Well, whaddaya know. It’s happening after all. (Update: And now it’s heading to television with a showrunner attached.)
As you know, Tor.com Bob (especially if you just clicked that link), the television rights to the Wheel of Time series have just been optioned by a major studio, this time with the approval of Robert Jordan’s estate. Which is pretty stupendous news if you’re a WOT fan. That doesn’t mean a WOT TV series is a fait accompli, of course, but it does mean that its existence is a hell of a lot more likely than it was just over a year ago – which, as you may recall, was when the whole Red Eagle/“Winter Dragon” alleged pilot debacle went down. (My thoughts on the subject at the time are at the beginning of this post.) But whatever, who cares about the legal technicalities of it all, when we can discuss the actual important conundrum now facing the fandom?
That conundrum being, of course (drumroll, please): casting. Dun-dun-DUN!
Who, WHO shall play our beloved (and not so beloved) Wheel of Time characters that we have been following for so very long? It’s a question that’s been fought over since the nineties, over and over again, but now we can start yelling at each other about it afresh, y’all! Yay!
Yes, well. Given that it is a given that any one person’s opinion on this matter will generate instant acrimony and debate, and also given that I adore a good clean acrimonious debate, and also also given that acrimonious debate re: the Wheel of Time specifically is kind of my thing ‘round these parts, there was naturally nothing for it except that I should weigh in on this Vry Srs Bsnss.
So gird your arguin’ loins, O my Peeps, and click on to find out What I Think!
Before we start, a few, uh, provisos, a couple of quid pro quos:
- There is an automatic moratorium on any actor who has already been cast in HBO’s A Game of Thrones. Because I said so, that’s why.
- This is not necessarily a “realistic” casting call. By which I mean, some of the actors I chose would probably never in a million years actually agree to be on the show, because they are Kind Of A Big Deal, but whatever, I can do what I want in my total pie-in-the-sky dream cast. (That said, I think many of my choices are actually quite doable in reality, so.)
- In the interests of not driving myself absolutely insane, I’m mainly concentrating on casting the characters who appear in the first book of the series, The Eye of the World, because otherwise we’d be here till the end of time. I might do a sequel post on characters we don’t meet until later in the series, but for now we’re mostly looking at who would be in the first season or so of our hypothetical TV show. This decision has had some unexpected consequences which I will discuss at the end of the post.
Got all that? Good! Let’s do this thang.
*rolls up sleeves*
So, obviously the first (and most difficult) casting challenge would be to determine who plays our WOT Protagonist Hero Starter Set, aka the Superboys and Supergirls, as I generally refer to them, aka our six-ish villagers (and/or odd royal heir, or both) who will start off young, naïve, and blissfully ignorant, go through Many Naïvete-Destroying Trials and Tribulations, and eventually evolve into fierce battle-hardened saviors of the Entire World. As I should hope would be obvious, casting the Super Young Persons is quite the difficult task, because in terms of a character arc, that’s a pretty big bill to fill for any actor, but even more so for an actor who must also be at least somewhat convincingly able to portray a teenager at the start of this thing. (Or in the case of Nynaeve, a 20-something whom everyone consistently mistakes for a teenager, owing to the age-slowing effects of being a magic channeler.)
Parenthetically, I also confess this provided a particular challenge to me personally, as I am, er, well, not exactly a teenager anymore, and most of the actors and actresses I used to favor for these roles (like, back in the nineties. Shut up. And also get off my lawn) have very much aged out of consideration by this point. I don’t think I am totally out of touch with what the Youth of Today are doing (though the very existence of this sentence probably gives that the lie), but let’s just say the Disney Channel is not on my Favorites list these days. But I did my best, y’all, I swear.
(Note: This casting post originally appeared on Tor.com in May 2016 and its comments section contains many more casting suggestions.)
Rand al’Thor
Of all our protagonists, of course, the premier consideration would be who to cast in the role of Rand al’Thor, upon whose shoulders would ultimately rest the heart and soul of the show. And after much soul- (and Google Images-) searching, in the end, I went with:
I don’t mind telling you, I had serious trouble choosing someone for this pivotal role. But Nicholas Hoult is a veteran of SF movies and TV, and I loved him in the films Warm Bodies and Mad Max: Fury Road. Both of which, incidentally, prove he can pull off an eerily compelling combination of crazy/disturbing yet appealing, a talent I think anyone playing Rand al’Thor definitely needs in spades. I feel like he has both the looks (he could totally pull off reddish hair) and the acting ability to portray WOT’s unwilling Messiah figure. At 27 he is a little old, perhaps, but he plays younger very well. (And at 6’3”, he’s definitely tall enough for the role too.)
Matrim Cauthon
Next up we have Matrim Cauthon, the lovable rogue gambler/fighter/lover of our Superboy trio. Mat is more or less my favorite character in the series, and therefore I could go with no less than my favorite young actor in the world at this moment:
Teen Wolf is a terrible, terrible show, but Dylan O’Brien’s rise to fame because of it was entirely warranted, in my opinion, because he was always about a million times better than the material he was given to work with. His leading role in the Maze Runner film trilogy demonstrates his ability to play a badass, but it’s his portrayal of Stiles in Teen Wolf that shows off, almost against the show’s will it seems, his serious acting chops in both the comedic and dramatic arena. Certainly his personal charisma is off the charts, if Tumblr’s obsession with him is anything to judge by (he was the sixth most reblogged actor on Tumblr in 2015, beating out the likes of no less than Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, and Benedict Cumberbatch). Maybe no one else would agree, but personally I think he would make a great Mat.
Perrin Aybara
And then there’s Perrin Aybara, blacksmith, Wolfbrother, and axe-wielding heavy of the three boys. I admit I drew a total blank on casting Perrin for quite a while, until Sister Kate suggested this guy:
He’d have to bulk up for the role, of course, but otherwise Penn Badgley is pretty much exactly what I picture in my head for Perrin’s appearance. I confess I never watched Gossip Girl, his most well-known role (though I looked at some clips before writing this), but I loved him in Easy A. And apparently he can pull off a beard, which is naturally of utmost importance for a Perrin!
And now, the Supergirls!
Egwene al’Vere
First up is my favorite Ooh Ooh Girl, Egwene al’Vere, whom I believe is the youngest of our Starter Set, and thus was very difficult to cast. But I think I found just the girl for it:
No one who’s seen her play Hit Girl in Kick-Ass could doubt that Chloë Grace Moretz can, well, kick ass, or at least play a girl who can, and it’s that combination of her look of sweet innocence and her demeanor of steely resolve that I think makes her perfect to play Egwene. And at 19, she’s realistically about as young an actress as you could possibly hope to find to play the character.
Elayne Trakand
Second is Elayne Trakand, everyone’s favorite bath- risk-taking, chin-raising, unfairly pretty Daughter-Heir. I had a lot of trouble with her, but finally settled on a perhaps somewhat unconventional choice:
I am of the considered opinion that Saoirse Ronan can pull off just about any role she sets her mind to with perfection, up to and including playing a headstrong, pure-hearted queen-to-be like Elayne. Of course, as a two-time Academy Award nominee by the age of 22, Ronan is not very likely to take on a role in an upstart fantasy TV series, but hey, I can dream, can’t I?
Nynaeve al’Meara
Last but definitely not least of our Hero Starter Sextuplet Set is Nynaeve al’Meara, probably my overall favorite female character in the series, and by far the most difficult for me to cast of any of them, even Rand. I agonized over this one, y’all, no lie.
I really would have loved for her to be played by Emily Blunt, but at 33 Blunt is just too old, sadly. Nynaeve may be in her mid-twenties at the start of the series, but far too much of her character development hinges on her resentment of looking younger than her actual age to risk casting an actress who might actually appear older than her actual age.
So, after approximately 300 hours of Googling and arguing with everyone in range about it (seriously, my entire family has ended up embroiled in this debate, even those relatives who have never actually read the series), I finally tentatively settled on yet another perhaps non-intuitive choice:
Now granted, at 27 Emma Stone is probably too old for the role as well, but I decided I don’t care, because I frickin’ adore Emma Stone, and I seriously could not come up with anyone else who I felt could remotely play Nynaeve with anything like both the conviction and, most importantly, humor her character deserves. (I have always felt that Nynaeve needs to be played by an actress with strong comedic talents; otherwise it would be far too easy to render her hopelessly and unfairly unlikeable.) If it comes down to picking some young thing who could never hope to do Nynaeve justice, or picking Emma Stone, well, I know which one I’d go with. NO CONTEST.
All right! And now that our Super Young Persons are done with, it’s time to turn to the rest. So, going roughly by order of appearance in The Eye of the World…
Ishamael/Ba’alzamon
KIDDING! I’m kidding, calm down. Hahaha the look on your face.
