Stormlight Archive Fantasy Casting

[Cemci she/her]

No, maxal, you're mission impossible. But since I find this highly entertaining, here's Mackenzie Foy (14, American) for Shallan!

 

Yes, I know, she's quite young for the part, but since no Stormlight Archive movie could realistically be greenlit within the next 2 years, I'll just go ahead and age her up a little for the movie. She was young Murph in Interstellar, and did quite well (she was also Renesmee in Twilight, but let's ignore that for now). I think she fits the physical profile very well though, with a somewhat redder hair. 

 

[lidrevan]

nightblood is Christopher walken lol.

[Quiver he/him]

Okay I'm terrible at fancasting, but I have a few that I'm fairly sold on. Kogiopsis got me hooked on Suraj Sharma (age 22) to play Renarin and honestly, I cannot view anyone else as him. (Obligatory Glasses Pic.)They'd have to dye his hair with some blond streaks, but let's be real, Alethi hair is so weird everyone's going to need a dye job and probably contacts.

 

Shallan is hard, but I've pictured her a little bit like Tiffany Hwang (age 26) from Girl's Generation (SNSD)? Probably because Tiffany likes to wear red hair. She's probably a little too old, but... you get the idea. That said, I should probably find someone who is actually an actress, rather than a pop star. Bluh, that'd be effort.

 

As for Kaladin... I know there's some people who think that Luke Pasqualino (age 25) is too white to play an Alethi, since he's Italian, but honestly... I think he could pull it off. And he just looks SO Kaladin to me. I just see him and say "Oh look, it's Kaladin again." I can't help it. He's just got such great Kaladin expressions too...

 

And now I'm out of really good fancasts, because as said, I'm really bad at this. That said, I think Bollywood actors and actresses would be great for Alethi, especially since there's such a wide range of talent there to draw on. The only person who should really probably be a white actor is Szeth, right?

 

I find it kind of hilarious that the guy you want to play Kaladin played a younger version of the guy I want to play Dalinar. 

[Guest]

No, maxal, you're mission impossible. But since I find this highly entertaining, here's Mackenzie Foy (14, American) for Shallan!

 

Yes, I know, she's quite young for the part, but since no Stormlight Archive movie could realistically be greenlit within the next 2 years, I'll just go ahead and age her up a little for the movie. She was young Murph in Interstellar, and did quite well (she was also Renesmee in Twilight, but let's ignore that for now). I think she fits the physical profile very well though, with a somewhat redder hair. 

 

 

Nobody's perfect  I am sorry I am so picky on prospective Adolin   All hope is not lost, perhaps someone will find the right actor.

 

Let's see this new Shallan.. I like the picture, though she is a bit young. If we start to think on who could play the character in 2 years time, then we have to choose them younger than I anticipated (and it re-opens the whole how old should the guy playing Adolin be  ).

 

I must say though the fact she actually played in Twilight kinda weights against her (wasn't Renesmee Bella and Edward's child which ended up as Jacob's love interest so the author could resolve her love triangle??? Please Brandon, take note on what NOT to write) ... which brings to the obvious. How come nobody suggested it yet???? I mean, they are the NATURAL choice...

 

Kaladin: Taylor Lautner

Adolin: Robert Pattinson 

Shallan: Kirsten Steward

 

I mean, WHY haven't we thought of it before?????      They are peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerfect.     

[Brightlord he/him]

I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry.

 

I don't like his ears and his face is not... right. His eyes are not blue 

 

   

 

We don't have to focus on Adolin  For all that matters, young Chris Pine is not a bad choice (providing he can look good in blond which is yet to be seen, but his facials are OK), he is just too old for the part now.

 

Are you telling me that this Chris Pine, circa 2013, is too old to play an early-to-mid 20s guy:

And that this girl, circa 2014, is too old to play a 17 year old?:

I think you've got some issues with aging.  I'm a HS teacher and spend all day around teenagers who look older than these two.

