Is there a 'who should play this character?' thread, and is it necro?

[Peelee]

I never understand why this forum, and society in general, insists on having men play roles they are WAY to old to play. I mean how on earth can people think 71 year old Samuel L Jackson can play a role of a 20 something? Or Terry Crews, who is 51, or even The Rock, who is 47? I've also noticed this is pretty much exclusive to the male characters: Ive never seen anyone suggest, say, Sigourney Weaver play Haley.

Name a talented mid-to-late POC male actor who is built like Terry Crews or Dwayne Johnson who us as famous as those two.

[Curtis Cook]

As I pointed out, though, this is pretty much exclusive to male actors. So there must be more to it than "well we remember them being young"

I recently watched "Book Club", which is about four women who went to college together 40 years earlier, which would make their characters roughly 22 years old then and early 60s at the time of the film. At the time the film was released the actresses who portrayed them were 67, 72, 72 and 80. I realize that's not as big a gap as what you're complaining about, but it illustrates that women often do 'play younger' than they are in real life.

In fact, the number of 22-29 year old men AND women who play high schoolers is truly appalling. I just watched a golf movie that I thought was about a fictional college team until fifteen minutes before the end it was mentioned that they were playing for the Texas high school championship. The actor who was portraying a freshman was the tallest person in the movie.

And I agree with Fyraltari's point that "Roy is a stick figure with no mark of age and within his group acts mature and seen-it-all, playing both the role of the authority and of the straight man which projects an air of age.
I tend to think of him as thirty-something unlike Elan or Haley who act more young."

All of which is not to say that your opinion is invalid; I agree that Sam Jackson is to old to play Roy in a live-action treatment, though I wouldn't complain TOO much about him voice-acting the part.

[Peelee]

I lSam Jackson is to old to play Roy in a live-action treatment, though I wouldn't complain TOO much about him voice-acting the part.

I would, given that actual voice actors exist and are almost always better than live-action actors at voice acting.

[PontificatusRex]

John Boyega would make a perfect Roy, in my humble opinion.

Tim Curry (imitating James Earl Jones) for the voice of Xykon.

And I'd love to see Sean Astin play Belkar.

[Rockphed]

I would, given that actual voice actors exist and are almost always better than live-action actors at voice acting.

Also, while a young Sam Jackson would probably have been okay as Roy, I'm not sure that his voice now fits what I want out of Roy. He can deliver the straight lines pretty well, but Roy occasionally gets the funny-man lines.

[Darth Paul]

I would, given that actual voice actors exist and are almost always better than live-action actors at voice acting.

I would debate that, given, for example, the performances in The Incredibles. (Starring Jackson among others.)

As long as I'm here, though, I could see (hear) Jackson voicing Xykon these days, especially giving the "Power is Power" speech. He has the right combination of funny, angry, and just plain badass to pull off being the lich.

Michael B. Jordan (from Black Panther) could do a good Roy (and he's age-appropriate if that's an issue).

Also, I'm on record last thread as suggesting Bradley Cooper for Belkar.

Karen Gillan as Haley? Loved her in Doctor Who...

[Peelee]

I would debate that, given, for example, the performances in The Incredibles. (Starring Jackson among others.)

Don't recall but at a guess, Sam Jackson played one role, where he sounded like Sam Jackson? As opposed to a real voice actor like Maurice Lamarche or Phil Lamarr who could do the entire main cast?

Buggs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Scooby Doo's Shaggy, Popeye, Doug Funnie, Roger Klotz, Ren Höek, Stimpy J. Cat, Woody Woodpecker, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, and the Red M&M are all voiced by one person. All voices sound distinct, and none of them sound like the person who voices them.

Samuel L. Jackson sounds like... Samuel L. Jackson. He can play a single role, which costs a ten to a hundred times what a voice actor costs. And, in the case of Sam Jackson specifically, he quite literally can only play a single role.

Some live-action actors actually can do voice acting (J. K. Simmons comes to mind right off the bat), but those are few and far between.

[Darth Paul]

Ah... so "a real voice actor" is someone who voices multiple characters with their voice. I didn't get that was how you classified it.

[Peelee]

Ah... so "a real voice actor" is someone who voices multiple characters with their voice. I didn't get that was how you classified it.

A "real voice actor" is an actor who primarily, if not solely, works or attempts to work in voice acting. Not live-action actors who will take the occasional high paying gig as "raccoon who technically has a name but who knows what it is because thats William ****ing Shatner," which is offered to them solely for bringing the star power to the film.

I typically dislike live-action actors taking work from voice actors. The least they could do is actually do a different voice and try to let the voice actors be competitive for the job. Like the aforementioned J. K. Simmons as the yellow M&M, for example.

