I think this may be the most difficult Top 5 Wednesday post I’ve had to do so far. For anyone (like me, at first) who didn’t know, a fancast is when a fan decides who they would like to play certain characters if there were going to be a film version. I am so out-of-date when it comes to current actors/actresses that it’s really hard for me to cast anyone. If a film version already exists, I tend to get pretty stuck on the first version of the character I see, so it would even be tough for me to re-cast characters! As I started to dig further into it, I realized three more big challenges:
1) I actually pay very little attention to how characters are supposed to look while reading, so it was hard for me to remember what characters from most of my books looked like unless there was something particularly distinctive about them
2) I tend to find a lot of mainstream actors look pretty much the same, and because I pay so little attention to how characters are meant to look, it’s tough to find someone specific to fulfill a role
3) I have very, very limited knowledge of actors and actresses of colour, so there were certain roles that I wanted to cast, but I literally could not think of anyone. I think a big part of this is just my own lack of knowledge of recent actors/actresses, but it might also be a sign that we need more diversity in the field. Not only that, but it is also very difficult to find any actresses who are plus-sized (I’m not sure if the same is true for men, since I happened not to look for any).
Top 5 Wednesday is a meme created by Gingerreadslainey on Youtube, and is now hosted by Sam at ThoughtsOnTomes. The official GoodReads group with the weekly topics can be found here.
1) Liam Aiken as Bobby Pendragon (The Pendragon series by DJ MacHale)
I realize that some of the casting choices I make here are probably for people who are outside of the appropriate age range for the character. I originally thought of Asa Butterfield for this role, and I think he would also make a great choice but I slightly prefer Liam Aiken. Part of the appeal of the Pendragon series was seeing the character evolve as he grew up, following him from age 14 until he was about 18 or so, if I remember correctly. I think Liam Aiken would have been a great actor to grow up with the character, and he also has the look I have in mind based on the cover art for the series. The picture shown here is a few years old already, but given that Liam is now 27, it would have made more sense to cast him when he was younger.
2) Elle Fanning as Cress (The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer)
To be honest, I saw this choice while looking at other blogs and videos today to try to get a bit more of a pool of current actors, but I think Elle Fanning is the perfect choice for this character. Aside from already having the long, flowing hair, Elle has this kind of wide-eyed innocence that I think would suit Cress so well. Cress has spent so much of her time isolated on her satellite that she does not necessarily fully understand how to interact with other people, but she is also a talented hacker. I think Elle could bring a great balance to that role. I really, really wanted to find someone to cast as Cinder, but I just couldn’t think of any Chinese or Chinese-American actresses that I was familiar enough with the choose.
3) Amandla Stenberg or Reiya Downs as Natasha (The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon)
This might be a bit of a weird choice in a way because Amandla Stenberg just played Maddie in the film version of Nicola Yoon’s Everything, Everything. Is it weird to cast the same actor in two stories by the same author? When I read this book recently, Amandla was pretty much the image I had in mind for the character. Natasha is an undocumented immigrant who is at risk of being deported back to Jamaica. Amandla is a very talented actress who I think would be great in this role. I also really like Reiya Downs (an actress who portrays Shay on Degrassi) could be another great choice. Both of these actresses are the same age and I think would be great fits for the role.
4) Tom Hiddleston as Ballister Blackheart (Nimona by Noelle Stevenson)
I think this a book that needs to be made into a film version at some point, although it would probably work better as an animated movie than a live action one. The look of this character reminds me so much of Loki in the Avengers movies that I couldn’t help but pick Tom Hiddleston, but specifically with his Loki look. This is another case where I would have loved to cast another character, but couldn’t find anyone that fit! I wanted to pick someone to play the hilarious Nimona, but couldn’t find any actresses at all who would have the right look. I also have no idea who I would pick if this book was turned into an animated movie instead.
5) Stacy Farber as Kady Grant (Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff)
I’m not actually sure how much of a fit this one is image-wise, but the more I thought about this choice, the more Stacy Farber came to mind. I first saw her on Degrassi, where she played one of my favourite characters and I think Stacy Farber is a great actress who could bring a lot to this role. Kady is a skilled hacker and comes across as quite tough and sarcastic, but with an underlying softer side. I think Stacy would be a great choice because on Degrassi, she’s already proven her skill for managing a similar character. I also really like the fact that she’s a lesser-known actress, since sometimes it’s easier to relate to characters when you aren’t so hung up on which major star is playing them.
Abyssal Librarian 