But seriously, for Crazy Flame Face I’d have to go with my man Rufus Sewell.
I’ve loved him ever since Dark City, and he’s proven adept at playing believable – and believably scary – villains in multiple productions, including most recently as a Nazi commandant in the miniseries The Man in the High Castle. There’s probably a whole bunch of actors who would be a great Ishy, honestly, but I’d love to see Sewell do it.
(As a side note, I didn’t bother to cast Lews Therin Telamon, because honestly we only ever see him once in the entire series, and anyway my casting muscles were plumb worn out by the time I remembered about him. Sowwy.)
Tam al’Thor
I really tried not to poach from the Teen Wolf stable again, I swear, but…
C’mon, is that a careworn yet sturdy father figure or is that a careworn yet sturdy father figure? Plus, don’t forget that back in the day Linden Ashby was also Johnny Cage, y’all. MORTAL KOMBAT!
Moiraine Damodred
I didn’t even get a chance to debate with myself about who should play Moiraine, because Sister Liz was instantly like OMG NO I KNOW WHO, and dragged me to her computer to Google this lovely lady:
British actress Janet Montgomery has racked up a pretty impressive CV in the SF or SF-adjacent arena, including roles in Black Swan, the BBC series Merlin, and most recently as the lead in the currently-running cult series Salem, playing the imperious and powerful witch Mary Sibley. I have not watched this series myself (though I suspect Sister Liz has planned a binge-fest for my near future whether I want one or not), but I’ve looked at some clips, and damn. If you want someone to play a mysterious, regal, and ambiguously threatening magic-wielding woman, I say you need look no further than Ms. Montgomery. And she is a dead ringer for the description of Moiraine we get in the books.
Side note: it later came to my attention that Montgomery actually played Nicholas Hoult’s love interest in the British series Skins back in 2008, which is… heh, a little awkward, if Hoult is Rand? But, whatever. That’s not even close to the strangest dissonance/ridiculousness I’ve seen in Hollywood casting. (Six words: Sean Connery playing Harrison Ford’s father.)
Lan Mandragoran
My pick for Lan will be, I suspect, a little controversial to some:
This is not, to be certain, how Lan has ever been portrayed in WOT artwork, professionally or in fandom, but given that Malkieri/Borderlander culture is so heavily flavored with Eastern/Asian influences, I felt like it was justified. Then, too, is the fact that Ken Watanabe’s inclusion provides a much-needed bit of diversity in what I belatedly realized is a painfully lily-white lineup thus far (more on that later).
And anyway, if you want an actor who can play an older, world-weary, yet effortlessly hard-core warrior samurai dude, Ken Watanabe is unquestionably your man. It works, y’all. Fight me.
Thom Merrilin
I went through a whole roster of older actors who I thought could convincingly play the crouching gleeman, hidden badass that is Thom, including but not limited to Patrick Stewart, Dennis Quaid, and Steve Martin (no, really). Stewart would normally be perfect for the role (my mother, a lifelong Trekkie, campaigned relentlessly for him, heh), but at 75 I feel like he is just a hair (haha) too old to be pulling off tumbling and juggling and fighting Myrrdraal and so on.
And anyway, then Google gave me this picture:
And I was like, well, okay then. Jeff Bridges already is Thom Merrilin, who knew.
Padan Fain
Oh, you think I’m kidding with Paul Reubens, do you.
I’m not.
Min Farshaw
I wanted to resist pulling from the Twilight crowd, y’all, I really did, but:
Sorry, but Ashley Greene with a pixie cut is the spitting image of how I have always pictured Min in my head, so I couldn’t pass it up. Also, I feel like Greene is probably way better an actress than her material in the Twilight movies allowed her to be, so it would be cool to give her a chance to branch out, you know?
Elyas Machera
Sam Elliott. DUH.
Loial
Okay, yes, I’m aware that casting Hagrid to play our favorite Ogier is ridiculously on the nose. But if y’all can come up with anyone else besides Robbie Coltrane (anyone alive, that is) who could remotely play Loial to justice, I’m all ears. (If Andre the Giant was still around it’d be a no-brainer, but sadly that is not the case.)
Gawyn Trakand
Most people know Hunter Parrish best from his portrayal of Silas on Weeds, and honestly that alone should be enough to convince you of his acting chops. Gawyn makes me bang my head against hard objects more than probably any other character in WOT, but there’s no denying that he is a complex and angsty deeply conflicted character, who needs an actor of Parrish’s caliber to pull his drama off, otherwise he’d be a trainwreck. Plus it doesn’t hurt that I would absolutely buy that he is Saoirse Ronan’s brother. Scroll back up and look at her picture if you don’t believe me.
Galad Damodred
So I says to myself, “Self,” I says, “If you needed to pick an actor who’s made a career of playing stiff, arrogant assholes who are secretly, deep down, actually kinda big damn heroes once you get past all the terrible personality defects – oh, and also is almost unnaturally man-beautiful, as in drop-dead gorgeous, who would you pick?”
“Oh, you’d pick Colton Haynes, would you?” I says.
“Yep,” says me.
Morgase Trakand
Julianne Moore. Because, Julianne Moore. *helplessly gestures at all the awesome*
Elaida do Avriny a’Roihan
It might almost be a waste of a Lucy Lawless to make her Elaida, but there’s no doubt she could play the hell out of the character, and at this point no fantasy or fantasy-adjacent TV series is complete without her. The WOT TV Powers That Be may not choose to cast Lawless in this particular role, but they damn well better cast her somewhere, by gum. Anything else would be a crime. This I Foretell.
Agelmar Jagad
In keeping with my theory that the Borderlands are more Asian-influence than they are anything else, I thought Jet Li would do quite well for the role of General Jagad. The character is described as merely “hard-faced”, with a topknot of pure white, in the book, which leaves it pretty open to interpretation. This picture is from 2006 (his performance in Fearless), and Li is featured with a queue rather than a topknot, but I felt like it got the impression across of how he would look as Agelmar, especially now that he is ten years older.
* * *
Aaand that’s where I’m gonna stop for now. I’m pretty sure that the only other major characters in TEOTW I haven’t cast yet are the Green Man, who will almost certainly be a CGI character, and Balthamel and Aginor, who will be on screen for like two minutes tops before being most decidedly killed, and will be either in a mask or covered in extreme old age makeup, respectively, for that whole time anyway. I’m much more interested in their later incarnations as Osan’gar and Aran’gar, from a casting standpoint. But not now, jeez.
If I’ve missed anyone, of course, I’m sure that you guys will let me know. (Okay, Tallanvor. But really, whatever with Tallanvor. And Geofram Bornhald and Jaret Byar, but ugh, whatever with them too.) I figure this is more than enough to get the massive bouts of indignation rolling, anyway.
Before we end, though, there is something that must be addressed, as I mentioned earlier, and that is the general total lack of diversity in the cast I’ve chosen here. There is no getting around the fact that other than Ken Watanabe and Jet Li, every single actor I’ve selected thus far is white.
And that’s on me, and I will take my licks for it if need be. But I decided not to change it, and for better or worse, here’s my reasoning on why:
The Eye of the World, being as it is Robert Jordan’s homage to the beginning of Tolkien’s saga Lord of the Rings, is very much set in the medievalish fantasy equivalent of the bucolic English countryside. The Two Rivers, from whence Our Heroes mostly hail, may not quite be the Shire, but that’s mainly just accounting for a different height average among its denizens than hobbits typically rejoice in. And once Our Heroes leave the Shire Two Rivers, they end up in the less-bucolic-but-no-less-English-like city of Caemlyn, which is basically Camelot with the serial numbers filed off, if the Arthuriana-esque names of its ruling family (Elayne, Morgase, Gawyn, Galad, hello) are anything to judge by.
All of which is another way to say that the setting of TEOTW, at least, is very, very white. And by limiting myself to only casting the characters of the first novel, I sort of by default limited myself to the characters who are least arguably anything other than white as well.
In Jordan’s defense, though (and mine, I suppose), once he felt he’d fulfilled his Tolkien homage quota and moved on to expanding his world and getting his main cast out of England Andor, it immediately became about ten million times more diverse, and from The Great Hunt onward we will get to meet all kinds of people who are explicitly described as and/or can be interpreted to be many things other than Caucasian/European/white. And in a way, this can be interpreted as a perhaps unconscious commentary on the evolution of Our Heroes from naïvete to maturity, in that they start out with the expectation that everyone should be like they are (or look like they do), and find that in fact, the real world beyond their narrow borders is far more complex and varied than they had always been led to believe.