[ebarde]

Eh, to be fair tons of VAs use slight variations, or just straight up their regular voice. And I wouldn't say they are any worse than people that are always unrecognizable cause of it, if their reactions and emotions feel believeable for the character I don't really care if I can identify who that voice belongs to. And it's not like you have to use a different voice for each role, there's a lot more to VA than just the voice you're doing. I mean, how many VAs are typecasted cause they do this one voice that fits this role perfectly, extremely well?

Also, this kinda erases a whole bunch of amazing VAs that wear many hats. I mean you got Mark Hamill, Sean Astin, James Avery...Yeah, it always sucks when a celebrity get's a big role cause of branding, but that doesn't really justify ignoring that there's a huge crossover of on screen/on stage acting and VA

[Grey Watcher]

I don't have a lot of very firm ideas for these sorts of the threads, but George Takei as Lord Shojo is just too perfect.

I'm not 100% sold on it, but Melissa McCarthy can pull off the level of brashness be a good Minrah. I know a lot of the roles she gets have a much more crude sense of humor than OOTS, but I chalk that up to the scripts and not her;. And she's done good enough work in non-comedic roles that I think she has the range to do Minrah's less in-your-face moments.

A "real voice actor" is an actor who primarily, if not solely, works or attempts to work in voice acting. Not live-action actors who will take the occasional high paying gig as "raccoon who technically has a name but who knows what it is because thats William ****ing Shatner," which is offered to them solely for bringing the star power to the film.

I typically dislike live-action actors taking work from voice actors. The least they could do is actually do a different voice and try to let the voice actors be competitive for the job. Like the aforementioned J. K. Simmons as the yellow M&M, for example.

In fairness, that goes as far back as Disney's Pinocchio, who was played by child radio star in his own right. I mean, yeah the difference between "radio actor" and "voiceover actor" is academic in this day and age, but you could still argue that that was taking a role away from someone who actually did voice work for animation as their regular thing in favor of someone who was famous for doing something else.

[ebarde]

Yeah, a lot of voice actors at the time were radio people. And after that you get a lot of people that first persued other venues of acting, or sorta ended up as a VA cause of a gig and ended up really liking it. And of course, there's always those that like doing a bit of everything.

[Son of A Lich!]

If I could voice a character, hands down, no question, I'm calling dibs on the Empress of Blood. I always loved her lines and the character concept in general is fantastic.

...

Let me see if I can find my old microphone...

[ebarde]

I would do Nale, although honestly I feel he and Elan should have the same VA and I don't think I can do Elan...

[Curtis Cook]

I would debate that, given, for example, the performances in The Incredibles. (Starring Jackson among others.)

Michael B. Jordan (from Black Panther) could do a good Roy (and he's age-appropriate if that's an issue).

Also, I'm on record last thread as suggesting Bradley Cooper for Belkar.

Karen Gillan as Haley? Loved her in Doctor Who...

I didn't even recognize Jackson as the ice man in The Incredibles, which was mostly a comic role, so okay.

Cooper's not a bad choice for Belkar.

I don't care for Jordan's accent as the Black Panther, but am not familiar enough with him to know whether he can turn it off. Many British actors do amazing American accents, and Gillan is an example. She can do comedy, action, bad-ass sinister roles (Guardians of the Galaxy)….

I had to look up PontificatusRex's suggestion of John Boyega as Roy. He seems a little too unphysical to me, but when I saw he did the voice of Bigwig I was sold. Whenever I'm in need of a good cry I read over three passages from Watership Down: Bigwig caught in the snare; Bigwig vs Woundwort in the depths of the warren ("My chief rabbit has told me to defend this run, and until he says otherwise I shall stay here."); and the death of Hazel-rah.

[ben-zayb]

Name a talented mid-to-late POC male actor who is built like Terry Crews or Dwayne Johnson who us as famous as those two.

All credits to their larger thna life persona, but it doesn't look like Crews or Rocky can pull off the more serious and introspective side of Roy at all. Neither of them also looks like in their late 20s to early 30s, so I can't even say they would be a good live action representation of Roy aesthetically.

I'd have to agree with those saying John Boyega can pull it off. I also believe Jonathan Majors has the chops to pull off a straight man, comedic foil role.

[hroþila]

I don't picture Roy as super buff, so I think I would pick Donald Glover, partly with a view to the inevitable musical finale.

[Grey Watcher]

As for the secondary question of who I'd play, given the chance? If I dusted off my singing skills (haven't sung even quasi-professionally in a long time) I think I'd want to play Elan. Even if he probably has a bit more of a pop-star sound than I ever could manage. Of course, that also might be a cheat answer because it means I probably get to do Nale and Tarquin.

Just for kicks, the Rookie-Cop-Turned-Chief from Cliffport sounds entertaining as well.

Though, to be fair, that'd only work an animated setting. My hair and complexion are way too dark for any of those characters.

And if we're doing voiceover, I may as well take advantage of the fact that I am routinely mistaken for the opposite gender over the phone and play Vaarsuvius.

[Peelee]

Oh, right, I forgot about the second part to the question.

