# cast the Repairman Jack movie! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 5, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194 "2008-05-05T21:31:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/1 "2008-05-05T21:31:38Z")
okay, so hell will probably freeze over before the thing gets made, yet i have hope. šŸ˜ƒ itā€™s too good a franchise possibility to languish in development hell forever. i said i had hopeā€¦ me, iā€™m lousy at picking people to play parts, but i think whatshisname (the good-looking annoying one whose name i cannot hang on to) from NCIS would make a pretty fair Jack. not mark harmon. i _wish_, but heā€™s too old to play jack. ā˜¹ also to be cast are abe and gia among others, if they go with ā€˜the tomb,ā€™ which is the first repairman jack novel. other suggestions, fellow dopers? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/2 "2008-05-05T21:49:05Z")
Is Fyvush Finkel alive? He could be Abe (thatā€™s the Jewish weapon guy, right?). As low-rent as this sounds, I always picture Michael Madsen as Jack when I read the books - Yuck! Maybe Anthony Lapaglia. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/3 "2008-05-05T22:09:15Z")
If your repairman Jack got stuck on the roofā€¦ sorry. couldnā€™t resist. šŸ˜ƒ Tell us n00bz a little about the books. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/4 "2008-05-06T02:49:46Z")
[QUOTE=wheresgeorge04] Is Fyvush Finkel alive? He could be Abe (thatā€™s the Jewish weapon guy, right?). As low-rent as this sounds, I always picture Michael Madsen as Jack when I read the books - Yuck! Maybe Anthony Lapaglia. Joe [/QUOTE] i have no idea, but heā€™d be wonderful. abe is a man of generous proportions, however, which finkel isnā€™t, iirc. despite all the crap heā€™s gotten himself into in recent years, madsen could be a great choice for jack. i like him in spite of himself. i donā€™t care for lapaglia at all. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/5 "2008-05-06T02:55:25Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] If your repairman Jack got stuck on the roofā€¦ sorry. couldnā€™t resist. šŸ˜ƒ Tell us n00bz a little about the books. [/QUOTE] oy ve. itā€™d take me a week to explain it. [go here.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repairman_Jack/) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/6 "2008-05-06T08:08:04Z")
**Matt Damon** **Nathan Fillion** **Keifer Sutherland** ---
**Author:** ![oldsdoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/85f322/32.png) [@oldsdoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldsdoc)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/7 "2010-10-14T17:17:48Z")
I canā€™t see Madsen as Jack. Fyvil as Abe would be great. Jack seems to be late 30s to early 40s. He also comes across as a face youā€™d forget. What about the guy who plays Callan on NCIS? ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/8 "2010-10-14T17:28:23Z")
> [@oldsdoc](#): > > Jack seems to be late 30s to early 40s. He also comes across as a face youā€™d forget. What about the guy who plays Callan on NCIS? Too prettyboy. How about [Mark Valley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Valley)? ---
**Author:** ![rroger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@rroger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rroger)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/9 "2014-01-03T01:41:13Z")
> [@Scubaqueen](#): > > okay, so hell will probably freeze over before the thing gets made, yet i have hope. šŸ˜ƒ > > itā€™s too good a franchise possibility to languish in development hell forever. i said i had hopeā€¦ > > me, iā€™m lousy at picking people to play parts, but i think whatshisname (the good-looking annoying one whose name i cannot hang on to) from NCIS would make a pretty fair Jack. not mark harmon. i _wish_, but heā€™s too old to play jack. ā˜¹ > > also to be cast are abe and gia among others, if they go with ā€˜the tomb,ā€™ which is the first repairman jack novel. > > other suggestions, fellow dopers? Hi, Iā€™m new here. Sorry that this response is late. Iā€™m not sure who should play Jack, in one of the repairman jack novels, F. Paul Wilson described him as looking like a young Kevin Costner. For Gia, I would go with Charlize Theron. For Abe, Iā€™m not sure either, although, just for his size and build, I was thinking Michael Lerner, who played in the movie Barton Fink. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/10 "2014-01-03T03:44:00Z")
Ed Norton or John Cusak as Jack. Both believable as action guys but nondescript as Jack is supposed to be. Elizabeth Banks as Gia. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/11 "2014-01-03T06:17:13Z")