[Brightlord he/him]

 

 

I for one don't get the Shallan vibe from Chloe Grace Moretz - Chloe is a little....too girly?... to play Shallan, I think. Shallan has some dark parts, she killed both her parents after all, even though she isn't always in a normal state of mind, having repressed the memories. She's also quite pragmatic, I think. She's deeply disturbed when Jasnah kills the thugs, but shrugs off murdering Tyn within a few seconds. 

Just sayin'.

[Guest]

Blightsong, have you look at recent pictures of Chris Pine? I posted on in my previous post. The guy has grey hair in his beard. I also posted a recent picture of Emma Stone. 

 

A few more years often make a difference. I only have to look at my own face to convince myself of it nor am I disillusioned enough to believe I would pass as a mid-twenty, even if I wish I would. 

 

Both currently look too old.

 

 

He looks his age: mid-thirties.

Edited November 3, 2015 by maxal

[Brightlord he/him]

Blightsong, have you look at recent pictures of Chris Pine? I posted on in my previous post. The guy has grey hair in his beard. I also posted a recent picture of Emma Stone. 

 

A few more years often make a difference. I only have to look at my own face to convince myself of it nor am I disillusioned enough to believe I would pass as a mid-twenty, even if I wish I would. 

 

Both currently look too old.

 

He looks his age: mid-thirties.

This was him this year, not even being lighted for stage or a movie, still looking mid-to-late 20s.  I'm not even arguing for him as Adolin anymore, I'm arguing that your lack of comprehending the effects of cinematography is baffling.  Sean Astin and Elijah Woods are 10 years apart and were able to look the same age in a movie that used absolutely no CG on them.

Edit: In fact, let me even pull another angle.  http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2012-08-06/veterans-aging-study-trauma/57608072/1 

Even if cinematography didn't have a million ways to hide aging (make-up, lights, cgi, wardrobe), there is plenty of evidence that suggests that prolonged exposure to war prematurely ages people.  Kaladin himself has long inner-dialogues about how he's aged so much in his few years of war.  His monologue feels easily in his 30's, but he's a lot closer to Shallan's age.  There's no reason Adolin should look 30, but he also shouldn't look like a college kid.  He's a war veteran.

Another edit:

Just sayin', about the hair/lines thing, this man was 29 when he died:

"Looks ____ age" is a BS excuse.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Brightlord

[DSC01 he/him]

And Hollywood really expects us to not pay any attention to the ages of the actors they cast for stuff.  They could have just omitted the in Watchmen that identifies Rorshach as a 35-year-old man, but they went ahead and kept it, even though the actor was close to 50 (and looked it).

[Guest]

This was him this year, not even being lighted for stage or a movie, still looking mid-to-late 20s.  I'm not even arguing for him as Adolin anymore, I'm arguing that your lack of comprehending the effects of cinematography is baffling.  Sean Astin and Elijah Woods are 10 years apart and were able to look the same age in a movie that used absolutely no CG on them.

 

I disagree. He does not look mid-twenties, he look late twenties at best, but this is only one angle. I personally would have given him around 30, my husband thought late twenties, so here. I have shown you other pictures where he looks much older, also taken this year. They aren't going to rework his face on every single shoot they make, but this is beyond the point.

 

I just don't understand why you want to age him such or why it is so antagonist for me to desire an actor who's actually younger and who looks younger. 

 

 

Edit: In fact, let me even pull another angle.  http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2012-08-06/veterans-aging-study-trauma/57608072/1 

Even if cinematography didn't have a million ways to hide aging (make-up, lights, cgi, wardrobe), there is plenty of evidence that suggests that prolonged exposure to war prematurely ages people.  Kaladin himself has long inner-dialogues about how he's aged so much in his few years of war.  His monologue feels easily in his 30's, but he's a lot closer to Shallan's age.  There's no reason Adolin should look 30, but he also shouldn't look like a college kid.  He's a war veteran.