For example, we won’t meet Faile Bashere until the third novel, The Dragon Reborn, but she is destined to become a major character who is clearly not described as white. So I cheated, just to even out the field a little, and picked out an actress for her:
Natasha Liu Bordizzo only has one credit to her name so far, but it’s a lead role, as “Snow Vase” in the just-released Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, a sequel to the 2000 movie. (I’ve watched it on Netflix. It’s pretty good! Even though I find it disconcerting that it is in English.) Bordizzo is very impressive in it, and I think she would make a great Faile.
Granted, this does not ultimately detract from the problematic truth that the beginning of the WOT TV series, as I have cast it, would be overwhelmingly Euro-centric, and perhaps the acknowledgment that the cast would become increasingly less Euro-centric as the series progresses is not sufficient to compensate for that. That is for others to judge. I will say that I welcome suggestions for alternate casting decisions which mitigate that possibly skewed perspective.
In other words, have at, my peeps. Whether you disagree with me on ethnic grounds or disagree with me on entirely different grounds, or even in the amazing event that you think all my casting choices are wonderful and perfect (haha, yeah right), I wanna hear from you. Who, WHO should be in the Wheel of Time TV series? Let the good clean acrimonious debate begin!
Leigh Butler is a writer, blogger, and acrimonious debate-haver, who has of recent times conducted the Wheel of Time Reread and the Read of Ice and Fire on Tor.com, and has something even more fun on the horizon for y’all, just you wait, Henry Higgins!
Hi Leigh!
::wags tail::
So, let’s get this lit. Bear with me as tordot has gotten even more clunky in my old age. I don’t see the linky thing anywhere or the magic upload image. Not even a feather. Honestly. Way to limit my havoc, tor.
Rand… Dood, go natural red… Or sumting. K.J. Apa. Right age, hair color, angst.
Perrin… Where did you find-? Meh. Kellan Lutz. He played Herc. The movie blew goats, but he would be very Perrin.
I got tons more but I am going to break it down so it is not an epic wall.
Edit to add: Cleaned up the post, and sorry about the repeats. The smartphone version and desktop version for commenting is very different. Also, for whatever reason, I hit “post comment” and nothing happened, so I hit it again, nothing, then again, nothing. Refresh the page and suddenly I look like the new guy that IT rolls their eyes at.
Woof™.
Hi Leigh!
::wags tail::
Edit. TPTB are not working with me. Strange things are afoot at the circle K.
Hows about someone else like Lily Collins for Nynaeve?
Woof™.
Please note: we’re aware of the current problems with the site and our developers are working to fix it. Repeatedly spamming the comments with complaints is both obnoxious and unhelpful.
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I think you nailed it for the most part. I like the Asian casting for the Borderlands, it is a nice touch. The only character I would cast differently would be Padan Fain. I just think Steve Buscemi would be perfect for that role. If we are dreaming, might as well dream big and in color.
@3 I mean… I’m pretty sure that there’s more than Eurocentric culture and peoples in WoT. I never once imagined as I read it that everyone was white. Leigh’s chosen cast fits with what I remember of the characters.
In regards to casting I don’t have many opinions but I think I’d like to see Anna Kendrick as Nynaeve. I think she could pull off the comedy but also Nynaeve’s steely side. Anna’s also rather slight and probably the right height. I also love the Paul Ruebens choice because I honestly do think he could pull Fain off well.
How about Emma Watson for either Egwene or Elyane.
This post is meant to replace my earlier post @7 above. Due to the technical difficulties tor.com is experiencing, I cannot properly update @7.
Edward J. Olmos as Geofram Bornhald (I would have cast Olmos as Pedron Niall, but you said to limit it to TEotW characters);
Shailene Woodley as Egwene (she is the lead actress in the Divergent film series and The Fault in Our Stars);
Jonathan Frakes as Padan Fain (I think Frakes could really pull this off);
Cote de Pablo as Moiraine (she played Ziva in NCIS);
Caterina Scorsone as Nynaeve (she plays Amelia Shepherd in Grey’s Anatomy)
Abigail Breslin – Elayne
Sami Gayle (Nicky Reagan in Blue Bloods)
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
I am so excited to see this come about and I have been dreaming about the casting ever since I finished the series the first time. I made a cast list on imdb and I update it every few months when some amazing actor comes to my attention. My list is meant to be a little more realistic with lesser-known actors and younger people with lots of potential. I’d appreciate any feedback on my ideas! http://www.imdb.com/list/ls052387647/
I still say we have to cast Sean Bean as Lews Therin Telamon, we must adhere to the trope of killing Sean Bean off early. Tropes guide us in all things dagnabit!
Mostly I love this, and props for finding the right Asian actor for Lan (I’ve been worrying away at this particular bone in spare time for ages). However:
I want Lucy Lawless, but I actually want her as Siuan. She can be made up to look beautiful, but watch her in Parks and Recreation and she can totally nail the no-nonsense, not conventionally pretty Siuan.
Amy Adams as Morgase. Closer to the right age than Julianne Moore and a better physical casting match. Also more surface-level vulnerable. Yes, she’d never take it in a million years but you said plausibility was not relevant.
Also, to cut down on whitewashing. . .are we sure that we can’t consider an Asian actress as Moiraine? The Cairhienin are at least as Asian-influenced as the Borderlanders. Would also help make the height difference look less weird.
And. . .hear me out. . .Robbie Coltrane is too obvious for Loial. I think Hagrid, who isn’t anywhere near Loial’s intellectual level, would just creep through no matter what. I’m actually imaging Josh Radnor, plus a convincing pitch-control machine like the one used for Robbie Benson in Beauty and the Beast. He’s got the mix of sweetness and unconscious pedantry down in spades.
My 2 cents for now.
To completely ignore your moratorium on GoT actors. Sean Bean as Ingtar Shinowa. I know Sean Bean doesn’t fit the asian theme of the Borderlands, but Sean Bean must die (but only after adequate character development).
Or as Lews Therin Telamon as #12 said.
Hi again, folks.
Another guy that should make the cut is an actor for Loial. John Rhys-Davies is made for it, provided that he lives for the length of the series, JRD has the acting chops, the mannerisms and the voice to be a perfect Loial. From the Raiders franchise to LotR to infinite other rolls, This guy works.
For any of the baddies, like Asmodean Johnathan Rhys Meyers, or the chief baddie, time to go abroad again for some faces.
Woof™.
Hello,
Very nice article!!
I can certainly see all of your proposed actors for the role you selected for them, but without a doubt i think that Dylan O’Brien IS Mat!!! Great choice :)
Maybe the only one that is not really fitting the role for me is Emma Stone as Nynaeve, but thats a very difficult one to choose (i dont know who will i pick up for her…), so i guess Emma Stone will do fine and after the first chapter i will get used to her.
As a personal choice, i will go with Emma Watson for Egwene.
For the um… homogeneous cast, I have very strong opinions that I will try to be tactful about( for those that know me for the snarky, sarcastic, wise arse that I am, it will be an Olympic feat).
I have ranted a fair chunk on other places about Hollywood casting and essentially whitewashing roles. For example- Iron Fist. There are many folks that maintain that the casting was good and it was essential to “stick to the source material”. Well okay, but casting Finn as Danny, a white guy as IF was the only thing that stuck with the source material and I do not hear any outcry for the rest of the changes. Danny’s girlfriend was black, Misty Knight. Danny’s parents did not die in a plane crash, they were hiking and Meechum was there too. Meechum basically kills Danny’s dad and Danny’s mom dies to wolves. Meechum looses his legs to frostbite, no mention of cancer. Heroes for Hire starts way before any inkling of regaining a corporate status occurs.
The biggest thing about IF was the context about when it was written. It was back in the day when the majority of heroes that were invented were designed after the authors, normal guys that somehow gained powers. These normal guys also happened to be of Caucasian descent. In the last 20 or so years, folks have realized this and made strides to change things. We are talking about fictional characters, there is nothing set in stone that says it cannot be changed to reflect a more diverse world. Danny could have been cast as Asian, or at least find a guy that can fight like the master of martial arts should.
WoT-wise, there is diversity, once we get outside of the little village that Rand and Co inhabit. The bigger world is very different, and I do like the idea of casting Lan as another race. It also fits well with the Malkieri code of conduct. Very Bushido.
I got more but that is enough of a wall.
Woof™.
Woo! Good choices!
As to the Whitewashing, are there any nice Indian lady actors who could play Faile?
Also, you skipped all the Innkeepers! (Not to mention all the Evil Innkeepers)
Who would you pick for Basel Gill and Brandelwyn al’Vere? They are fairly minor characters in the first book sure, but they snowball throughout the series. Also to cheat, what about Setalle Anan?