I think Jeremy Renner would make a pretty good one. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/12 "2014-01-03T08:04:46Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I think Jeremy Renner would make a pretty good one. Iā€™ve read the series. Never gave him a thought, but heā€™s not bad at all as Jack. Not at all. I think Repairman Jack would be easier to cast than Jack Reacher, another series I followed about the same time. For me, the series kind of fell apart after he ran up against the guys who followed the ā€œseerā€, the dark-eyed guy/woman who could see into the future. ā˜¹ Pity. I always pictured Fyvush Finkel as Abe. Iā€™d go with Scarlett Johansson as Gia just because I like looking at Scarlett Johansson. Wonder how theyā€™d film it. Gotta figure no more than 3 movies total - theyā€™d have to cut a lot. Get rid of Glaeken entirely - its a horrible idea to have another guy come in at the end and steal all the glory anyway. ---
**Author:** ![rroger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@rroger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rroger)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/13 "2014-01-16T22:05:55Z")
Hi, Iā€™m new here. Sorry that this response is late. Iā€™m not sure who should play Jack, in one of the repairman jack novels, F. Paul Wilson described him as looking like a young Kevin Costner. For Gia, I would go with Charlize Theron. For Abe, Iā€™m not sure either, although, just for his size and build, I was thinking Michael Lerner, who played in the movie Barton Fink. After seeing a picture of him on IMDB, maybe Josh Mostel as Abe. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/14 "2014-01-17T00:54:18Z")
> [@rroger](#): > > Hi, Iā€™m new here. Sorry that this response is late. Iā€™m not sure who should play Jack, in one of the repairman jack novels, F. Paul Wilson described him as looking like a young Kevin Costner. For Gia, I would go with Charlize Theron. For Abe, Iā€™m not sure either, although, just for his size and build, I was thinking Michael Lerner, who played in the movie Barton Fink. > > After seeing a picture of him on IMDB, maybe Josh Mostel as Abe. Welcome to the Dope! Despite the occasional zombie joke, weā€™ll often pick the bones (snerk) of an old thread here in Cafe Society, as things here tend to stay relevant for a long time. Lerner has Abeā€™s build and size - not my first choice as Abe, but then, Iā€™m not sure who IS my first choice. (looks up Josh Mostel) Hmmm. Not bad. My problem with casting Jack is everyone I can think of is about ten years older than Iā€™d want. Iā€™m still gonna go with Scarlett Johansson as Gia just because I like looking at Scarlett Johansson. ---
**Author:** ![rroger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@rroger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rroger)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/15 "2014-07-10T18:21:45Z")
In one of the Repairman Jack books, F. Paul describes Jack as looking like a young Kevin Costner. Iā€™m thinking maybe Norman Reedus from, among other things, the USA tv show The Walking Dead. I hope that this works, since it shows a picture of him, Iā€™m going to copy and paste his IMDB page to here. [Norman Reedus - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005342/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t39) If it DOES work, what do you think? ---
**Author:** ![rroger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@rroger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rroger)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/16 "2016-09-29T01:07:50Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > Welcome to the Dope! Despite the occasional zombie joke, weā€™ll often pick the bones (snerk) of an old thread here in Cafe Society, as things here tend to stay relevant for a long time. > > Lerner has Abeā€™s build and size - not my first choice as Abe, but then, Iā€™m not sure who IS my first choice. > > (looks up Josh Mostel) > > Hmmm. Not bad. > > My problem with casting Jack is everyone I can think of is about ten years older than Iā€™d want. Iā€™m still gonna go with Scarlett Johansson as Gia just because I like looking at Scarlett Johansson. I just thought of this the other day, what about Harvey Fierstein as Abe? ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/17 "2016-09-29T02:34:21Z")
For repairman Jack: Bob Odenkirk. (Saul Goodman) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/18 "2016-09-29T04:00:58Z")
For those who havenā€™t read the books, a little in the way of physical description may help. Jack. Average looks. Totally nondescript. Average height, average build (but as muscular as a guy answering to that description can be). Jack _cultivates_ "anti-presence. He _wants_ to be the guy you canā€™t describe five minutes after you see him. Gia. Fashion model gorgeous. You see them together and think sheā€™s way out of his league. Abe. Stereotypical Jewish. Heavy-set. Think about the guy who played Kotterman, the liquor store owner on the old Barney Miller show. Julio: Cheech Marin would be perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/19 "2016-09-29T05:54:47Z")
Norman Reedus would be excellent. As would Jeremy Renner. Both of them have that ā€˜everymanā€™ look but can be credible at physical action. ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cast-the-repairman-jack-movie/448194/20 "2016-09-29T05:56:06Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > For repairman Jack: Bob Odenkirk. (Saul Goodman) The longer I look at this idea, the better it gets.