 

Adolin is not a war veteran, he is a prince who plays at fighting a war on the Shattered Plains: it is more a sport than a war with true atrocities. For the lighteyes, the "war" is not serious: it is merely a game where they gather riches. Seriously, Adolin is just playing here. He thinks if he kills enough of those, his father will stop having delusions: a rather naive chain of thoughts. Real war is Dalinar in SA3, not Adolin happily slaying Parshendis... Kaladin is the war veteran, the bridgemen are the war veterans, not Adolin. Not yet. Besides, Adolin's facial features are described by many characters as youthful. I don't think a war veteran would be described as youthful even if young. He does not look 30, in fact, he likely looks younger than his age. He likely looks like a college kid while I agree Kaladin probably don't. Adolin is also referred to by all characters as: boy, lad, youth. Other studies show the older you look, the more seriously people will take you and Adolin is constantly dismissed by nearly everyone. 

 

He just does not look old. There is no reason to cast him with an older actor. You must also take into consideration the fact a series would go on for years. By the end of the first arc, your actor who barely pass as young enough would definitely look too old for the part. Look at Kit Harrington in GoT: he is too old for 16 years old Jon Snow and some of his inner monologue got ridiculous because of it.

 

 

"Looks ____ age" is a BS excuse.

 

It is not a BS excuse because make-up will only bring you so far. You think it is a BS excuse because you disagree I disagree about Chris Pine. You think Chris Pine looks young enough, I disagree. I have shown plenty of pictures where Chris Pine looks exactly his age: mid-thirty.

 

I am sorry if I just don't picture Adolin as a mid-thirties guy, in fact I am totally horrified at the idea. There is nothing that would ruin SA more for me than to cast some thirty something actor as Adolin.

 

So if we are going to continue this thread, can we please drop the whole Chris Pine discussion? You picture Adolin as him fine. I don't. Adolin is much younger in my head. In my head, he befits his book age which is early twenties. He also has a face that would be described as youthful. You see him as older, this is your mental image. I am not going to attack this, but please stop attacking mine.

[Brightlord he/him]

 

It is not a BS excuse because make-up will only bring you so far. You think it is a BS excuse because you disagree I disagree about Chris Pine. You think Chris Pine looks young enough, I disagree. I have shown plenty of pictures where Chris Pine looks exactly his age: mid-thirty.

 

I am sorry if I just don't picture Adolin as a mid-thirties guy, in fact I am totally horrified at the idea. There is nothing that would ruin SA more for me than to cast some thirty something actor as Adolin.

 

So if we are going to continue this thread, can we please drop the whole Chris Pine discussion? You picture Adolin as him fine. I don't. Adolin is much younger in my head. In my head, he befits his book age which is early twenties. He also has a face that would be described as youthful. You see him as older, this is your mental image. I am not going to attack this, but please stop attacking mine.

This is kinda' the crux of the discussion, so I trimmed it down.  Like I said, I don't especially care about Pine as Adolin (I was agreeing with OP, not choosing my own person.  Were I to choose my own preference, I'd probably go with someone like Nicholas Hoult (and dye his hair) or Jonathan Groff.  It does sound more like you're hoping to drool over the character than actually see them come to life, though.

My issue isn't disagreeing with Pine, it's disagreeing that Pine could do it.  He looks the appropriate age in the Star Trek movies, despite being far older, and was also convincingly dismissed as a reckless boy.  Regardless of how he isn't a grizzled vet like his old man, he's still a warrior, and clearly has the spirit in him to fight dirty even if he keeps it together for The Code.  Any grizzled old soldier, such as those he's surrounded by, is likely to condescend on him as some greenhorn in a warrior society.  He is, after all, just the heir presumptive of The Blackthorn, but we also see that he's seen enough battles to be able to competently lead the forces himself.  He is an experienced commander and accomplished fighter, even if the arrogant Alethi dismiss him as wet around the ears.  You have to also consider that he's been training for war his entire life; he is probably not going to look like a modern day college kid whose life is Starbucks and frat parties.  Life for the Alethi is not like that.  Whole Adolin is seen as stylish, so is Sadeas.

