 year difference is negligible.

 

Are all people cast in roles for their own age group? No! For example, Alan Ruck was 30 years old when he played 17-18 year old Cameron in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Rachel McAdams was 27 when she played a 16-17 year old in Mean Girls (8 years older than Lindsay Lohan), and Stockard Channing was 34 when she played 17 year old Frenchie (the beauty school dropout) in Grease (She was on husband #3 at the time).

 

I understand your points. Lets make friendly like and drop the debate over age.

Edited October 26, 2015 by DiscoDubber

[DiscoDubber]

And to be fair, my brother doesn't like Chris Pine for Adolin... ​

[mirahound]

Vedens and Horneaters have pale skin as well I believe. But IMO, you have to sacrifice for movies anyway, just because there is no actual race on earth to match Alethi, doesn't mean that you couldn't make a movie. It just wouldn't 110% true to the book.

Here's a few options from my end. Too lazy to do too many right now:

 

Kaladin: Sam Claflin. He's the guy that played Philip the priest in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and he is tall and well built enough to play Kaladin I think. He also played Finnick in The Hunger Games--two very different roles. As Philip I think he did depressed well enough, and he was good at fighting as Finnick. 

 

Hoid: Robert Carlyle. He played Dr. Rush in Stargate Universe, and Rumpelstiltskin in Once Upon a Time (though I admit I haven't seen much of that) If you dialed down the silly just a bit, I think he'd make a great Wit. 

Oh my badness, I would LOVE Robert Carlyle as Hoid. I'll admit, he's not exactly the way I imagined him, but it would be totally worth it. 

[maxal]

Don't worry, the thread won't get shut down because of me or because of a simple disagreement.  

 

I personally see little resemblance between modern James T Kirk and Adolin. One is an egocentric arrogant fool who cheated in his test and had to learn how the value of being a true captain by sacrificing himself for his crew. Adolin is a very responsible young man who understands all too much the value of sacrifice while being too honest to tell a valid lie. Sure there is some level of cockiness and arrogance in both, but while Kirk uses his to be fool-hardy, Adolin doesn't. He tends to use it more as a shield than as an excuse to justify his own foolishness. While both characters have multiple conquests, Kirk is the true player while Adolin has no idea what he is doing most of the time. He also yearns to settle down while Kirk... remains Kirk.

 

They are both fun and playful, but Adolin is much more structured I would say than Kirk. He values hard-work, he trains hard while Kirk is a little genius who never had to rise his finger very high to get high rewards. Kirk is well... lazy while Adolin isn't.

 

So huh, I don't agree with it. Oh and Adolin is 23, not 24. I can agree to disagree with you, but I'll steadily disagree with any choices who's above 25 years of age. You have also to think in terms of multiple seasons. Casting someone younger means the actor will remain age appropriate for several seasons. There's also the fact facial on men changes a lot pass 25 years, so there's my personal threshold between young adults and other adults.

 

As for your examples, yes, Hollywood do cast too old actors in many roles and in my view, none were credible. Grease was particularly awful as none of them look like teenagers. Girls however are easier though because they don't change as much as men in their twenties, so they can play youngsters for a longer period, but 27 is stretching it. I personally prefer to have actors who are the right age. 

 

I honestly don't know any actors who would fit. Those I find, I think aren't handsome enough or not blond enough or too pale or too old or...

[DSC01]

I want Ray Stevenson to play Sebarial.