Stream of Consciousness VA casting

[Darth V.]

I've been building up a pretty long list of possible voice actor castings for a possible order of the stick animated movie/series and haven't seen a casting thread for a while, so I'm just gonna start talking and see what you think.

The Order of The Stick:
Roy: Nathan Fillion (Captain Reynolds)
Elan: Neil Patrick Harris (Barney from How I met your mother)
Belkar: Mark Hamil (The Joker from the Batman cartoon, also Luke Skywalker)
Others: No ideas so far

Team Evil:
Xykon: Bill Nighy (Slartibartfast from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)
Redcloak: Alan Rickman (Snape, also the Bad guy from Die Hard)
MitD: Spike Spencer (Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Tsukiko: Grey Delisle (Azula from Avatar the Last Airbender/ Viconia from Baldur's Gate)

Azure City:
Miko: No strong ideas, although Grey Delisle would probably do a good job here as well.
Lord Shojo: Sean Connery (Original James Bond)
O-Chul: Ken Watanabe (The Japanese General from Letters from Iwo Jima, The Samurai lord in the Last Samurai)

Empire of Blood:
Tarquin: Jeremy Irons (Scar from Lion King)

Suggestions? Filling in Gaps? I'm all ears.

[ThePhantasm]

(Some voice actors in dual roles)

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/images/smilies/oots/roy.gif: Samuel L. Jackson
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Eugene.png: Idris Elba
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Horace.png: Max Von Sydow

:haley:: Dana Delany
:elan: / :nale:: Michael Rosenbaum
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Tarquin.png: David Warner
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Malack.png: Brad Dourif
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/IanGladiator.png: Terry O'Quinn

:durkon:: Mike Meyers
:vaarsuvius:: Brad Dourif
:belkar:: Mark Hamill

:thog:: Clancy Brown
:sabine:: Gabrielle Union

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i294/trytoguess/O-Chul.png: Kevin Conroy
:miko:: Reiko Ayelsworth
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i294/trytoguess/Shojo.png: Jackie Chan
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/SoonKim.png: Max Von Sydow

:xykon:: Jack Nicholson
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Redcloak.png: Billy Crystal
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/redxiv/tsukiko.gif: Sarah Michelle Gellar

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/6719/scoundrel.png: Antonio Banderas
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/redxiv/oracle.gif: James Marsters
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y281/SGdentarthurdent/dragon.gif: Tilda Swinton
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i294/trytoguess/Thor.png: Clancy Brown
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/redxiv/celia.gif: Sarah Michelle Gellar
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/gannjismileysmall.png: James Marsters
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/enorsmileysmall.png: Dennis Haysbert
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Bozzok.png: Dennis Haysbert

[Jaros]

I knew it Phantasm! I knew one day you'd post something I actually disagreed with! (That's supposed to be a compliment by the way)

Honestly, the only person in either of those posts who I could see (well, hear) in the role (who I actually know) is Jeremy Irons.

Actually, I can kinda hear Malcolm McDowell as Tarquin...

Edit: Actually, James Marsters as The Oracle could probably work too

[Omergideon]

Darth V......I don't agree. Nathan Fillon is not right for Roy to me. And NPH might be allright, but I do not think he could bring a sense of innocent wonder that Elan needs and play it as seriously and sincerely as the character demands.

Allthough I like your Team Evil selection.

Phantasm I think has the Order itself and most of the side characters pretty spot on. My only change would be to drop Mike Myers as Durkon and replace with a much gruffer sounding voice. Less Shrek, more John Rhys Davies or Ray Winstone. Mike Mr Rosenbaum has done earnest innocent before, as well as evil menace so if we wanted the same VA (no need for that) he works very well.

Though I am not sure why people are so happy for Mark Hamill as Belkar. Oh sure he would work very well indeed, but I would not have thought of him as my first choice. I would likely have started more with, oh............actually Mr Hamill is perfect. Objection withdrawn.