I agree that Adolin should be youthful.  Shallan refers to him as handsome, stylish, with a nice smile -- stylish enough to make the same suit Dalinar wears seem like fashion instead of the intimidating gear of Dalinar.  He should have flair, he should have charisma, and he should be young.  The problem is that's really hard to find in young actors that aren't, say, a young Brad Pitt.  Since you mention GoT (btw, a friend of mine thinks Kit would be great for Kaladin.  I kinda' disagree), the way I picture Adolin is kinda' the way the stories picture Jaime Lannister and Robert Baratheon (lecheries aside, that is).  Youthful, fashionable, social, but formidable, cunning.  Noble warriors restraining their darker sides (in many ways, he's the opposite of Jaime Lannister, who conversely sacrifices his honor for the sake of his family -- Adolin does the opposite).  I just can't see Andrew Garfield pulling off that level of nuance, and I'd say most young actors lack that range.

So, I guess to try to make peace here, I have no qualms with giving the "No" to Chris Pine.  I am not invested in anything Chris Pine has done.  I have qualms with dismissing an actor because they have aged, whereas Hollywood is full of actors that have played people 20-30 years younger than them convincingly because it is very, very possible to use smoke and mirrors to drop 20-30 years off someone's face.  In all honesty, though, Adolin is probably best cast as a no-name to properly broadcast his generally inconsequential presence to Alethi culture.  A big name like Pine would demand focus and screen time, which Adolin isn't there for.

It also doesn't help that I picture Alethi as being fairly Greek in appearance, which means that I tend to picture the males as being fairly rugged, as opposed to the smoother image of youth common in American culture.  Something like this Greek singer is what I picture:

So, I guess, like, the mid-20s billionaire playboy look? Idk.

[Khyrindor he/him]

Just a point for you guys saying people are too old to play the young characters in Stormlight, the years are 500 days on Roshar, so there is a difference of 135 days per year, making Kaladin about 27 if my math check out. Adolin would be just a bit older than that.

[Guest]

 

This is kinda' the crux of the discussion, so I trimmed it down.  Like I said, I don't especially care about Pine as Adolin (I was agreeing with OP, not choosing my own person.  Were I to choose my own preference, I'd probably go with someone like Nicholas Hoult (and dye his hair) or Jonathan Groff.  It does sound more like you're hoping to drool over the character than actually see them come to life, though.

Adolin is described as the most handsome man in Alethkar, so yes I do expect to drool over him as you say. It is not ambiguous: Adolin is so handsome, Shallan automatically drools when she sees him. Any actor portraying him has to be handsome and considered handsome by most viewers, especially female viewers. Of course, everyone has their own personal tastes, but most people would agree Brad Pitt is handsome. That's exactly the kind of actor I'd want for Adolin: someone nearly everyone will agree is handsome.

You can't just cast him with an average looking actor simply because he acts good. He also has to physically look the part and yes, that includes him being very handsome. Yes, he is a hunk. Yes, he is a hearthrobe, cast him as such. Even better, cast Kaladin as his perfect opposite: the dark bad boy with darker skin. I mean surely there are talented handsome blond headed young men out there to pick up the role. As I said earlier, Hollywood does not exactly have a shortage of actors.

Not to mention, they would likely cast Shallan and Jasnah as drop dead gorgeous women. I noticed your personal choices for Shallan are very pretty. I may not agree with Emma Stone due to age, but I do agree she is a beautiful woman. So why can't we cast Adolin is an equally drop dead gorgeous man? Why must the female actresses be once again so much more prettier than the men? Adolin is drop dead handsome per book description. Chloe and Emma (even if I don't agree with her) also are very pretty. Nicholas Hoult or Jonathan Groff aren't, in my personal opinion, handsome enough. They don't have the "Adolin look", they look to rugged for Adolin, not to mention Groff also physically looks too old (let's not get there again). They also aren't blond.

Now if we go back to Chris Pine, is he handsome enough? Yes, he is (they didn't cast him as Kirk for nothing...), but he is too old and not blond enough (at least he is not black haired).

It is also why I keep saying Adolin is the hardest to cast character. You don't have a lot of latitude with Adolin: he is young, handsome and blond. These are the three characteristics I am currently looking for. Of course, he'd need to be a decent actor, but since I am unable to judge of actors I don't know about acting talent, I'll leave it to physical look. Anyway, it is not as if we were truly making a cast. This is more a "I think he'd look like that" thread.