I wouldn’t have thought that I liked so many of your choices, but with one-two exceptions (like Elayne), it was practically perfect. 200% yes for Mat and Moiraine! (I had a huge crush on Dylan after seeing the “Maze Runner” despite his age and I still like him as a really good actor; and I could totally see Janet as Moiraine). Really, really good pickings for mostly all others, too.
Fun fact: I went to imdb to check out Nicholas Holt since it seemed easier than to find a height calculator to know how tall he is in cm-s, and the trailer for “The Hero” was on the first page. I saw it and my reaction was: “But that’s Thom Merrilin!” Then I continued on and saw you have cast him as Elyas. Oh, well, works as well :)
And I saw someone somewhere not long ago that struck me as the spitting image of Faile, absolutely perfectly how I have imagined her. Alas! However hard I try, I cannot recall who that was.
Also, even though GoT was off-limits, have to agree with Biter @12
My out-there preference for Lews Therin, if he’d take such a small role, is Mandy Patinkin. Hear me out. He’s not at all uncomfortable with genre, and his stage work shows that he can sell operatic-level, overwhelming grief. Listen to him perform on the cast album of “The Secret Garden”.
Paden Fain-Brad Dourif
Thom Merrilin–Kris Kristofferson
Tam al’Thor– either Mark Harmon or Matthew Modine
Also, I nominate Anne Hathaway as Lanfear. She’ll never, ever come off as a complex character if you cast predominantly for looks. You need a top-level actress who is also plausible on physical casting grounds to make her truly scary instead of standard-issue-sexy-woman-who-is-bad. She could SO easily descend into Bond Girl territory.
Also, out there but. . .Naomi Watts as Moghedien. Even if you hated the Divergent films, she really chilled my blood there.
Most of the Casting I 100% (200%) agree with, Except Rand. YEAA…no. Unless you built him up quite a bit, added the traditional redhead features and well,… I just don’t see it.
And yes, Perrin would have to be completely sized up to about twice the shoulder width.
Who i really wanted to see you spec out where the Aial, especially Aviendha.
All seems reasonable to me, but Mat Cauthon needs to be played by Matt Czuchry.
I am Logain.
Great choice for Nynaeve, and Moiraine is perfect. I don’t think Lucy Lawless is severe enough for Elaida. And Cate Blanchett would make a perfect Morgase. Both Cate and Julianne are a little old because Morgase also looks young, but Cate could perfectly pull it through.
Well, since Patrick Stewart aged out (and that has been the choice of pick from the Tar Valon board days of the early internet) I’d say… Kenneth Branaugh for Thom Merrilin. He can do song and dance and he’s old enough but not too old. But Jeff Bridges works too.
And for Elaida, I’d go with Genevieve O’Reilley (Mon Mothma from Rogue One). I love Lucy Lawless, but I’d see her more as Siuan than Elaida, because of sheer fortitude and acting chops.
Emma Watson? Give her a pixie cut and some trousers and I see her as Min, more than Egwene (and the age factor, too.) She can pull off tormented, but she’s (at least to me) too old for Egwene. And I love the idea of Kellen Lutz but he’s aged out too, for Perrin. He’s the fallen Blacksmith who thinks too much so someone young and burly would work.
Paul Reubens is inspired, as Padan Fain.
This is a directorial thing rather than a casting thing per se. But given how utterly American the story is, I am putting my foot down that Default Fantasy British Accents are hereby banned. The whole issue of accents will have to be addressed, but unless there is a specific in-universe reason for a plummy, upper-crust British accent (AKA the Andoran Royal House and closely allied characters like Thom), no using one. British actors will need to have dialect coaches. The default accent should probably be American Midwest or even mild Southern, as long as it’s distinguishable from the Seanchan drawl.
Yes, I know Jordan wrote at one point that he imagined Duopotamian accents as Irish. But on screen, I think that might lose the flavor of “quintessentially American high fantasy” and fail to disambiguate the story from GoT. (And on the subject of disambiguating from GoT, I definitely want to see a world with early modern technology, extensive literacy, and less sexposition. One of the worst ways this could go wrong would be to fall afoul of GoT comparisons when the two stories have very little in common.)
Patrick Stewart is aged out for any major roles, but he’d be fantastic in a voiceover cameo as the Green Man.
I like the suggestions especially Jet Li and Ken Watanabe. Just wish Jet could have more of an action role. As far as the white washing, I know some of the Seanchan were dark skinned and were comparing them
to coal. Also the Domani and Tariens were dark skinned. Once they get there some other actors with ethnic backgrounds would be appropriate
I’ll try to be honest.
No on Rand: lack of redhead features, not wide enough around the shoulders, but don’t really have a suggestion
Meh on Mat: Don’t really know of any better choice, but Dylan just doesn’t feel right
Meh on Perrin: Remember that Perrin was a blacksmith, that requires no small amount of muscle, but yes, you also need someone that can rock that beard.
That’s all I really feel comfortable about discussing, because these are the ones I’ve spent the most time deliberating (with no clear preference)
I always find this hard as a former actress because I would ADORE to play anyone in WOT esp Min or Nynaeve (and I look like her too – Im gonna have to try and cosplay one of these days).
That aside the only person who could be a good Rand for me is Outlanders Sam Heughan – he’s perfect! And he already has the red hair and period acting experience (complete with horses, working farms, swords etc)
Rufus Sewell always struck me as a perfect Demandred, as for the others…hmm, no one else really stands out. I really hope they go for people suited and not just ‘stars’ and that will really irritate me.
We were high and talking about fantasy one time and ended up starting to talk about the Aiel as irish ninjas. So now I’m stuck with that in my head. Dammit.
I love your Perrin and I ADORE EMMA STONE so she could totally play my favorite character :) I love your Faile as well, and I didn’t really even blink twice at seeing Lan as Asian because I’ve always imagined the Borderlander characters as having that influence.
I agree with others who have stated Rand needs to be a little more redheaded.
I LOLd at suggesting Sean Bean as Lews Therin. Hahaha. Perfect.
Maybe this is a stretch (and would never happen) but I could see Mark Hamill as somebody like Padan Fain – he does a good batshit crazy villain.
Any WOT fan who’s seen the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies would probably agree that Kevin McNally, who plays Gibbs, would be a PERFECT Bayle Domon. I hear his voice when I read Bayle in the books, plus, McNally has the look I picture for him.
How about Edris Elba for Thom Merrilin? There’s no reason for Thom to be white except for him being described that way in the book. We don’t know where he’s from originally so it doesn’t break his back story. He can still have been lover to Morgase and personal Gleeman to royalty. Plus Elba just oozes charisma. He would KILL this role.
I would agree with 80% of the cast.. i did picture borderlanders as asian. but if you’re looking for someone to cast as Lanfear.. Charize Theron is my bet
Considering the nose and color descriptions of Faile/Saldaeans and some of the traditions of the Malkieri, I would have considered at least one of those groups as resembling Indian more than east asian asians.
I’m surprised that I was convinced by your acting points on Rand’s casting. The only one I really don’t agree with was Morgase. I just don’t believe Julianne Moore looks the part or the right age (not to say she’s not beautiful).
I haven’t had much time to reflect on much of the list (I’m a cranky old man that doesnt know these young people) but let me just say –
Ken Watanabe as a’Lan is a STROKE OF FREAKING GENIUS.
That is all.
*lol* You know, in spite of being a huge fan, it never would’ve hit me to toss out Lucy Lawless as Elaida. But now that you have, you’re so right….she totally could rock the hell out of that role.
Dame Judy Dench as Cadsuane has always been my choice. And I offer this very strong candidate for Tuon, Janelle Monae:
How about Gustaf Skarsgard for Padan Fain? If you’ve seen him as Floki in Vikings, you know he can pull it off! And for Heaven’s sake, put in Kathryin Winnick as one of the Aiel Maidens. . .!
Keep in mind Faile has a bold nose. The actress chosen could use a prosthetic one, but I think a little more hunting is in order. Rand, mmm no, face works, but broad shouldered and auburn. Nynaeve not at all doesn’t look a thing like her! And Loial also no. Really like the other choices though.
And I totally agree that Kevin McNally, who plays Gibbs, would be a PERFECT Bayle Domon!!9
Hi folks, I have a few more suggestions, and hopefully I don’t crash the thread, again.
For Fain, I picture somebody that is truly warped and can play creepy evil, I saw a guy in a movie one time… Javier Bardem.
Moiraine. She’s tough and the hardest part would be the height thing with all the cast. The guy Leigh picked for Galad is really short. And Aiel being giants are not going to fly… unless the rest of the cast is really short. Anyways, Moiraine, Bridget Regan has done the sword magicky thing with phah! Legend of the Seeker, so this should be in her wheelhouse.
