# Let's re-cast "The Langoliers!" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763 "2003-01-10T16:43:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/1 "2003-01-10T16:43:18Z")
I recently re-read Stephen King’s “The Langoliers,” and, every time I do so, I keep having horrible flashbacks to the miniseries, which I always felt was miscast. So, throwing budget constraints out the window (and whether the actors are currently dead), who would YOU cast in this movie? -I’ve always thought that **Harrison Ford** was the perfect Capt. Brian Engle. -Everytime I read about Craig Toomey, something about him reminds me of **Judd Nelson**. -Laurel Stevenson would be played by **Lauren Holly**. I think it’s the name that does it for me. - **Drew Barrymore** would, I think, be the perfect Bethany Simms. -Nick Hopewell? **Cary Elwes**. -Robert Jenkins…not to begrudge **Dean Stockwell** , but I always pictured Bob as looking like a real-life **Kent Brockman** , until I realized that **Tony Curtis** looks like a real-life Kent Brockman. I think **William H. Macy** as Jenkins would work nicely. - **JT Walsh** seems ideal for Don Gaffney. -Albert “Ace” Knausser…the only person that comes to mind is the kid that used to play the Schumacher’s child on “The Garry Shandling Show.” **Scott Nemes**. He was also in _St Elmo’s Fire_. His big line is “Grampa! Grampa! Billy’s on the roof!” -Dinah Bellman, I think, could be played by any annoying little kid. Or she could be CGI. Kinda like Scooby-Doo. -Rudy Warwick. He’s so minor a character that I don’t think it would really matter, but, if I must, how about **Don Cheadle** , one of my favorite character actors ever? Your turn! Feel free to totally critique my casting, too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/2 "2003-01-10T16:50:18Z")
I always pictured Nick as Pierce Brosnan. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/3 "2003-01-10T16:52:33Z")
You know, I had never even thought of him. I guess I always imagined Nick being a little younger than that. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/4 "2003-01-10T16:55:33Z")
Keep Balki! Keep Balki!!! ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/5 "2003-01-10T20:46:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gorgon Heap \* > \*\*Keep Balki! Keep Balki!!! \*\* Although I rolled my eyes when I heard that Bronson Pinchot was cast as Toomey - he did a hell of a job playing a seriously disturbed character. I’d vote for keeping him too. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/6 "2003-01-10T21:36:44Z")
And I’ll vote for keeping Mark Lindsay Chapman as Nick. Okay, he played a little broad (but he was nothing compared to the scenery-chewers that were Jenkins and Dinah) but I thought he did a great job with the character. I might be a little biased, though, as he’s been a longtime favorite of mine ever since he played Anton Arcane on the old cheesy-bad-fun “Swamp Thing” TV series. As for Pierce Brosnan–I don’t like him as Bond and I wouldn’t like him as Nick. (I did like him as Remington Steele, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/7 "2003-01-10T22:02:01Z")
I thought Balki’s performance was the best of the cast in **The Langoliers**. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/8 "2003-01-10T23:31:06Z")
Let’s just cast it into the sea and be done with it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/9 "2003-01-11T00:50:54Z")
That was one the dumbest, slowest, most boringest mini-serieses **ever!** I realize that comment is a little off-topic, but **GEEZ!** If one more character had said “I’ve got an idea that might explain what’s happening, but I can’t explain it now; we’ll have to waste five minutes running around before I can give you a lame demonstration,” I woulda barfed! Well, maybe not. I gave up on it and tuned in to the last ten mintes to find out what was really going on. I shouldn’t have bothered. ---
**Author:** ![Kezermezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b487fb/32.png) [@Kezermezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kezermezer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/10 "2003-01-11T05:35:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Politzania \* > \*\*Although I rolled my eyes when I heard that Bronson Pinchot was cast as Toomey - he did a hell of a job playing a seriously disturbed character. I’d vote for keeping him too. \*\* Holy crapoly, I never even recognized him! The fact that they made Dinah white has always bugged me. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/11 "2003-01-11T05:55:55Z")
I “read” the book on tape (I used to have a job where we listened to walkmans all day, so I listened to a lot of books). Willem Dafoe read the story. He was _awesome_. He especially did a good job of Nick’s voice. He sounded just like Mark Lindsay Chapman. So, I vote to keep Mark Lindsay Chapman. He was one of my favorites. And while we’re at it, keep Bronson Pinchot, and well, I like Dean Stockwell, but he wasn’t really a good fit for that part. I haven’t read the story in so long, but I am very fond of the story, and the series. I know it was rather dull, but I loved it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-re-cast-the-langoliers/147763/12 "2003-01-11T06:39:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*That was one the dumbest, slowest, most boringest mini-serieses **ever!** \*\* Yeah! I always think that they could have EASILY been done as a 2-hour tv movie, rather than the bloated 4-hour monstrosity that it is. As far as casting–well, I wouldn’t use any washed-up actors from '80s TV series! And I thought Bronson Pinchot overdid it. But they all overdid it, didn’t they?