 

 

My issue isn't disagreeing with Pine, it's disagreeing that Pine could do it.  He looks the appropriate age in the Star Trek movies, despite being far older, and was also convincingly dismissed as a reckless boy.  Regardless of how he isn't a grizzled vet like his old man, he's still a warrior, and clearly has the spirit in him to fight dirty even if he keeps it together for The Code.  Any grizzled old soldier, such as those he's surrounded by, is likely to condescend on him as some greenhorn in a warrior society.  He is, after all, just the heir presumptive of The Blackthorn, but we also see that he's seen enough battles to be able to competently lead the forces himself.  He is an experienced commander and accomplished fighter, even if the arrogant Alethi dismiss him as wet around the ears.  You have to also consider that he's been training for war his entire life; he is probably not going to look like a modern day college kid whose life is Starbucks and frat parties.  Life for the Alethi is not like that.  Whole Adolin is seen as stylish, so is Sadeas.

 

The problem lies in the fact you are treating the Shattered Plains war as a gruesome war while I see it as a mere sport. They aren't taking it seriously which is why Dalinar angst over it: people are dying for what has become, essentially, a sport. Adolin is, essentially, an athlete who has trained for the sport of war all his life in a very secure environment. He has never fought without Shards or against humans. He has never been hurt. He likely does not even have a scar. All he has killed are creatures he has not deemed human enough to care about, not until the end that is.

He has no idea of the hardships of life: he has lived a privileged one filled with three healthy meals per day and a poster bed where he could sprawled in all directions. While his life was not picture perfect, it was materially and physically comfortable. He does not understand the life of those lesser than him as illustrated in his "attempts" to joke with Kaladin: he does not realize the hardships Kaladin has been through. Dalinar understands, but not Adolin. He has not seen enough nor lived enough.

So yes, Adolin essentially is the equivalent of the College star athlete (likely the quarterback who calls all the shots) from a rich family and yes, he would look like a modern day College kid. That's basically what he is. So yes, he'd go to "Starbucks" and he would party with his "frat boys" had Dalinar authorized him. He is basically the "College star athlete" meets the "boy's band heartthrob" in terms of physical looks.

 

And yes, life for the high ranked is easy and filled with cocktail parties. They do fight, but at the same time, they don't. Not like Kaladin. Adolin, during his leisure time, lazily sprawls at wine houses or attempts sumptuous parties. That's his life. 

So this is exactly how I picture Adolin and it also befits every single physical description we have of him. Each and every one of them put the emphasis over the fact he is young and youthful. Not once has anyone described Adolin as a veteran or as grizzled or as eyes that seen too much: they use it for Kaladin, but Adolin is still very fresh. If you look at the mini icon we do have of him: he's quite young and youthful and yes, if you were to remove that helmet, it's a College kid you'd see staring back at you.

 

I agree that Adolin should be youthful.  Shallan refers to him as handsome, stylish, with a nice smile -- stylish enough to make the same suit Dalinar wears seem like fashion instead of the intimidating gear of Dalinar.  He should have flair, he should have charisma, and he should be young.  The problem is that's really hard to find in young actors that aren't, say, a young Brad Pitt.  Since you mention GoT (btw, a friend of mine thinks Kit would be great for Kaladin.  I kinda' disagree), the way I picture Adolin is kinda' the way the stories picture Jaime Lannister and Robert Baratheon (lecheries aside, that is).  Youthful, fashionable, social, but formidable, cunning.  Noble warriors restraining their darker sides (in many ways, he's the opposite of Jaime Lannister, who conversely sacrifices his honor for the sake of his family -- Adolin does the opposite).  I just can't see Andrew Garfield pulling off that level of nuance, and I'd say most young actors lack that range.

