I love this book, but have no idea how I would cast it. There are so many great character parts.
Just for fun, the cast of The Office would almost work. Jim as Strange, Pam his wife. Dwight as Mr. Norrell, Michael Scott as the Gentleman, Darryl as Stephen, Andy as Wellington, Ryan as Sir Walter and Kelly as his wife. Creed as Vinculus, of course.
I was thinking this book could make a good radio play, like Hitchhikers Guide. Then the footnotes would read like the the Book.
I suppose if they are included in the miniseries they may be worked in through a little narration and flashbacks. I could see it starting with Norrell not wanting to waste time telling the story and magicking up a statue to do it for him.
They could do some of the footnotes the way flashbacks were handled in Jekyll - star an episode with a relevant footnote bit, then go into the rest of the story. Some of the footnotes were my favorite parts and I would hate to see them done away with.
I was just thinking: what would be perfect for the footnotes is a supplemental program like Dr. Who Confidential.
Way off, buddy.
Robert California would be the perfect Office gentleman with thistledown hair.
Which would make Michael the new Duke, bumping Andy to Mr. Segundus. And then Gabe as Strange’s brother inlaw, David Wallace as Childermass and Angela would be a perfect fairy woman.
It appears my brain is spinning its wheels again.
Marsan was Lestrade in the recent Robert Downey Sherlock Holmes movies; I don’t know the other two. These aren’t A-list actors, but I’m crossing my fingers.
Marsan’s been in a bunch of stuff. Most recently he was one of the guys in The World’s End, and he’s also a regular cast member in the show Ray Donovan. I like him quite a bit.
Childermass I recognize as the guy that was the father of Niobe’s baby in Rome.
Love that Vinculus is going to be played by Thoros of Myr from Game of Thrones.
The other guy playing Strange I don’t recognize at all.
Bummer that we don’t know yet who’s going to be the Man with the Thistle-Down hair, John Sugundus, or John Uskglass.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how they’re going to show characters moving about two different worlds in London at the same time and in the same place.
I’m realizing how much of this book I’m forgetting. Some of these characters I’m like, huh? who? Anyway, I stand by what I said 3+ years ago that I can’t see this story translating well to the screen.