It's a small role, but I'd be content to play the Silver Dragon.

[Darth Paul]

I don't care for Jordan's accent as the Black Panther, but am not familiar enough with him to know whether he can turn it off. Many British actors do amazing American accents, and Gillan is an example. She can do comedy, action, bad-ass sinister roles (Guardians of the Galaxy)….

Jordan was not the Panther. Jordan was Killmonger.



You gotta admit he looks good in armor.

Then again, so does John Boyega (when he was a stormtrooper). I could see him as Roy, he did some solid comic turns in the Star Wars series.

Who would I play? I always seem to end up as a dwarf or a cleric when we play D&D, so I think I would be a natural Durkon. And I have Scots ancestry, so I c'n do tha accent, y'know.

[Peat]

I'm sold on John Boyega as Roy.

If I could cast myself I'd do Tarquin. He'd certainly have a British accent if Hollywood ever got hold of it.

[WoLong]

All credits to their larger thna life persona, but it doesn't look like Crews or Rocky can pull off the more serious and introspective side of Roy at all.

Agreed. Roy is a big tough guy, but he's also a nerd. I wouldn't trust either of those guys to portray that convincingly.

[Peelee]

Agreed. Roy is a big tough guy, but he's also a nerd. I wouldn't trust either of those guys to portray that convincingly.

Terry Crews would disagree with you, given that he calls himself a huge nerd. Dude even had an art scholarship and originally wanted to do graphic design or visual effects!

[ella ventic]

I love Terry Crews, but don't think he's a good fit for this. He's better at "manic exasperated" rather than "deadpan exasperated," if you see what I mean. Also the age thing, of course. Donald Glover could undoubtedly act the heck out of it, though I think he's too short for this! I do love the John Boyega and Michael B. Jordan ideas. The musical theatre nerd in me also wants to see Daveed Diggs try it.

And speaking of musical theatre, I think we've got to get someone with those chops for Elan (and Nale... and potentially Tarquin!) The people I can think of are slightly too old, though: Zachary Levi/Josh Groban/Santino Fontana/Jeremy Jordan/Andrew Rannells...



As far as the second question, dibs on Celia, please. Gotta love a logician!

[Curtis Cook]

Jordan was not the Panther. Jordan was Killmonger.

You gotta admit he looks good in armor.

Ah. I associate him with the Creed movies, not Black Panther. Yeah, he has both the physicality and the youth to play Roy. Does he have the chops? I've only seen him in those three movies and I don't remember him being anything but serious.

[Liquor Box]

As I pointed out, though, this is pretty much exclusive to male actors. So there must be more to it than "well we remember them being young"

It's not.

You brought this up last time there was a "who would play xxx" thread, but it turned out the average suggested male actors had only a slightly bigger age gap with the characters than the average women actors did.

I can try and find it if you like?

Name a talented mid-to-late POC male actor who is built like Terry Crews or Dwayne Johnson who us as famous as those two.

Jason Mamoa?

I wouldn't cast him though - I don't think he's dark enough.

At the end of the day what matters is whether the person can look close enough to the character in terms of age (and race etc), not whether they are actually the same age. I tend to think a clean shaven Dwayne Johnson can pass for someone ten years younger, especially with the aid of makeup. But I think Crews would look too old.

So the Rock gets my vote - the role almost seems made for him.

The big fellow who leads the outcast tribe in Black Panther (not the guy pictured upthread - too small) is my second choice.

. Also the age thing, of course. Donald Glover could undoubtedly act the heck out of it, though I think he's too short for this! I do love the John Boyega and Michael B. Jordan ideas. The musical theatre nerd in me also wants to see Daveed Diggs try it.

Donald Glover is a skinny little fellow. He's simply not believable against Roy (whose incredibly strong). There's a reason almost every fighting/strength based sport is divided into weight classes.

[ben-zayb]

Ah. I associate him with the Creed movies, not Black Panther. Yeah, he has both the physicality and the youth to play Roy. Does he have the chops? I've only seen him in those three movies and I don't remember him being anything but serious.

Honestly he's one of the weaker part of the BP cast. His Johnny Storm is so underwhelming. I am yet to see an impressive Michael B. Jordan performance. Haven't seen Creed, though.

[ebarde]

I'll be honest that watching Black Panther I mostly just wanted to know when Killmonger was gonna show up again to wreck stuff up lol

[Rollin]

In the early years of OOTS--and it was still around when I started reading during the battle of Azure City--there was a brilliant bit of fanart you could find, showing the stick figures of the Order members alongside more "naturalistic" portraits in matching outfits and expressions, that were, however, also clearly Samuel L. Jackson, Angelina Jolie, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Michael Keaton, and I never identified who Durkon was supposed to be--he had a pretty distinctive look, and I don't think it was John Rhys-Davies, no.

[RatElemental]

Who would voice Xykon?

I know Ron Perlman has some experience voicing liches.