 

I absolutely don't picture Adolin as Jaime Lannister or Robert Baratheon... Adolin has a childish glee and an naivety those characters just never had. He has the capacity to become formidable, but he has not mature yet into this man. He's also very emphatic, but he lacks the second regard on the world due to his favored upbringing. Adolin has a certain charisma, but it is a facet of himself he does not truly know how to use. There is also an innocence about him illustrated each time he blushes, each time he looks around, each time he takes a step back when Shallan takes a step forward... He can't be played by a de-aged mature actor, you'd loose all of it. You'd lose the fact Adolin still is a kid, in many many ways. He may lead battles as a General, he may be competent, but he still wants his aunt to coddle him afterwards. Kaladin nails it when he sees Adolin: he's just a child (Kaladin would add entitled and petulant, but he is over-stating it), even if he's older than him. He is very mature when it comes to taking his responsibilities and orders, but he is immature in his easily influenced attitude with his peers (peer pressure) and his regards on life in general. That's also why most veterans don't take him seriously: he looks and acts too much like a kid (a foolish fop mostly). He starts to out-grow it in WoR, but he is not there yet. You'd need an actor you would age and grow with the role.

 Kaladin also mentions the fact Adolin is not physically imposing without his armor, while Dalinar always is. He does not have a commanding presence. I suspect he will get there, in time, but he is not there yet. On the battlefield, he is the blond demon, but inside the armor, he's a very young man. A bit like Spiderman who rescues everyone and fights the villains, but once you remove the mask you realize how young he is. On the side note, Kaladin always refers to Adolin as "the young man" and uses "spoiled child" on several occasions.

As for Kit, he has gotten too old for Kaladin, but Kit 5 years ago would have made a plausible Kaladin. I would however prefer someone darker skinned from another nationality for Kaladin. It would befit the story better. Him, of all characters, should not be a white actor, especially considering he is the male lead.

 

 

So, I guess to try to make peace here, I have no qualms with giving the "No" to Chris Pine.  I am not invested in anything Chris Pine has done.  I have qualms with dismissing an actor because they have aged, whereas Hollywood is full of actors that have played people 20-30 years younger than them convincingly because it is very, very possible to use smoke and mirrors to drop 20-30 years off someone's face.  In all honesty, though, Adolin is probably best cast as a no-name to properly broadcast his generally inconsequential presence to Alethi culture.  A big name like Pine would demand focus and screen time, which Adolin isn't there for.

 

For the record, had Chris Pine been 10 years younger and had he been born with blond hair, I'd say he's a go. Of course, he'd have to have a different hair cut than in Princess Diaries.... Adolin is probably combed like one of the One Direction kids, but he could have pulled it off.

 

I personally hate having actors who are 20 to 30 years older than their role. Other people may find it plausible, but I frown each time. The cause of the argument is you think these roles are convincing while I don't.

 

Adolin also is an important enough role to be interesting to a decent actor. He has a lot of fighting scenes and his turmoil at the end of WoR promise some interesting development. He is not less interesting to play than say, Boromir in LoTR who attracted none other than Sean Penn.

 

 

It also doesn't help that I picture Alethi as being fairly Greek in appearance, which means that I tend to picture the males as being fairly rugged, as opposed to the smoother image of youth common in American culture.  Something like this Greek singer is what I picture:

I personally picture the Alethi more as Western Asian with a touch of Indian, perhaps Arabic. Somewhere in that corner, but I don't see them with coarse features, except perhaps Dalinar. Adolin is a half-blood who favors his foreign heritage, so he can be picked out of a wider variety of actors, but yes I essentially him picture him as the average American youth, but with a more tanned skin.

 

The picture is actually not bad.

[Guest]

Just a point for you guys saying people are too old to play the young characters in Stormlight, the years are 500 days on Roshar, so there is a difference of 135 days per year, making Kaladin about 27 if my math check out. Adolin would be just a bit older than that.

 

The years are longer, we don't know if they physically age at the same rhythm. They aren't exactly human, they are a modified version of humans and all book descriptions match book age and not "enhanced age". 

 

I am not getting into that debate *again*. 

 

I don't picture the kids as old. I picture then as young people. If other people picture them as mid-thirties people, then it is their personal imagery. Brandon purposefully refused to give too many descriptions so people could have the liberty to imagine them as they wish. I imagine them as rather young, the whole lot.

 

So for me, yes they look like a bunch of College kids, Renarin looking more like a teenager than a man.

[Cemci she/her]

You can't expect the audience to follow along when you say 'Adolin is 23 in the story, but since the calendar is different to our Gregorian calendar, he would really be closer to 27'. If Adolin is 23 in the story, you cast someone who can pass for 23, because - and no offense - the people on this forum are the nerds who read the books. The age calculation would never fly with the general public, who don't know the story and don't have the patience to ask why Kaladin, who is 19, is deliberately being made to look 27. 

