The Hobbit : Dream Cast

[Gwathagor]

"Tennis balls, my liege."

Christian Bale would be good as Bard, too, but I think we should try to stick with obscure British actors and avoid the really popular fellows, though I have a great deal of respect for Christian Bale (who was also good in Henry V).

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by WCH

You missed Blessed's star turn as Exeter in Henry V? Grim, intimidating, and horrendously strong.

Well, if that was the Brannagh film, I have seen it, but cannot now recall the Blessed performance.

My main recollection of Brian Blessed, I am afraid, is as King of the Hawkmen in Flash, the King in Blackadder the First, and in other similar roles involving him being hale and hearty and shouting a lot. More recently, I have only seen him in occasional television appearances (as himself), involving him being an outrageous luvvie and, er, shouting a lot.

I see Beorn as being a more subtle character than I am used to from Blessed. While he has his moments of merriment, he is first encountered as a grim and dour man whom Gandalf paints as rather fearsome. I could never find jolly old shouty Brian Blessed fearsome.

Added to that, he is something like 70 years old now and, while make-up and SFX can do wonders, that may be a bit of a stretch for Beorn.

Don't get me wrong. I have a great soft spot for Brian Blessed. But, as far as LotR is concerned, he will always be the Bombadil that never was to me.

[Sauron the White]

Saucepan ... Blessed is a mountain climber who is in great physical shape. But his age is a fact that cannot be denied. Perhaps that makes him a stronger candidate for Thorin Oakenshield rather than Beorn.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

Well, if that was the Brannagh film, I have seen it, but cannot now recall the Blessed performance.

My main recollection of Brian Blessed, I am afraid, is as King of the Hawkmen in Flash, the King in Blackadder the First, and in other similar roles involving him being hale and hearty and shouting a lot. More recently, I have only seen him in occasional television appearances (as himself), involving him being an outrageous luvvie and, er, shouting a lot.

I see Beorn as being a more subtle character than I am used to from Blessed. While he has his moments of merriment, he is first encountered as a grim and dour man whom Gandalf paints as rather fearsome. I could never find jolly old shouty Brian Blessed fearsome.

Added to that, he is something like 70 years old now and, while make-up and SFX can do wonders, that may be a bit of a stretch for Beorn.

Don't get me wrong. I have a great soft spot for Brian Blessed. But, as far as LotR is concerned, he will always be the Bombadil that never was to me.

I agree completely!

Blessed is ace, but he's just TOO obvious. It would be like casting Sean Connery as Gandalf in my mind. He looks and sounds the part but his Brian Blessed-ness would overwhelm the role. Beorn is too serious a character for Blessed who is more suited to Tom.

However I also think Alan Rickman is too obvious for Smaug, having been typecast in such roles just as Brian Blessed has, and I'm gunning all out for Richard Wilson.

If Ricky Gervais rears his ugly smug face again I'm doing a boycott.

[zxcvbn]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Blessed is ace, but he's just TOO obvious. It would be like casting Sean Connery as Gandalf in my mind. He looks and sounds the part but his Brian Blessed-ness would overwhelm the role. Beorn is too serious a character for Blessed who is more suited to Tom.

Why is he 'more suited to Tom'? Because his previous roles have been 'less serious'? A good actor's strength is in being able to handle different types of roles, and Blessed, I think, has enough experience to do a serous role. For example take Ben Kingsley who played both a saint(Gandhi) and a great sinner(Don Logan in 'City of God') amazingly well.

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

However I also think Alan Rickman is too obvious for Smaug, having been typecast in such roles just as Brian Blessed has, and I'm gunning all out for Richard Wilson.

I'm tired of hearing this 'typecast' nonsense. How the public percieves an actor doesn't affect his performance. I repeat, A good actor's strength is in being able to handle different types of roles. And in my opinion anybody who sees an ctor in a film who's previously played a memorable role and sees ONLY those earlier roles throughout the film isn't really paying attention to the film at all.

[Sauron the White]

zxcvbn does have a very good point in reminding us that a good actor should be able to handle different roles. I do think that there are some actors who are so completely identified with a role or a sound (of their voice) that it would be quite a handicap to cast them in HOBBIT. Imagine James Earl Jones as the voice of Smaug. What is the first observation that is going to me made by a good percentage of the film audience? "That is the voice of Darth Vader".

I do not think Blessed has that type of liability. First of all, and sad for me to admit, he has almost no visibility at all in the States. So there is no stereotype at all for him to live up to or live down. But Blessed is so amazingly perfect for either a Dwarve - Thorin I would hope - or Beorn that it would be a great tragedy if he were not offered on of those roles.

[zxcvbn]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

zxcvbn does have a very good point in reminding us that a good actor should be able to handle different roles. I do think that there are some actors who are so completely identified with a role or a sound (of their voice) that it would be quite a handicap to cast them in HOBBIT. Imagine James Earl Jones as the voice of Smaug. What is the first observation that is going to me made by a good percentage of the film audience? "That is the voice of Darth Vader".

That would indeed be the initial impression. But unless the viewer is shallow minded, he/she will be able to get over that initial recollection and enjoy the rest of his performance on its own merits. They won't think 'Ah! Darth Vader is talking.' for the entire duration of the film.

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

I do not think Blessed has that type of liability. First of all, and sad for me to admit, he has almost no visibility at all in the States. So there is no stereotype at all for him to live up to or live down. But Blessed is so amazingly perfect for either a Dwarve - Thorin I would hope - or Beorn that it would be a great tragedy if he were not offered on of those roles.

Likewise. I say Thorin Oakenshield.

[Sauron the White]

If Jackson needs an actor to play a much younger Aragorn in some scenes of the bridge movie, he would do well to check out Taylor Kitsch who plays Tim Riggins on the excellent TV series FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS in the US. Although he was born in 1981, he plays a high school senior on the show and his ability to underplay scenes is amazing. He acts from much the same school as Viggo Mortensen. Plus he has the facial structure to make him believable as a young Aragorn.

www.taylorkitsch.net

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by zxcvbn

Why is he 'more suited to Tom'? Because his previous roles have been 'less serious'? A good actor's strength is in being able to handle different types of roles, and Blessed, I think, has enough experience to do a serous role. For example take Ben Kingsley who played both a saint(Gandhi) and a great sinner(Don Logan in 'City of God') amazingly well.

I'm tired of hearing this 'typecast' nonsense. How the public percieves an actor doesn't affect his performance. I repeat, A good actor's strength is in being able to handle different types of roles. And in my opinion anybody who sees an ctor in a film who's previously played a memorable role and sees ONLY those earlier roles throughout the film isn't really paying attention to the film at all.

I know full well that Brian Blessed can do all kinds of roles, I've seen 'em I simply think he would be altogether too obvious for Beorn, a character who I think deserves some more subtle casting as his is a subtle and intriguing character.

And typecasting is important in this context as it will be an ensemble cast in an ensemble piece. Someone like Alan Rickman could play any role very similar to those he has already notably played and get away with it were he to have the whole film in which to develop that role. But he wouldn't in The Hobbit so it would stick out like a sore thumb.

And besides, Richard Wilson would be the better Smaug anyway.

And the endless "I don't belieeeeve it!" jokes that would follow would be good fodder for Crazy Captions...

[Hookbill the Goomba]

If I had my way, the Film poster would look something like this...