The only major change I would have made would be casting Oded Fehr as Aragorn instead of Viggo Mortensen. Feel free to throw things at me, but I don’t like Viggo’s acting (or, I confess, looks) nearly as much as Oded’s.
On the other hand, there are some additions to the cast I would have made that wouldn’t disrupt the existing cast. I’d have cast Robert Patrick, Nina Gordon and Poe (the singer, not the poet) as extras in the Elven cities. They already look like elves
Aragorn: Bill Murray
Gandalf: Groucho Marx
Legolas: Tim Curry
Gimli: Hunter S. Thompson
Boromir: Marlon Brando (a la “on the waterfront”)
Frodo: Macauley Culkin
Sam: Burt Ward
Bilbo: Anthony Hopkins
Gollum: Neal Diamond
Galadriel: Cloris Leachman
Arwen: Shelley Duvall
Elrond: Peter Boyle
Faramir: James Caan
Theoden: Wallace Beery
Eomer: Michael Douglas
Eowyn: Susan Sarandon
Saruman: Christopher Walken
Treebeard: The Jolly Green Giant
Denethor: Mel Brooks
The rest. . . .
How about a few people who passed Theater Arts 1a?
Gandalf: Alec Guiness
Saruman: Jack Nicholas
Aragorn: Pierce Brosnan
Boromir: no change
Gimli: Robbie Coltrane
Legolas: Diana Rigg
Arwen: Emma Thompson
Elrond: Christopher Lee
Galadriel: Marlene Dietrich
Now, now, partly-warmer, Sir Alec has already played Gandalf…they just called him something else. Wise old advisor to the hero, magical powers, allowing the hero and his companions to escape by battling the powerful figure of evil and dying in the process, returning from the dead (albeit in a somewhat more incorporeal form) to offer advice and assistance.
Far be it from me to accuse Lucas of an eensy bit of plagiarism…
As to the OP, I’m going to continue a fine old Usenet tradition in casting threads and say that Sean Connery should have been Gandalf. Of course, then they’d have had to write out the Aragorn/Arwen romance so that Connery could shtup Liv Tyler in the third movie…
After seeing Patrick McGoohan as Longshanks in Braveheart I thought he would make a good Saruman, or Denethor. Not that I have a beef with Christopher Lee’s Saruman, and we haven’t seen Denethor yet.
Before the first movie came out I could have pictured either Connery or Patrick Stewart (with a lot of makeup) as Gandalf, but now I always picture Gandalf as McKellan. I think he really nailed the portrayal.
Oh, and Qadgop, you forgot Robin Williams as Bombadil (elfikin477said we could make additions) and Brendan Fraser as Ghan-Buri-Ghan (he’s already played a caveman once).
I would cast Hugo Weaving as everyone in the movie. Even Arwen. Any man who can go from playing Mitzi del Bra to Agent Smith to Elrond has enough acting range for the whole cast.
Though I’d make an exception for Mira Furlan, who would make an excellent Galadriel. (She’s best known in the states for playing Delenn on Babylon 5.)
I love the cast as it stands – except (and this is no slight to John Noble, as we haven’t seen him yet) I’d have cast Paul Scofield as Denethor. (This has a lot to do with his performance as the French King in the Branagh Henry V…)
Hey, Lagomorph, I was going to mention Williams for Bombadil!
Before the news came out of the Peter Jackson version, I had sort of figured on Patrick Stewart as Denethor, Charleton Heston as Theoden, and probably Schwartzenhoweveryouspellit as Boromir. Sean Connery, I had figured would be Elrond (which hopefully eliminates the possibility of him and Arwen shacking up).
Allright,here’s My cast, it’s not complete but I ran out of time, and thought to finish it. I can’t say as PJ did a perfect job of casting, but it was Damn good on the Hobbits
Gandalf-Patric Stewert
Bilbo-Dudley Moore (yea he’s dead but I can dream)
Frodo-
Samwise-
Peregrine-
Meridoc-
Fatty Bologer- (No suggestiton But I would have included this scene to get across the Wraiths in the Shire)
Tom Bombodil-See Below
Goldenberry- Karol Cane
Aragorn- Sir Sean Connery (do you all forget that he is Middle aged?)
Butterbur- John Goodman
Wichking- Peter Cushing
Boramir- Bruce Willis
Legolas- Nick Cage
Gimli-
Golum- Snoop-Dog (no makeup needed)
Elrond-
Sauraman- Sir John Guilgould
Galadrial-
Theodyn- Sam Watterston
Wyrmtounge- Mr. Whipple (Stop giggling)
Eomer-
Faramir-
Delthanor- Jemermy Irons (OH, that death speech in that sexy voice)
Arawen-
Eowyn- Linda Hamilton? (the Chick from Terminator)
I’d have never though of Robin of Tom (Rom) Bombidil. What an awsome chioce. I bow to you!