[Brightlord he/him]

You can't expect the audience to follow along when you say 'Adolin is 23 in the story, but since the calendar is different to our Gregorian calendar, he would really be closer to 27'. If Adolin is 23 in the story, you cast someone who can pass for 23, because - and no offense - the people on this forum are the nerds who read the books. The age calculation would never fly with the general public, who don't know the story and don't have the patience to ask why Kaladin, who is 19, is deliberately being made to look 27. 

Perhaps, but I also think age accuracy is only likely to cause nerd rage in the kind of people on this forum.  The general public is fairly sensitive to race-appropriate casting, but they don't really gripe about age.  Even GoT, which aged plenty of characters, raised only a minor fuss.

But you still want the character to seem like someone who would be under his father's wing, so he couldn't look too old.  A 30 year-old man acting like Adolin would be incredibly uncomfortable to a modern audience.  He acts with a good deal of maturity and governs his actions well.  He isn't just some reckless youth, but he isn't the the warrior either.

[Guest]

 

You can't expect the audience to follow along when you say 'Adolin is 23 in the story, but since the calendar is different to our Gregorian calendar, he would really be closer to 27'. If Adolin is 23 in the story, you cast someone who can pass for 23, because - and no offense - the people on this forum are the nerds who read the books. The age calculation would never fly with the general public, who don't know the story and don't have the patience to ask why Kaladin, who is 19, is deliberately being made to look 27. 

 

I agree. It is the reason why the calendar discussion has always unnerved me. The characters physical and psychological descriptions befit their book age and not some elongated year period. The book don't come with a disclosure to adapt your visualization of the characters to fit a different rotation orbit for Roshar.

 

When I read Adolin, I read a young man in his early twenties, one who would be in College were living in our modern world, not some late twenties man. When I read Kaladin, I read a young man who has been forced to grow beyond his years, while lacking the maturity. 

 

I can't say for other people's perception, but this is how I see them.

 

 

Perhaps, but I also think age accuracy is only likely to cause nerd rage in the kind of people on this forum.  The general public is fairly sensitive to race-appropriate casting, but they don't really gripe about age.  Even GoT, which aged plenty of characters, raised only a minor fuss.

 

Actually, a lot of people complained over the fact they aged the characters in GoT. Some casting decisions made sense, some didn't. Rob Stark didn't have the "Young Wolf" feel to him as in the book. I wondered why they didn't give the part to a younger actor. When Jon Snow angst over being too young to be Lord Commander, it is nearly laughable as he don't look too young, but book Jon is only 16, so his dilemma makes sense, in the books. Theon, however, works, despite being much older than book Theon, mostly because Theon's actual age has little impact in the story and Alfie Allen does a really good job with him.

 

In nowadays modern settings, race is a more sensitive subject which is why the Alethi population should be made to look ethnic. They are choices to be made: you could go Japanese and pick some Icelandic folks for the fair haired mixed blood lighteyes, but this strikes me as a hard cast. The easiest would likely be cast with Bollywood or Western Asia and move towards Europe depending on how faithful to the "Alethi look" the character it. You could probably go Mediterranean as well, but it may be a less popular choice. The first step, I think, would be to cast Kaladin and Dalinar. Once you get these two, you have the ground basis for the skin color, ethnicity of the average population. You cast the rest to fit.

 

However, I don't see why we can't have both the age and the race right. Roughly. Not all characters need to be precisely accurate in terms of age. You can swing more madly with Elhokar and Jasnah because their age is not so relevant. Of course, you wouldn't cast Jasnah with a mid-twenties actress, but you can easily go towards a women in her early forties and not loose her character. Elhokar being in his late twenties is actually easy to cast. You can pick guys up until forty, as long as they don't look too old and it would work. Actually, now that I think of it, Chris Pine, were he ethnic would work 

 

Dalinar and Navani do not need to be precisely 50. Neither does Sadeas. You can play with the age of all bridgemen except perhaps Moash and Teft. 