Galad is a half brother and the big thing about him is his flawless looks. I’d go another way for Galad. Sendhil was described to me by a coworker ( I have never seen Heroes) as the most gorgeous man alive. Sure.
Berelain is supposed to be super attractive too. Like attracts like, so there is a Berelain who also stars in Quantico.
Another Forsaken, Broody McBroodster, Demandred should be played by a guy who really does plotting evil well. Zach plays a mean Spock. This could work with Vulcan logic.
The last character I will put out there for now is Elayne. I forget the role, but I have seen Lucy in lighter colored hair.
Most of the characters listed works for diversity, acting chops and fits the part. IMO.
Woof™.
your choice for Hagrid should be cast as Bayle Domon. though, Domon could easily also be another ethnic diversity choice.
and for Loyal… what’s wrong with casting an overly tall actor of non-white color under the boatload of make-up that Loyal would require…
more diversity could also be added by showing different locations in the world at the beginning episodes, like added scenes in the White tower, with a huge diversity of women and men from all nations.
and let’s not forget, that black people are, just a touch rare in the WOT world, being that they all live across the Aiel waste…
excited to see more news about this show soon…
Faile. Forgot about here, go figure, but I know of a person who can be as annoying as all get out as Faile comes across in the beginning. Folks may remember Jenna from another prominent role, but this works too.
Woof™.
The casting of Lan really appeals to me so I am going to leave that alone for now. I had a guy, but Ken blows him out of the water completely, he just fits.
One of the rocks of the WoT is Gareth Bryne. Bryne is one of the 5 generals and looked at in many ways to lead the campaign for the good guys. There is one guy that springs to mind to guide the forces of Light, Aragorn. Viggo could bring flare to Bryne.
Mat. Matty Mat Mat. Mat the trouble maker, Trickster, Gambler. Mat bloody Cauthon. Devon has that look for mischief.
Which brings Leigh’s favorite girl, Eggy. Egwene is super smart and an overachiever, AnnaSophia is that in real life. True story.
There are a few more other roles to round this out but that should be the highlights.
Woof™.
Though we’ll only see him in the first season once, Lews therin needs to be played by Brian Cranston! Imagine, later down the road when Rand start hearing his voice. Instead make it so he can see Cranston walking around as an insane lews therin yelling and screaming in Rand’s ear during a meeting with Lews in full age of legends court attire. It’d be perfect!
Mat should be played by
Robert Sheehan.
That is all I have to add :)
At first I was a little uncertain about a couple of the choices comma but after further consideration I admit that I fully support this lineup.
Make it so!
For the most part I like a bunch of your picks. If I had my perfect lineup though I would pick these.
Simon Woods as Rand – Was in pride and prejudice and Rome so he has the acting chops and experience
Jamie Bell as Mattrim – When i see his face it just looks like Matt
Lorenzo Richelmy as Perrin – not sure if he would be bulky enough for it but he has the beard and is a really good actor.
Emily Cox as Egwene – played Brida in the last kingdom, was easily one of the best parts of that show
Evan Rachel Wood as Elayne – she is an amazing actress and definitely has the look in my opinion
Missy Peregrym as Nynaeve – When I picture her with a braid and a scowl on her face its just perfect Nynaeve
I am a huge fan of the suggestion of Janelle Monet as Tuon, I know she wont show up for a long time but she would be an awesome choice. The pick of Sam Elliot as Elyas is perfect and Ken Watanabe would be an awesome Lan.
If only we could go in the way back machine, because I don’t think there will ever be a more perfect choice for Nynaeve than a younger Amanda Peet. And Nora Zehetner from Brick and Heroes is who I pictured for Min when I was reading. But the best Lan ever would have to be Mads Mikkelson. I think Rand and Mat are the hardest because you need a tall Statuesque youth with broad shoulders for Rand, and the personality of Mat will be hard to get right, (just ask B.S.). Does Lucy Hale have what it takes to be Egwene?
luv everyone you picked. When is Sony planning to find the actors and starting filming. They need to get on the ball aI am 70 so you never know! Luv, these books. Thank you
Aviendha?
I think that they should do what they did with Game of Thrones and cast relatively unknown, or complete unknown actors for the younger cast, then use seasoned veteran actors for several of the older characters. While I understand a “casting idea” post doesn’t really work if you just hand-wave half the cast and say “pick someone nobody knows” but I do feel it’s probably the best option for numerous reasons. They are more likely to stay on for multiple seasons, less likely to be associated with other roles, and you can get actors made to fit the role rather than adapting the role to fit for specific actors which however pure your intentions are can happen without thinking about it.
YOU FORGOT AVIENDHA! She’s a massive part of the WOT series!
I’m so excited there will be a series, but I really hate the idea of the superkids being cast from current actors. If you look at GOT none of those guys were famous already, and how much do we love them now? I could cast them a trillion times in my head, but everyone is too old.
I do love Rufus Sewell in your casting Leigh, and Lucy Lawless as Elaida, although, I always saw her as Marcia Cross in my head. In terms of Morgase, I can see no one else but Michelle Pfiefer. Watching her in Stardust made it real for me. I love the Asian influence for Lan and Galad works for me…but I can’t be the only one who shouted out loud when you cast Thom as Elyas. Come on!
I honestly hope this comes about, and that Harriet (and even Brandon) have sway over casting.
@56, she did not forget, Leigh clearly said in the article she limited the casting to only “Eye of the World” here and Aviendha does mot make an appearance there yet.
And even though I totally approve Leigh’s choises here, as I already said earlier, I wholeheartedly agree with what Shaun K said @55.
As Lan: Toby Stevens from Black Sails. Now that Black Sails has ended, he’s available!
I actually like Nicholas Hoult as Rand. I’m nowhere near as worried about whether Rand is implausibly tall and has broad shoulders compared to whether he looks young enough and can manage to be so sensitive that he’s at breaking point for most of the story without coming off as small-minded or “emo” (I hate that word, but its negative connotations are a major risk factor here). At the end of the day, this series is going to need a fantastic lead actor who can sell “protagonist with severe mental illness”. Without that, the result is going to be Hayden Christensen levels of viewer hate, and the show probably won’t get renewed past the first season or two.
I’m also not super-worried about tracking down a natural redhead. They’re all going to be auditioning for Kvothe anyway, and that team really does need to find a true redhead who can act the living daylights out of the part. True, flame-red is really hard to fake with dye, but auburn is do-able. All of which is to say, I could see Hoult with some hair dye and contacts being a great choice. (In this fan-game where the explicit rules are We Don’t Care If This Cast Is Affordable Because Talking About Unknowns Is No Fun, anyway.)
Nick @@@@@ 51: Missy Peregrym as Nynaeve is excellent!
I think it is important to pick LTT carefully, because while whoever it is will have a very brief appearance in EotW, later on they’re going to be whispering/shouting/ranting in Rand’s head a whole lot.
Verin is one I’d be interested in seeing people’s takes on.
I always had a young Kate Beckinsale in mind as Min. Probably not workable now, but we should find a role for her.
We also need to get Tatiana Maslany in this project somewhere. Probably as an Aes Sedai in Season 2 or 3. Alanna?
One quibble with Leigh’s choices – I thought the Three Rivers girls were all brunettes. True? I would have thought that Leigh would have looked for girls who had that hair naturally rather than Chloe and Emma.
This may be heresy, but I think the look of the characters is very secondary to whether they can pull off the character. I would have no problem with even changing some of fundamental tribalism (people from certain areas look similar) so that we get good actors in these roles. While GoT has done a (very) good job getting high quality actors, I think a lot of genre work misses the mark by focusing too much on how actors fit into the setting visually and not enough on whether they can pull off the arguably more difficult roles in genre acting.
With that in mind, I think black actors would be great for many of these roles. Nynaeve, Moiraine, Suan, Perrin, and Lan in particular. I think it would be artful to strategically use actors of color to give a little more “otherness” to some of the characters. Ken Watanabe as Lan is a great example of that. You’re showing the audience that there’s something different about Lan without needing a bunch of exposition.
Also, Michael Clarke Duncan as Loial. Duh!
The pick for Mat is perfect!
I always thought Kellan Lutz would be Perrin (as suggested in an earlier comment). But he’s 32….so no.
I love the suggestion of Toby Stephens as one of the older characters, but he’s tied to the reboot of “Lost in Space” for now.
@64….Michael Clarke Duncan is, sadly, no longer with us.
I’d like to throw Odeya Rush into the ring for Egwene.
