Welcome back to Multiversity’s Casting Couch! We’re a day late, but assuredly not a dollar short. We had some problems because we originally wanted to cast Planetary (which we declare COMPLETELY unfilmable in any way, shape, or form) and instead turned to a book that is repeatedly recommended, pushed, praised, and glorified here at Multiversity Comics: Phonogram!
Now, casting Phonogram was tough. Since myself and guest writer Jessica Graham insist on staying accurate, we had to cast people who were around the same age as the characters, and they all had to be British. What made it tough was that despite the fact that I say “blokes” and occasionally spell things with a u, we live on the other side of the pond, thus making our knowledge of good British actors limited to sitcoms we watch on BBC America. So forgive our day lateness. We’ve assembled a cast that we believe in, and hopefully you will enjoy their antics “on screen” as much as we have.
Also, Kieron and Jamie – if you read this and our casting has offended you, we apologize! We hope you at least give us credit for not casting any American people to try and fake an accent for two hours.
David Kohl – Sam RileySam Riley had a tremendous turn and effect on us in the role of Ian Curtis in the film
Control. A truly exceptional performance in a heartbreaking film, he’s one of the few people we felt could play the original Phonomancer that won our hearts in Rue Britannia. He hasn’t been in a lot since, but honestly, after a performance like that we’re sure he could play David Kohl. We also highly look forward to his role in
On The Road (despite the rest of the cast making us cringe a bit).
As a side note, the film Control even appeared in a Phonogram b-side for the second volume, where Indie Dave called the film “brilliant.”
And as an additional note, while we did use McKelvie’s artwork for all the other characters, I couldn’t resist posting a quick scene from my favorite b-side story written by Kid-With-Kinfe that recaps the adventures of Rue Brittania. Hilarious!
Penny B – Georgia MoffettEver since I saw that one episode of
Doctor Who, I’ve loved Georgia Moffett. In my own words, she’s the British Kristen Bell. So who better to play the role of Penny B, a character full of life and energy who literally embodies the happy persona than Georgia Moffett, who came out of a cloning tube all smiles with a “Hello, dad” to the Doctor? I’ve always wanted the opportunity to put Moffett in something and see more of her, so giving her the role of Penny B is me finally being able to do so.
As a side note, she’s dating David Tennant, so maybe we can get him to do a cameo!
Laura Evans/Laura Heaven – Kathryn PrescottLaura Evans is the darker half of Penny B, where Penny is all that is light and happy and bouncy and Laura (despite her self adorned nickname) is the darker and more “villainous” Phonomancer. We thought long and hard about it and eventually turned to the cast of
Skins to pick up Kathryn Prescott. Prescott gives us a very Laura-ish vibe in her looks, especially when compared to Georgia Moffett. If anyone could hopefully provide a good foil, it’d be her.
Lee Mark Latham/the Marquis – Nicholas HoultWhen Jess first suggested to me Hoult, I said, “the kid from
About A Boy?!” But upon reconsideration, Hoult has the appropriate age factor as well as looks to pull of the Marquis. While Hoult will be younger than most of the cast, we’re hoping that make up could make him look a bit older in order to allow him the ability to pull off the role. I mean, he’ll be playing Beast in
X-Men: First Class, so we can only assume playing a hipster can’t be too tough, right?
Continued below
Besides, we couldn’t actually cast Patrick Wolf here.
The Girl – Abbie CornishThe Girl was admittedly one of the harder people to cast. Abbie Cornish has done some good work in the past, such as in
Elizabeth and
Candy, so despite the fact that she’s Australian and not British we felt she could fill this role. While Cornish does push the age limits with her relation to Marquis/Hoult, the nice thing is that Cornish matches the Girl with her facial features. Here’s hoping she can pull off being Polish and crazy/irresistible.
Lloyd/Mr. Logos – Skander KeynesOh Lloyd. One of the darker characters clearly created on obvious stereotypes, Lloyd is easily one of the most entertaining characters in Phonogram due to his issue being so clearly
his issue. We had to work hard to get someone who we thought could fill those shoes and we chose Edmund Pevensie from the
Narnia films. You might remember Edmund as the younger brother who betrayed everyone in the first
Narnia movie. Channel that misguided angst and rebellion, and we hope to have our Mr. Logos and his magical zines.
Keynes will also be the youngest member of the cast, younger than even Hoult, but we’re hoping that it won’t hinder the believability of the story, especially when Keynes is looking so much like Lloyd these days.
Seth Bingo – Joseph DempsieWe know Joseph Dempsie from
Skins and the same episode of
Doctor Who that Georgia Moffett is from. He’s also had a role in
The Damned United and will appear in the upcoming HBO show
Game of Thrones. I say to you, though – look at this picture of Dempsie. He is ready to play Seth Bingo.
Silent Girl – Daisy LoweDaisy Lowe is not an actress. The only reason we know who Daisy Lowe overseas is because she’s dating Matt Smith, making her the second Doctor girlfriend to appear in our casting. The reason we like Daisy Lowe is a) due to her relationship with Smith and b) due to her modeling career and inherent hipster-ness, we feel she could pull off the role of
Silent Girl. Now, while Silent Girl isn’t actually silent, it would give Lowe the opportunity to ease her way from modeling to acting (as we know models sometimes like to do). When paired with Dempsie as the DJs, it should work well.
Emily Aster – Gemma ArtertonYou may or may not know Gemma Arterton. She was in
Quantom Of Solace as Strawberry Fields and
RockNRolla as June. Heck, you might even know her from
Prince of Persia or
Clash of the Titans. Gemma Arterton seems like a very nice person, but Emily Aster is a bitch. However, Arterton played quite an outrageous character in the film
St. Trinians (pictured here). Thanks to her time as Kelly Opposum Jones, we feel like Gemma can do a good job as Emily Aster, the eternal scene queen.
Kid-With-Knife – Charlie HunnamKid-With-Knife was the
hardest character to cast. We’re not entirely sure why he gave us such a hard time, but he did. We went through so many movies and shows scouring cast members, and just couldn’t do it. We needed someone who could match with Sam Riley as Kohl, both acting-chops wise and age-wise. Then we accidentally remembered
Green Street Hooligans and Elijah Wood’s right hand man, Pete Dunham. The debate was over. Charlie Hunnam took the role due to his ability, looks, and age. You may recognize him now from
Sons of Anarchy, but to us he’ll always be that really crazy guy from
Cold Mountain or Lloyd from Judd Apatow’s
Undeclared, and if you give him a nice shave and a hair cut so he’s Pete Dunham, he’ll be Kid-With-Knife.