 

The young ones, Kaladin, Shallan, Adolin and Renarin should remain young though because their age matters to their plot line and their credibility as characters.

 

 

But you still want the character to seem like someone who would be under his father's wing, so he couldn't look too old.  A 30 year-old man acting like Adolin would be incredibly uncomfortable to a modern audience.  He acts with a good deal of maturity and governs his actions well.  He isn't just some reckless youth, but he isn't the the warrior either.

 

Yes, a 30 years old actor would not be able to pull out Adolin as a character. The naivety that only comes with young age can't be faked with an older actor. He also needs to look young enough to be under his father tutelage and that will only happen if you cast him with an early twenties guy, which incidentally happens to be his real age. Adolin is also known to be quite the impulsive youth, but he is not a rebellious one, so he comes up as very obedient and responsible. This does not change the fact he is young. There are plenty of responsible young men: not all are reckless loots. Not being too reckless does not mean "being older". In a modern setting, he'd probably be labeled as a "Daddy's boy".

[RenegadeShroom]

Small things first: One, Kaladin isn't 27 in Earth years. A Rosharan year is only roughly equivalent to 1.1 Earth year; Kaladin's almost 21 in Earth years; 20.9 years old to be specific. Two, in Game of Thrones, they specifically aged up the characters so that they could cast older actors for the roles.

 

Here's the big thing, last because it's most important, and I really have to stress this: Alethi are not white. Brandon modeled them off Asian-Hawaiian people, but east Indian works too. It's not like it'd be hard to find actors that fit that description, there's a lot of people on the planet. This is important to note, because under-representation of people of colour is a problem in modern -- western --  media. If anyone adapted the Stormlight Archive into a visual medium and whitewashed the cast.... Eugh. It's honestly gross to think about. Regardless of how Hollywood might 'realistically' approach it, it's gross. Hollywood's methods tend to be pretty racist, so following their example is not a good thing, and we can do better!

[CHOUTAGOD he/him]

The Mushroom speaks true!! That being said who should play Hoid/Wit?

[Khyrindor he/him]

Hoid changes his appearance anyway. I bet he could make himself look like any people he wanted to. I vote Robert Carlyle.

[pharaoh9000 he/him]

If we're talking about fantasy casting, shouldn't we be talking about "voice casting" rather than simply casting?

 

IMO something like SA would best be represented in ultra-high quality CGI.  Like on the level of Beowulf (2007), or perhaps even Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001).  As long as it's high-level CGI and very serious-toned, what could better bring Roshar and Stormlight to the screen than CGI?

 

That being said, I think Michael Kramer does the best Dalinar imaginable!  Although many others could do amazingly as well, if their physical appearance isn't a deciding factor.

Edited November 4, 2015 by pharaoh9000

[An evil 545lighteyes he/him]

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...

 

 

Well Kaladin is 19 in Rosharan years, which makes him like 16 by our reckoning. 

[natc]

Um, a Rosharan year is 500 days. The days are shorter, but it still works out to be somewhere close to 1.1 times longer than Earth years. His age by Earth years can't possibly be less than his age on Roshar. That's not how mathematics works.

EDIT: Google calculator of all things gives me 8765.81227 hours (weird number eh? No wonder leap years and seconds get so out of hand) in a year on Earth. Rosharan year works out at 10000. Ratio of Roshar:Earth is 1.14079553. Definitely longer.

Edited November 5, 2015 by natc

[DreamEternal]

Um, a Rosharan year is 500 days. The days are shorter, but it still works out to be somewhere close to 1.1 times longer than Earth years. His age by Earth years can't possibly be less than his age on Roshar. That's not how mathematics works.

EDIT: Google calculator of all things gives me 8765.81227 hours (weird number eh? No wonder leap years and seconds get so out of hand) in a year on Earth. Rosharan year works out at 10000. Ratio of Roshar:Earth is 1.14079553. Definitely longer.

Roshatan hours are also shorter. The ratio is 1.1.

[DSC01 he/him]

How about Irrfan Khan as Sadeas?

http://gossipkatta.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/irfan-621x414-300x200.jpg