# Casting for The Silmarillion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** middle-earth\ **Created:** [October 13, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577 "2012-10-13T00:48:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/21 "2012-10-15T01:01:17Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Tom Bombadil! (Making up for the exclusion from LotR.) “Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dadar! Iar Wain, jolly wain, Iarwain Ben-adar!” ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/22 "2012-10-16T01:12:52Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Feanor will be tough to cast. He’s one scary dude, but not in an evil way. We have plenty of actors who do scary evil, few who can do scary good. I think Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Henry from _The Tudors_) could work. That same sort of scary intensity; well-meaning, thinks he’s the s\*\*\*, but could fly off the handle at any second. But the whole thing is ridiculously unwieldy. It would be like filming the Bible. (“All right! _Second Kings!_ My favorite…”) I think _Children of Hurin_ would be doable, though nearly too ridiculously convoluted for any non-supergeek audience to grasp. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/23 "2012-10-16T14:19:39Z")
> [@toadspittle](#): > > …But the whole thing is ridiculously unwieldy. It would be like filming the Bible. (“All right! _Second Kings!_ My favorite…”) I think _Children of Hurin_ would be doable, though nearly too ridiculously convoluted for any non-supergeek audience to grasp. Re-read the OP. The tale of Beren and Luthien, or the downfall of Numenor, would especially lend themselves well to movies, I think. If not live-action, then in Pixar-style animation. Some more casting possibilities: Manwe: Patrick Stewart, _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ Ungoliant (voice): Julianne Moore, _The Big Lebowski_ Hurin: Christopher Eccleston, _Doctor Who_ Huor: Andrew Garfield, _The Amazing Spider-Man_ Turin: Chris Hemsworth, _Thor_ Nienor: Saoirse Ronan, _The Lovely Bones_ Tuor: Chris Pine, _Star Trek_ Idril: Natalie Portman, _Black Swan_ Ar-Pharazon: Tom Hiddleston, _The Avengers_ ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/24 "2012-10-16T15:05:07Z")
Oh, I do like the idea of Jude Law as Sauron. Thingol - Liam Neeson Ar-Pharazon - Bradley Cooper Eöl (the Dark Elf) - Johnny Depp Maeglin (his dark son, called the wickedest elf ever) - ?? Faenor - Joel McHale, if only I thought JM had the chops for it. The look is about as good a fit as I think we can get, maybe not though. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/25 "2012-10-16T17:34:09Z")
I could definitely see Bradley Cooper as Ar-Pharazon. I was very impressed by his range in _Limitless_, playing, by turns, a schlub, an on-task writer, a junkie in withdrawal, a schmoozer, a Wall Street titan, and a polished political candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/26 "2012-10-16T17:42:46Z")
I don’t have much other than Rufus Sewell as Feanor. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/27 "2012-10-17T00:11:46Z")
> [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](#): > > Oh, I do like the idea of Jude Law as Sauron. > > Maeglin (his dark son, called the wickedest elf ever) - ?? I have a suggestion or two. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/28 "2012-10-17T01:59:35Z")
Maeglin wasn’t the wickedest. He was the Benedict Arnold of the first age is all. I’d say the wickedest was Caranthir (a bunggler though.) ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/29 "2012-10-17T13:50:20Z")
Why not turn The Story of Beren and Luthien into an action movie. Sylvester Stallion as Beren Mandy Moore as Luthien [Rocky] Luthien! [/Rocky] ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/30 "2012-10-18T04:57:47Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Why not turn The Story of Beren and Luthien into an action movie. > Sylvester Stallion as Beren > Mandy Moore as Luthien > [Rocky] Luthien! [/Rocky] Do they have to be in wigs and makeup as animals? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/31 "2012-10-19T14:42:32Z")
> [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](#): > > … > Eöl (the Dark Elf) - Johnny Depp > Maeglin (his dark son, called the wickedest elf ever) - ?? … How about Jeremy Irons as Eöl and Johnny Depp as Maeglin? And Paul Bettany could play an Elf pretty well, I bet. Some other prospects for any of the hero roles: Gerard Butler, Russell Crowe and Clive Owen. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/32 "2012-10-19T15:11:44Z")
Johnny Depp needs to be in it somewhere. Doctor # 10, too. And some really hot chicks. After that, I got nuthin ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577/33 "2012-10-19T16:30:10Z")
I was going to joke that Billy Connolly and one of the sons from Boondock Saints should play Hurin and Turin, so you could make a reference to Hurin being imprisoned for decades. But now I’m thinking that Billy would indeed make a good Hurin. Hmmm, and looking at the casting for of one of The Hobbit films, it looks like they’re thinking the same thing as he will be playing a dwarf in it. He should be pretty good except that I’m getting tired of dwarves with scottish accents. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casting-for-the-silmarillion/637577.md?page=1)