To go with our massive interview from earlier today with the creative team of Vertigo’s “The Unwritten,” Mike Carey and Peter Gross, we’re throwing down a Casting Couch special edition that focuses on this superb series. It’s been one of our favorites since it launched, and it’s about time we got to casting an adaptation of it.
You can find our theoretical cast after the jump.
This first film that we’re casting will be for the first two trades, with each movie handling roughly that many trades from there.
Director – Alfonso Cuaron
Yeah, this is our second time going with Cuaron, but man, the guy has such a gift and we could easily see his aesthetic mashing up with the concepts and storytelling of this series. We can’t even imagine how magical he’d make it, but the good news is with this, we wouldn’t have to imagine it. He’d do it for us.
Tom Taylor – Ben Barnes
To be honest, I haven’t seen Barnes in anything save Stardust. However, Matt assured me that he was the most premium choice of the suggestions submitted by our casting guru Jess. And to be honest, he perfectly fits the age and look for the character, and from what I’ve seen he is someone that has the natural characteristics that Taylor shows throughout the series.
Lizzie Hexam – Anna Kendrick
In my first interview with Carey and Gross, they said they originally envisioned Lizzie as a librarian type before they realized she sort of came out looking like Sarah Palin. We came out with a range of names, but the one that seemed to match the look of the character the most was Kendrick, who, as an Oscar nominee and a rising star of the industry, is more than just fit in terms of looks. We think she’d be a perfect compliment to Barnes’ Taylor.
Richard Savoy – Ben Foster
The third man of Taylor and Hexam’s trinity, Savoy is a bit of a wild card. When we first meet him, he’s put himself in prison so he can get to Tom’s story. Who does that? To be honest, it totally seems like something a Ben Foster character would do, and as soon as Matt suggested him, I was all onboard. Of course, it helps quite a bit that they look incredibly similar as well. Foster is a perennial scene stealer, and with the tasty role of Savoy, we think he could be a huge highlight of this first film…and only growing as the series moves along.
Pullman – Ray Winstone
We talked about a lot of actors here, but ultimately Winstone won out because of the physicality this role would demand. Pullman is the villain of this story, and he is a brutal monster of a man, as well as someone who could can control the wills of incredibly powerful men. Winstone has proven himself as someone capable of handling roles just like this in the past, but we think this could be the best effort he’s had yet. With Winstone embodying Pullman, this could be a grand villain indeed.
Wilson Taylor – Tom Wilkinson
The man who pulls the strings of everyone involved in many ways, Wilson is the mechanic and the man driving everything from afar. He’s a guy who has a ton of power in every appearance, and you’ll need someone who can convey the fierce intelligence and cutthroat nature of the character. Cue Wilkinson, an incredible actor who deserves far more acclaim from your average movie watcher. This role probably wouldn’t do that for him, but they would highlight the things that Wilkinson does well. Every second he’d be on screen, he’d kill.
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Frankenstein’s Monster – Rory McCann
If you’ve seen Hot Fuzz, you know McCann easily can fill the physical needs of this role. But anyone who has seen Game of Thrones knows he’s a guy who isn’t just a physical brute but someone who can express a lot with small expressions and looks. For the fictional monster who guides Tom on occasion, McCann would stand out in ways not just related to size.
Governor Chadron – Mathieu Kassovitz
The man from Munich and Amelie perhaps might seem a little young for the role, but at 45, he’s actually right in the sweet spot. As the warden of the French prison Tom gets thrown into whose life takes a decidedly shocking turn upon his arrival, we think he’d add the gravitas and humanity to the role it so desperately would need.
Mr. Bunn – Gary Oldman (voice)
This was a hard one to cast, because who could possibly play this incredible character? So how about this? How about the incredible talents of Oldman, the chameleonic actor who earned his first Oscar nomination this past year for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy? Mr. Bunn at his core is a gangster named Pauly Bruckner, and we think Oldman would be the absolute champ of bringing his duplicitous, rage-filled id to life. Would it happen? Probably not. Should it happen? Definitely.
