Welcome back to Casting Couch. After a short break, this week sees Marvel’s upcoming Inhumans film joining us for consideration. Perhaps based on the seminal Paul Jenkins/Jae Lee series (as it appears that the concept of Kree/Inhuman relations will be introduced long before this film debuts), we’re going to put it under our ever-critical microscope and see what we come up with.
Black Bolt – Damian Lewis
Black Bolt is both the most difficult and the easiest role in the film. The actor in question doesn’t have to say a word, but they also need to maintain a certain amount of presence, dominance and respect as the head of the Inhuman family. With that in mind, Damian Lewis seems like he’d be a strong fit for the role if only based on his most recent performances on Homeland as the duplicitous Brody. The third season in particular forced Lewis to show quite a bit of range with the character as the character took on the role of looming shadow in the series, which — when mixed with his more outward performances in the earlier seasons — seems like it’d be a good fit for the character of Black Bolt.
Medusa – Rosamund Pike
The true lead of the film, Medusa is the matriarch of the Inhuman family and the one who is supposed to make all the important decisions in lieu of her silent husband. Rosamund Pike is an excellent actress, someone who has hate quite a few roles that all indicate she’s ready for a much bigger one — whether it is this past year’s role in Gone Girl, her scene stealing role in last year’s The World’s End or even her role as Andromeda in Wrath of the Titans. Pike is ready for the big time, and Medusa is the perfect role for that.
Karnak – Rick Yune
Karnak is perhaps the most intelligent character in the entire series, even if the character in comics has recently taken a bit of a turn in the wake of “Inhumanity.” Still, Karnak is a pivotal role, one that needs to be played with confidence, and everything i’ve seen Rick Yune in — particularly the recent Man with the Iron Fists or Olympus Has Fallen — indicates to me that he’d be a great fit for the character. It’d also allow him to perhaps break out of the mold that he ostensibly is in.
Gorgon – Gerard Butler
Gorgon is a bit of a bruiser, perhaps the bruiser of the Inhuman family, but we’d still want someone to play him with a fair deal of nuance and intimacy. Seeing as Gerard Butler has yet to step into the Marvel Arena (which is a bit surprising, honestly), I imagine Gorgon would be a good fit for him — a character that can express the rage we’ve see Butler display in movies like 300 but also perhaps some of the charm Butler whips out when he does a romantic comedy every other year. Butler has an incredible range, all things considered, and that range could be put to great use in the role of Gorgon.
Triton – Rodrigo Santoro
Triton is perhaps the most subtle of all the Inhuman roles, as the character is never quite in the spotlight and is yet never the less important to the group. Somewhere in between Karnak and Gorgon, Triton needs an actor that can bring a fair sense of regality to the role — and who better to do this than Rodrigo Santoro? We know that he can bring power to stance based on his performance in the 300 films as Xerxes, but in film’s like Che or There Be Dragons we’ve seem him pull powerful performances out of small roles. Triton could be a great fit for him and an option to get somewhere between the bombastic Xerxes and Raul Castro.
Crystal – Emily Browning
The role of Crystal pretty much has to be done in tandem with Medusa as the two are siblings, and one of the things about Crystal is that she needs to somewhat be a foil to Medusa. So with Rosamund Pike in the lead, Emily Browning feels like a good fit to challenge her as the younger and more impetuous sister. Browning is an actress who has gotten some chances to be great (God Help the Girl and Lemony Snicket) but not enough chances to really prove herself as an actress. Yet, we know that she’s good as an action star (Sucker Punch), and given the arc that the character has in the comics, I imagine that this would be a great fit for her.
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Maximus the Mad – Wes Bentley
Maximus the Mad is like Loki, which works well for Marvel because they can just re-write Loki’s part for this film. However, unlike Loki, Maximus’ actions are not done because of destiny and rather because he’s that crazy — so we essentially need someone to do what Hiddleston did with less pathos and more chaos. Wes Bentley is pretty much perfect for that, having really grown out of the Ricky Fitts role and into much bigger and bolder roles that allow him to take on quite a strange range of characters. His recent role in Interstellar was what really sold me, but then when he appeared in American Horror Story it just sort of clicked that Bentley could be the perfect person to take on Maximus; as long as he really ramps up the crazy and entitled anger.
Woz – Said Taghmaoui
Woz is perhaps a forgotten Inhuman role, but he’s pivotal to Maximus’ plot in the Jenkins/Lee book. While it’s not a role that really carries on as the others do, we’d still want someone sharp to take on the task — and if you’ve been watching The Missing lately than you know Said Taghmaoui is great for the part of someone who feels abused by a system. Taghmaoui is such an accomplished actor, though, especially if we go back to his earlier work on things like La Haine (which is incredible, if you’ve never seen it), that it’s clear he just needs a breakout role. Taking on the inherent villain of the film (for those that don’t realize that a guy subtitled “the Mad” is the real bad guy) would allow Taghmaoui a nice platform to play the crazy and unlucky Woz.
Carthus – Cliff Curtis
Last but not least, Carthus is perhaps another forgotten Inhuman role, but you really can’t have the Jenkins/Lee story without him as its him that accidentally sets everything on its path. And while it’s a small role, Cliff Curtis is someone that could perhaps fill it well; Curtis is an actor who often finds himself in smaller roles, but his television work like Trauma or Missing certainly shows that he’s not lacking in talent. Carthus is perhaps the least boastful role here, but if we want an actor who is good at this sort of role, Curtis definitely can do it and do it with some gravitas.