[Smolder]

(Some voice actors in dual roles)

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/images/smilies/oots/roy.gif: Samuel L. Jackson
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Horace.png: Max Von Sydow

:haley:: Dana Delany
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/redxiv/tsukiko.gif: Sarah Michelle Gellar


You've got the makings of an awesome LIVE action movie there!

[sr123]

Roy: Billy West
Elan: Billy West
Belkar: Billy West
Haley: Kath Soucie
Mr. Scruffy: Frank Welker
Others: No ideas so far (but perhaps Billy West is available?)
Xykon: Billy West
Redcloak: Maurice LaMarche
MitD: Billy West
Tsukiko: Kath Soucie
Miko: Tress MacNeille
Lien: Tress MacNeille
Lord Shojo: Billy West
O-Chul: Maurice LaMarche
Tarquin: Maurice LaMarche

You all don't seem to understand how voice acting works...

[Ravian]

I can't help but notice there are only 5 people in this list...

[ti'esar]

I expect that's the point.

[Ravian]

Yeah but why? I'm not all that familiar with voice acting

[ti'esar]

Neither am I, so I can't tell you for certain.

[Grey Watcher]

Yeah but why? I'm not all that familiar with voice acting

Well, the idea is that really good voice actors can provide a lot of different voices for a single project. So it's generally more cost-effective to hire a few, highly versatile voice actors and have each cover many roles than to hire individual actors for each role. Because people can't tell the d-iddly-ifference.

Go onto IMDB someday and look at the cast lists for animated shows, especially television series, and you'll see things like "Billy West - Phillip J. Fry, Prof. Hubert Farnsworth, Zapp Brannigan, Hermes Conrad, Dr. Zoidberg, etc., etc. etc."

That said, ever since one of the OOTS-movie-casting threads suggested George Takei for Shojo, I can't read his lines with any other voice in my head....

EDIT: Upon ACTUALLY going to IMDB, they now only list all the actor's roles on the individual episode pages. For the series in general, they just list each actor's biggest role. Also, I apparently don't know one of my favorite shows as well as I thought, since Hermes is, in fact, Phil LaMarr....

[Onikani]

Check Billy West's Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_West):
Billy West's roles in Futurama include Philip J. Fry, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg and Zapp Brannigan, as well as various other incidental characters. As he and other Futurama cast and crew point out in DVD commentaries, West voiced so many characters throughout the series that conversations are often held entirely between characters he is voicing.

Another fun one is Hank Azaria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_azaria) (Simpsons):
... In addition to Moe, Wiggum and Apu, Azaria provides the voices of the Comic Book Guy, Carl Carlson, Cletus Spuckler, Professor Frink, Dr. Nick Riviera, Lou, Snake, Kirk Van Houten, the Sea Captain, Superintendent Chalmers, Disco Stu, Duffman, the Wiseguy and numerous other one-time characters.[16]

[sr123]

Roy: Samuel L. Jackson

suggested George Takei for Shojo

{scrubbed}

[Gift Jeraff]

Roy: Billy West
Elan: Billy West
Belkar: Billy West
Haley: Kath Soucie
Mr. Scruffy: Frank Welker
Others: No ideas so far (but perhaps Billy West is available?)
Xykon: Billy West
Redcloak: Maurice LaMarche
MitD: Billy West
Tsukiko: Kath Soucie
Miko: Tress MacNeille
Lien: Tress MacNeille
Lord Shojo: Billy West
O-Chul: Maurice LaMarche
Tarquin: Maurice LaMarche

You all don't seem to understand how voice acting works...All correct except for Roy, who would be voiced by Phil LaMarr.

[Ravian]

I sense much sarcasm within you... :smallsigh:
I'm not sure what you find offensive with just suggesting that certain actors' voices would sound good for certain characters. Even if it doesn't subscribe to your belief on how voice acting should be done.