“I think it is important to pick LTT carefully, because while whoever it is will have a very brief appearance in EotW, later on they’re going to be whispering/shouting/ranting in Rand’s head a whole lot.” – hm…and now I’m kind of imagining Mark Hamill in this role as well. I guess I just want to see a batshit crazy Mark Hamill in this movie, haha.
But seeing as how LTT is primarily a voice acting role and will need somebody that can nail that down…might not be too far off base!
LAN, absolutely not! Lan is not a Manchurian or an Asian. NO WHERE in the books does it even elude to that. I will be heart broken if you proceed with this choice.
I like most of the others but I think NyNaeve needs to be a bit broader, more buxom, and maybe Elayne could be blonder and a little prettier. she’s supposed to be drop dead gorgeous. Otherwise, VERY happy with the proposed selections, and I am soo looking forward to this series!
Cynthia LeFervre @68. Why would you be heart broken if the directors cast a Manchurian or Asian to play Lan? I am not sure if Lan’s skin color or RL ethnicity is ever mentioned (Some characters like Tuon or Selucia are described as having a particular type of skin tone (one black, the other white.)). But even if I am wrong about the books describing Lan’s skin tone, it is not crucial to his character. Whether the actor who plays Lan is Asian, Caucasian, African, Hispanic or any other race or ethnicity is irrelevant. It is Lan’s persona that the actor needs to convey for it to be an accurate portrayal. That not be affected by the actor’s race or ethnicity.
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
Hi Leigh!
::wags tail::
So, for a recap, as I post like a champion, here is the cast in my mind’s eye:
Rand– A.J. Apa
Perrin– Kellan Lutz- yes, as noted he is older, but a whack of older actors play kids in high school etc. It could work.
Mat– Devon Bostick. In DoaWK he was a very convincing trickster.
Egwene– AnnaSophia Robb- just like the character, AnnaSophia is an overachiever.
Elayne– Lucy Hale. Dye her hair, she’s in.
Nynaeve– Lily Collins.
Loial– John Rhys-Davies. ’nuff said.
Moiraine– Bridget Regan. Has done this before.
Galad– Sendhil. Why not some diversity for Elayne’s half brother. He is still very pretty.
Berelain – Priyanka is beautiful. Good match.
Fain – Javier Bardem. Could be the best bad guy.
Demandred – Zach. It’s all in the eyebrows.
Asmodean – Johnathan RM. He’s pretty.
Faile – Jenna has show she can do the love her/hate her attitude for Faile.
Seeing as we are swinging for the fences, I am going to throw out a few more names for the Dream Cast.
Tam– Tom. The Tom. Would be amazing. He could do a “running” scene.
Thom Merrilin-Gary. The Gary. This is one of the greatest character actors and would dominate as Thom.
I’m still doing some searching for actors to play Hopper and Bela, but these are the ones so far.
Woof™.
@AndrewHB 69. Completely agree.
Woof™.
I agree completely with @boquaz 64. Let’s try something different everyone. We have been playing this game for what seems like centuries with character choices for WoT. Let go crazy and really not care what the skin tone, height, hair color, or noise size is. Let’s look at the character. I mean if a character has to be beautiful like Berelain then by all means cast her to fit that but she doesn’t have to be pale, tall, with dark hair and big dark eyes, she can be any ethnicity with any hair color and any eye color imo so long as she is someone who carries herself with such beautiful intimidation and craftiness that she exemplifies Berelain. So when we cast our stars there should be a focus on whoever will give us that feeling of the character the best. Let’s be open here. As long as they can play the character and all of the subtleties that go wth it then I think it should be fine by all of us.
@64 boquaz and @72Aldridge626 yes. Agreed. Originally, for listening to what Leigh said about RJ and his world building and the villiage in the isolated boonies, I kept the core 7 the same. I branched out with Galad and Berelain because heck, Galad was a half brother and Berelain lived on the coast where it is extremely hot and they see a whack of sun.
After reading and rereading your post, I must admit that I have t’oh.
There was a sword and sorcery show in recent history called “Merlin”. The bulk of the cast was er, white; middle of Britain, that whole country hides from the sun on purpose. but one of the main characters of the story, Guinevere, was darker. Brilliant. It was great casting and the actor, Angel Coulby, nailed it.
I was going to cast Siuan, the Sea Folk and everyone along the coastal countries different, not just for the sake of being different, but because there are people who could nail the role. I may reconsider my core cast.
But Tom and Gary stay. They are great actors. Tom as Tam, Gary as Thom. C’mon. It would be great to see them in the story. At least Gary. Main role. All the time. Tom probably wants a rewrite, but remember “Tropical Thunder”. Berelain and Galad in my cast are flawless, they are both beautiful people. I am going to have a field day with the Aiel. Let’s be honest here folks, there is no way that people in the desert, under harsh sun, for a whack of years, are all goint to be fair skinned redheads. That is just not going to be the case. I think RJ had a thing for redheads and he just went to town; hey, it’s his fantasy, let ‘er rip. That being said, hot, sunny lands, folks would have a tan.
I’ma gonna sniff around.
Woof™.
@73, meaning absolutely no disrespect (Sendhil is a great and goodlooking actor, I know him from “Heroes”), and at the risk of perhaps sounding silly, but I just got curious: which half of Galad’s parentage do you count as the one giving the darker shade of skin, Taringail (with whom he’s half-siblings with Elayne and Gawyn), or Tigraine (with whom he’s half-siblings with Rand)?
@74, no worries?. I’d say it was the darker colored one. ?
Woof™.
@74 Celebrinnen- sorry about my last response, the comments I tend to share from my “smartphone” are sometimes er… smartarsed.
To fully answer that I need the power of a laptop, or at least the keyboard functionality and time to type. I may be reading too much into your question but that is a big question. At least to me. I guess it boils down to “how hardcore a fan are you and how pure do you want WoT the TV show to be?”
There are purists out there that will burn the world down if a director and screen (Edit: ran out of time on one computer, the kids needed it) writer changed a single word or conversation. There are some folks that have a vision in their mind’s eye based on the cover of books, other art work and the comics graphic novels that to change that would be heresay.
Some folks have a more moderate approach, as long as the characters work, the broad strokes of the history is intact, the magic system is respected and they don’t diddle with who is good/ bad and leave out complete swaths of storyline, it’s all good. That is me. Remember, I am also proposing to change a whole race of people: the Aiel. The Aiel as RJ described never worked for me. A bunch of fair skinned, redhead people living in the hottest, sunniest place on the planet and they are all huge, and yet run ultramarathons in full gear and water is not an issue.
Sure. Pull my other one.
Anyways, I am suggesting that maybe over the years the Aiel have adapted to the waste and have become smaller and more efficient, perhaps the odd brunette, olive skinned person, darker skinned, darker haired etc. Or maybe the Jenn etc. were that way to begin with when they entered the Waste. Olive or darker skinned, brunette or black hair and not honkin’ giants.
And I did mention that I am considering changing the race of other characters. Suian and anyone along the coast are not going to be cast as fair skinned, hence Berelain. Elayne and Morgase I am on the fence about. Cairhien I am considering too, short people with hash marks on their clothes don’t just have to be like the French. Min is basically an orphan so she doesn’t need to be fair skinned, she could mirror the Seanchan.
And don’t forget the one thing that has been harped on ad nauseum, the world has been broken and made several times. Many wars before and afyer Hawkwing united almost everything. Borders shifting, being erased, one nation absorbs the next. Fair bit of mixing going on. I always pictured the world like an A D&D market with mixed cultures and races like dwarfs, elfs, ogres, orcs etc. So homogenous casting is not in the cards.
In a roundabout way to answer your question, Galad’s mom or dad is darker, maybe the dad, maybe both dad and mom. Galad does have to be Elayne’s half brother, but is it essential to the story that he is Rand’s half brother?
Oh look…
Woof™.
You need some far more exotic looks in there.
Nynaeve – Inanna Sarkis (like perfect and spot on with Jordan’s description)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5936758/mediaviewer/rm81989120
@76, thanks :) Got my response. As said, the question just popped to my mind and didn’t leave me alone, I don’t believe there’s need to read too much into it.
you forgot the daughter of the nine moon, lanfear, moghedien, suan sanche,
Folks.
I got a question- In going abroad, ie outside “European/American” casting there is a person that is prime for the role of Birgitte. She can totally kick butt, has a martial arts background and is trained in sword fighting. But she is not a blonde valkerie. For some it may be a sticking point, but I figure as long as she has a funky braid, the Wheel can spin out a brunette just as well as a blonde.
General feelings?
Woof™.
