I know, I know: George R.R. Martin’s series is too big, too complicated, too smart, and too damned good for Hollywood to ever tackle it (or to do it right). But if it ever went up on the silver screen, who would you envision in the key roles?
Some offhand ideas I had:
Cersei - Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Glenn Close
Jaime - Paul Bettany
Tyrion - Armin Shimerman
Lord Tywin - Patrick Stewart
Eddard Stark - Harrison Ford
Robb - Heath Ledger
Sansa - Mandy Moore
Arya - Dakota Fanning, or that little girl from “Little Miss Sunshine”
King Robert Baratheon - Tom Sizemore
Stannis - Gary Oldman
Renly - Jake Gyllenhal
Brienne of Tarth - Bridget Fonda (“uglied down”)
Littlefinger - Charles Dance
Lady Olenna Tyrell, the “Queen of Thorns” - Dame Judi Dench
Harrison Ford is too old for the role - by about three decades. Ned is in his mid-30’s (do the math - he was just a kid when the war started, Jon was born around when the war ended, Jon is 15 years old). He just seems older then he is because of his demeanor. I’d recommend Clive Owen.
Given the large number of child and teen characters, casting these films would be quite difficult. I’m really not a fan of the “I’m 25 and playing a 16 year old” thing, but what else could you do? Ok, that being said…
Cillian Murphy for Littlefinger! I don’t care that Murphy is probably too young–Petyr is Beautiful, Dashing, Evil Genius. Who else represents this better than Cillian Murphy? fans self
I’d actually like to see Sean Bean play Ned. Eric Bana for Renly, Ed Norton for Oberyn Martell, Julianne Moore as Catelyn, and Cate Blanchett for Cersei (maybe).
If we can find a place for Alan Rickman and Adrien Brody, this will be the greatest movie ever (fn.1).
Footnotes:
My motives? Suspect? Motivated by, um, visual concerns? No, no, not at all, precious.
Hmmm… Renly is supposed to look exactly like a young, fit Robert - that’s a key plot element: My suggestion? Renly will be played by Eric Bana, Robert will be played by Eric Bana in a fat suit.
The Knight of Flowers is young, handsome, slim, not so bright, and very gay. I’m thinking Orlando Bloom.
Littlefinger is a problem. He’s smooth and charming, yes, but he’s also very short and phisically unimpressive, and very young for his position (barely into his thrties). I’m… drawing a blank here.
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion.
Abraham Benrubi as Ser Gregor, the Mountain that Rides.
Hugh Laurie (with tons of makeup) as Sandor Clegane. No-one does bitterness better.
I have always thought that Tony Blair would make an excellent Littlefinger, but…
Eric Bana would make a good Ned, IMO – he has a very earnest, decent quality to him, and his performance in Troy shows him to be capable of a warrior and a family man. And hell, he’s tall and muscular enough to be the Hound, too. (I love Eric Bana…and the Hound, for that matter. Hugh Laurie can do bitter well, but he’s too old and too genteel for the role.)
Littlefinger is such a tricky part to cast – to me, the most important trait the actor portraying him would have to have is a radiant intelligence. Whoever it is has to look like there’s a nuclear reactor behind his eyes.
That’s weird. Then Ned and Jamie must be within a few years of each other, but they certainly don’t seem like it when they interact.
It’s worse then that, though, 25 playing 16 is at least semi-belivable. Having a post-pubescent actor playing a pre-pubescent charater doesn’t work at all, and I don’t think there are anywhere near enough good child actors to play all the children in the series (Danerys, Sansa, Arya, Rickon, Bran, the younger Barristan childeren, the “green-sight” kid, Arya’s various companions, etc.) I think you’d have to either make the children older then they were in the books or drop the parts of the stories that focus on them.
That’s because Ned is a great lord of the land, a dour, serious man with responsiblity beyond his years, while Jaime is a perpetual adolescent, at least to begin with. Jaime simply hadn’t grown up yet. I’ve known people in their thirties who fit either pattern.
As for Hugh Laurie, if he can play both Prince George and Dr. House he can play anything, especially under a ton of latex.
Incidentally, I was just watching a Harry Potter film and I realized that the actor playing the Malfoy kid would make a great Joffrey - it’s practically the same character.