It's not like everyone here is actually making an OOTS animated series (though that would be interesting)

[sr123]

For the record, I don't find any of you fellow posters offensive, though I do always find the notion of "celebrity voice actors" quite amusing.

And I am not implying the "r" word, as the moderator has suggested. That's a word for people who are true contemptible a__holes.

I am, however, explicitly stating that media and our subsequent expectations thereof has a long-established and still-encouraged socio-racial bias... no, that's not the word... stupidity.

So when I see Samuel L. as Roy and George Takei (who has a perfect SAE accent, but just happens to be Japa... no, who just happens to have parents of Japanese ancestry) as Shojo, then I see that as possibly a reflection of a disturbing social phenomenon that must be called out whenever possible.

I hope none of you take personal offense, and I would apologize to you and would be happy to hear your concerns if you did. However, while I acknowledge that the tone of the post was overly curt, it is not of inappropriate content and does I think have some value as a commentary, and therefore I ask the moderator that it be un-scrubbed.

[Grey Watcher]

For the record, I don't find any of you fellow posters offensive, though I do always find the notion of "celebrity voice actors" quite amusing.

And I am not implying the "r" word, as the moderator has suggested. That's a word for people who are true contemptible a__holes.

I am, however, explicitly stating that media and our subsequent expectations thereof has a long-established and still-encouraged socio-racial bias... no, that's not the word... stupidity.

So when I see Samuel L. as Roy and George Takei (who has a perfect SAE accent, but just happens to be Japa... no, who just happens to have parents of Japanese ancestry) as Shojo, then I see that as a reflection of a disturbing social phenomenon that must be called out whenever possible.

I hope none of you take personal offense, and I would apologize to you and would be happy to hear your concerns if you did. However, while I acknowledge that the tone of the post was overly curt, it is not of inappropriate content and does I think have some value as a commentary, and therefore I ask the moderator that it be un-scrubbed.

Well, the George Takei reference was in a thread about casting a live-action version of Order of the Stick, where his ethnicity comes more into play, given that Azure City is pastiche of east Asian cultures. It seemed a good fit to me more because Takei is capable of both gravitas and whimsy. I guess if someone had suggested Kelsey Grammer or Patrick Stewart first, I might be hearing one of those voices instead.

There have been a ton of "cast a live-action OOTS movie" threads in the past, so I think a lot of people here have been somewhat trained to think of the question of casting as including appearance. Between that and an over-arching desire in our culture at large to be more sensitive to racial issues (and avoid things like Mr. Yunioshi from Breakfast at Tiffany's), leads us to rather naturally think of actors of the same ethnicities as the character in question. As you point out, that is not really an issue within the professional voice-acting community, as cross-racial casting is simply the norm. But then again, most of us probably can't think of what Phil LaMarr or John DiMaggio look like, so, when Phil gives voice to Hermes, we don't really notice any problem. But when we take an actor whose appearance we DO know, it makes us think about it a bit more.

It is a fair point that, given that we're talking about voice acting, we shouldn't feel bound by the performers' appearances.

[skaddix]

Yeah voice acting not a big deal but I certainly do not want to watch another hollywood whitewashing. No more Avatar: The Last Airbender

[ThePhantasm]

So when I see Samuel L. as Roy and George Takei (who has a perfect SAE accent, but just happens to be Japa... no, who just happens to have parents of Japanese ancestry) as Shojo, then I see that as possibly a reflection of a disturbing social phenomenon that must be called out whenever possible.

What is disturbing about it? It looks like you latched on to certain castings and ignored the rest. In my list there are several cross-racial castings. I picked Samuel L. Jackson for Roy just because I thought his voice might be a good fit. I, believe it or not, took the actor's voice and only their voice into account when making my list.

My approach, btw, to casting this was based in part on the new DC Animated Universe movie casting rosters, in which a number of the castings are "celebrity voice actors." That's becoming more and more common these days.