Dye her hair, et voila! Problem solved ;)
In all seriousness, this is something that can be applied through the cast, as needed. E.g. it was suggested that AnnaSophia Robb play Egwene. I’m pretty sure Egs has dark hair whilst AnnaSophia is blond. At least she was in the couple of movies I’ve seen her (The Bridge to Te…, The Race to Witch Mt). So in the extremely unlike event that she plays Egs, I’d prefer if she dyed her hair for the role. I won’t be too bothered if she didn’t but I think taking care of such relatively minor details can bode well for the intentions of the producers.
Sorry so far all the casting for loial listed I have noticed so far would be off the mark. First off he is young not old. Height can be ignored with forced perception but he is not even a grown man in his culture. Stop trying to Cast old people for the part he is not even old enough to be married. Think of Loial as someone no older than the Rock when casting infact you can ignore the race of the actor for Loial and focused on a younger tall actor. The rock could pull it off BTW and he is not old as dirt. Truthfully I would like to see someone cast who is young and close to if not taller than 7′ tall less force perception needed. Perrin also cannon be cast as someone of average build or slightly above average athletic build. Have the actor train to bulk up enough to fit the role.
For Loial how about either Igor Vovkovinskiy or Daniel Gilchrist?
I like Kate Beckensale for Lanfear
I think Patrick Stewart would be a great Thom Merrilin. Just get him a good wig and moustachos.
If it takes a year or three until production starts then maybe Valter Skarsgård (the fourth acting brother) would be a good choice for Rand.
I don’t agree with the choice for Lan. I never imagined him or the borderlanders as Asian. I imagined a large, scarred up burly man, like Iain Glen but bulked up. From the hundreds of fan art adaptations I’ve seen, not many other people Invision him as Asian either. I also think Hagrid should stay Hagrid, no one will be able to see past that.
Personally I want Nina Dobrev for Egwene.
“Padan Fain: Oh, you think I’m kidding with Paul Reubens, do you. I’m not.”
No joke. He would fit perfectly.
Lanfear?
For those who do not think an actor of Asian decent should be cast as Lan, I would point out the inside cover of TEotW. In that picture, Lan looks non Aryan. I agree with those above who do not believe it matters what is the ethnicity of the actor who portrays Lan.
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
Not all the cast needs to be white, I think Edward James Olmos from Battlestar Galactica would make a great Tam al’ Thor and as much as I love Jet Li, I doubt he would do television but Daniel Wu from Into the Badlands and Rouge One would be perfect.
So much white on that list. Let’s get some people of color in there, who cares if the book describes a character as white or not? They’re gonna have to change so much to fit it into a box the size of a television set, why not change that stuff too?
Plus, literally none of what we see in the tv series is gonna match up with the adventure that exists in our heads (hell, most of us would disagree on those details anyway). Skin color was mentioned in the books, but only as flavor, it had zero impact on how characters interacted with one another (to the series benefit in my opinion).
What? This close to the hunny and folks peter out? Really?
This is a WoT thread?
:: goes and checks::
Sure enough.
Wow. I break for the NFL draft and chickens.?
::crickets chirping::
Anyways, tying the two together there are a couple of analysts there that I would cast to make the jump to acting, casting for Faile in particular. Can’t post links right now as I am on the mobile version but three ladies fit the bill and two would be perfect.
The other role I am still quibbling on is Tam but having namezheimers right now I am hoping for a memory cue.
The trouble with a lot of the cast is youth, it may have to be some open casting to find younguns’ to fit the role and finding a young heavy shouldered blacksmith is especially hard. Going to have to recruit from the ranks of college football programs for athletes that may minor in drama.
Casting for the White Tower should be very diverse as it draws from all countries so every ethnicity would be represented. As mentioned, Suian is definitely not going to be cast as fair skinned. Fish guts to that.
And to put this series over the top, Oprah for Cadsuane
Woof.
I think Tatiana Maslany from Orphan Black could be an amazing Nynaeve. She can pretty much play any character already, but she’s very pretty in an unconventional way, and can play stubborn quite well. Actually, she could literally play any of the female characters in the series, except Egwene and Elayne, and the clearly older characters like Cadsuane, Amys, and Bair.
The Diversity of the Wheel of time world should allow them to Racebend in casting without it contradicting the Stories.
This will probably be Controversial Opinion but I think one of the ways this series can differentiate itself from the Crowd is to play up its Diversity of races.The World of Wheel of time is such a mix of different Races and Cultures.If they Play it up the show would certainly look different from your standard european Fantasy tvshow.
I would love to see Rand and the Aiel played by an Indian Actors and Actreses. Just Dye their red for a bit of fidelity to source material
Emond Fielders Id like played by Hispanic Actors and Actresses.
Perrin will be the hardest to pick. Your guy looks (facially) like Perrin. But don’t forget, perrins stats are almost exactly what Arnold Schwarzennegers were when he was in prime body building. Not when he was in movies. 6’2″ and about 235. Look up Arnold when he was about 24. That’s what RJ describes. Also, Rand is 6’6″. 6’3″ won’t cut it.
@95. OK, we’re going to have to let slide specific heights. Rand being 6’6″ to be precise. You’re going to quibble on 3 inches?? I’m not sure Hoult is the right guy for the role either, but seriously, that’s why you can’t have him as Rand? Look at what we got with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Logan is supposed to be like 5’3″. Jackman is 6’2″. Can you honestly say he didn’t own that role, even though he’s almost a full foot taller than the comic version? I get that Rand needs to be tall, it’s a defining factor throughout the series. Aiel are super tall, so Rand needs to be too. But, filming can help with heights. Ever notice Tom Cruise’s height? The man is shorter than average, but you don’t really notice in the movies he’s in. There are ways around it.
Same with Perrin. I don’t give a crap if he’s not as big as Arnie back in the 70s. I want good actors, and if the guy is smaller but a great actor, I’d prefer that.
Very good choice for Matrim!
There is only one problem with casting Rufus Sewell as Ishamael. He is the spitting image of Logain in my head when I read the books. In my opinion, keep the actor, just change his role. He is a little villainous, but ends up having the true heart of a hero. I think he would play it perfectly.
I watched 30 days of night years ago and Ben Fosters character always struck me as a Padan Fain type guy. More mentality than actual looks.
I don’t know who this girl is, but since faile’s nose is talked about so much, I think they need someone like this to play her.
http://noseforbeauty.tumblr.com/image/143927831215
Hi all.
I’m going to disagree with all the choices.
Fantasy like this, ( lord of the rings, GOT ) I’m afraid has to be cast with unknowns. For the main characters anyway. And yes they all have British accents. It works. It’s more believable. Chances are it will be shot in Europe so it’s easier. The American mediocre tv show actors would ruin it completely.
The casting for LOR and GOT is outstanding. It’s the way to go.
Fine to have the odd Tilda swintons and Kate beckinsale ( moraine) etc as some of the rest.
some borderlanders are described as having dark skin and tilted eyes so Asian origin could work. But not all borderlanders.
The sea folk are of very dark skin, and possibly the senchan.
rand has to have reddish hair and be at least 6’3
as does lan. Described as a hulking giant.
Just came across this article and wanted to say that Nicholas Hoult is fantastic casting for Rand.
So, you can imagine channeling and fades and forsaken coming back from the dead after thousands of years and trollocs and people who can talk to wolves and the ways and the black wind and mordeth and ravens and rats that are spies and a world inside of dreams. All that youre good with. But a black person in a lead role is too far, huh? Well, you’ve certainly offered up the status quo.
Just came across this thread. I believe that there is a huge missed opportunity here as far as diversity. All of the 2 Rivers people need to be Latino.
I saw an Edward James Olmos as Tam somewhere in the threads and that’s in the right direction. All are described as being dark-haired and dark-eyed. I think RJ was considering black-Irish, but we can tweak that a bit to Latino.
In Baerlon people could start getting a little fairer of skin (like Min), then Andor proper and Caemlyn you get the red-gold haired people (Elayne and Gawayn).
The casting of Asians as Borderlanders is spot on (though Shienar is Japanese, so Ken Watanabe is better for Aglemar or Ingtar).
Lan has too many references to his “steely-blue eyes” though. So you need someone like Jim Caviezel for that role.
As for Padan Fain…Pee Wee Hermon is inspired, however, I present to you: Marlon Wayans as an alternative.
Like your list but I have some favorites of my own.
nynaeve al meara – I would cast Krysten Ritter (jessica jones)
Moraine Domadred – I would cast Rachel Bilson
Lannfear – I can only imagine Gillian Jacobs
Egwaine – Danielle Panabaker (the flash) has the sad eyes needed for all that crying
Min Farshaw – Kesnia Solo (Lost girl)
Siuan Sanche – Julia Styles
Leane Sharif – Rosario Dawson
Rodel Ituralde – Edward James Olmos
Matt Cauthon – Robert Sheehan (Misfits)
@100 – that is perfect.
I think she may be a tad too old, but when I was watching Batman v Superman, I realized that Gal Gadot was exactly the look I imagined for Faile (or maybe her mother). So striking :)
i’m all for diversity but rand has to be red haired and Caucasian.
He has to look a little like the two rivers folk otherwise the story of his actual parentage and tam trying to tell everyone he is his son doesn’t really work otherwise!
Let’s not forget his real mum is a Domandred…. carihenin. So he needs to be in the same kinda aesthetic gene pool as that, andor, and aiel.
Not bad suggestions, but I would choose Jeff Bridges for Elyas, and Sam Elliot for Thom. Thom is more wiry, and Elyas more massive.
I always thought Lan needed to be played by Clive Owen, and Nynaeve by Evangeline Lilly, but I guess they are all too old now. That just goes to show how much of my life these damn crack-books have taken. :-p
So, while I may disagree with most of your choices I have to say that your choice for Padan Fain is spot on. Paul Reubens definitely has the look, and contrary to belief from his days as pee-wee, he his a great actor with a fantastic ability to change character. Just watch him in “BLOW”. Being that Padan has a gift to blend with others and hide his true nature. That makes Paul my top choice for the character. Best of all I never though about it tell I read your post.
You picked a lot of blondes with blue eyes, boring, and wrong all the characters from the two rivers except Rand have dark eyes. It’s mentioned many times in first 5 books particularly the 1st and 2 ed books. And the guy you picked as Rand not how I see him at all. There are some British and Irish actors that I think would be way better for the 3 friends. Remember Matt is a warrior I always picture him as tall and rangy. And Perrin is a big guy that guy is not think he’s closer to Matt. My two cents.
choice for elayne trakand is poor
Liam neeson as lan.
Ron perlman as tam al thor.
And idgaf about the rest haha
I recently jumped into the series, (I know, where have I been), and LOVE Emma Stone for Nynaeve. Also chuckled over Padan Fain, Thom of course is spot on. Great list!
gilbert gottfried as nyneave
Gates Mcfadden as Morgase maybe ?
I found this article after a random Google search as I am currently re-listening to the audio books on my commute.
The main thing that I have to say is this: WHY does everyone have to talk about white-washing as being a thing if the literary material clearly states that the character is white? People wanting to change the race of a character “just because”, or “why not have that character be completely different than described just to add diversity to a cast” is a major problem. It is just a big of a problem as if Disney was to make a live action version of Mulan and cast a black or Native American girl to play Mulan because the actresses attitude and demeanor fit better. At this point no one in their right mind would try to cast Mulan with an actress of any race other than Asian because Mulan is so obviously an Asian character.
The point is, the same goes for WoT. Robert Jordan created a richly diverse world and described his characters, not just for filler or flavor, but to paint the picture of that world and how they dealt with diversity. Changing one character to be a completely different race because you personally feel that RJ should have written them as a different race is completely selfish and an insult to his work. For me, I picture each of his characters in the fashion that he described them. Getting some big named actors to fill roles would be great to draw in some people that have had their lives woefully lacking of WoT, but doing as GoT did and getting a fair margin of the cast to be unknown would probably be better.
All that being said I liked some of Leigh’s choices (Lucy Lawless as Elaida is brilliantly perfect!) but I could see some changes:
I always pictured Michael Fassbender as Lan.
I like Janet Montgomery for Moiraine but I think that Morena Baccarin would be a better fit.
Jullian Moore is absolutely beautiful, but too old for the role or Morgase. Christina Hendricks or Alice Eve though, that would be something! Granted I know it seems that Alice Eve is a little young for the role, but Morgase is supposed to look a lot closer to 30 than the late 30’s she really is due to the little age slowing of the power.
I like Hailee Steinfeld or Kara Hayward for Egwene more than Chloe.
On Perrin, Derek Chadwick could be a good fit; and he has the build of a blacksmith.
For Elayne I would probably go with Katherine McNamara.
I doubt that he would take the role, but could you see Gerard Butler as Tam? I can and I do!
I love Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid but I don’t know about him being Loial.
It’s a bit out there but Allison Scagliotti would actually be great for Nynaeve. She has the humor chops for the role and even though she is in her late 20’s she still looks closer to 19 or 20.
Oh dear god, NO. I hope and pray you have nothing to do with the casting of this show, that no one associated with casting sees or reads this thread. Burn it. Delete it. Make it so it never happened.
See, and now this is just me, but I am of the opinion that Jeremy Irons NEEDS to be in there somewhere. If for no other reason than every single time I read “The Wheel of Time turns and ages come and pass” I always hear it in his voice. Just my opinion
Looove this! I also started the series back in the 90’s and my choices were like, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans (a young Chris Evans), and Mel Gibson as Elyas! Lol I’m re-reading the series again, on TSR now. Still my favorite! I was at Professor Thoms for the release of A Memory of Light. Truly it is my life-long favorite:)
Padan Fain
Should be played by Robert Knepper.
And just to throw my bit in, Kellan Lutz IS Perrin. He may be a bit old but I think they could make it work. My pick for Faile though is undoubtably Meaghan Rath from Being Human. Exactly the way I have always pictured her. And if Sean Bean isn’t cast as Lews Therin I will lose all faith in humanity.
If Jeff Bridges isn’t Tom I’m out.
All in all, some really good choices there. Have to vehemently disagree with who you chose for Loial; in the books hes described as roughly the equivalent age of Rand, Perrin and Mat, possibly even a little younger.
Also, as a weird, out there idea, Jim Carrey as Fain; now hear me out. I know its not his usual fare, but he is someone who we know can pull off the way Fain should be acting; mumbling viciously one moment, then grandly making proclamations the next. Look how he was in A Series of Unfortunate Events, he was able to take a sinister villain and make him downright creepy with his exaggerated expressions and movements. And Fain is meant to be the quintessential bad guy; if he had a moustache in the book, he would’ve spent half the time twirling in.
Don’t know who to choose for Bayle, our gruff river boat caption (who plays important roles later), whos supposed to be built like a brick outhouse. This could be a role we give to Robbie Coltrane.
As for characters in later bookers; I would put Zoë Wanamaker down as Cadsuane; she has that harp clipped, no nonsense voice, and can play strong, quite forceful women already. Also, giving her the grey hair in a bun will give her that ageless look Aes Sedai are famous for
The only sensible Lan is of course Jon Bernthal. =)
I think Idris Elba would be a great Lan. And Ziva from NCIS should be nynaeve
So I’ve been re-reading the series, and re-read the Two Rivers folks as possibly Native/Indigenous due to dark features, long single braid, etc. Additionally, the quote “In the Two Rivers…three or four generations under one roof, including aunts, uncle’s, cousins, and nephews.” So family structure and more balanced gender roles– mayor and wisdom, village council and women’s circle–also contributed to my thinking. That being said…
K. Devery Jacobs as Egwene (https://goo.gl/images/977QHA)
Vanessa Hudgens as Nynaeve
Jason Momoa (if he was younger) as Perrin
KJ Apa (without his hair dyed red) as Mat
This article is boasting diversity and inclusion, but the only representation of that, I’ve seen so far, are 2 asian actors. With that being said, here are a few of my suggestions…
Moiraine: Angela Basset
Lan: Idris Elba
Leane: Aisha Tyler, Tracy Ellis Ross or Jennifer Freeman
Nynaeve: Parisa Fitz henley
Siuan Sanche: Lucy Liu or Gemma Chan
Perrin: Theo James
Ba’alzamon: Joaquin Phoenix
Rand: Brenton Thwaites
Verin: Kathy Bates for sure
I do agree with the suggestions for Mat and Thom and Jeff bridges could even be casted for Tam Al’Thor. I also love the two suggestions for padan fain, their looks hit the mark for sure.
I would prefer to see more diversity when it comes to ethnicity, your list is very caucasian.
Padan Fane – Brad Dourif…….Nuff said!!
Elaida – Helena Bonham Carter…..YUP.
Semirhage – Kate Dickie
Siuan Sanche – Indira Varma……This is a must!!!!
Lan – Keanu Reeves or Joseph Mawle.
All I got for now.
Padan Fain: Johnny Depp has the depth to pull off the full range of personalities of Fain throughout the series. From peddler to kingly demeaner, he could do this part justice.
Thom Merrilin: Jim Carrey could definitely play the thin but tough and diverse character Thom requires. He could play the elder character with the animated story telling and still young enough to play this occasionally very active roll.
@129 Semirhage is black. Like ebony.
Like the rest of your choices though. Always thought Helena Bonham Carter is perfect for Elaida .
All I want is Toby Stephens as Lan