You have my vote.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
I might would endorse another Brit (I think) that has been mentioned before: Daniel Day Lewis. Yes, I know that his look off of the screen is a little weird but boy can he transform himself for a role. I would definitely prefer him over Hugh Laurie.
(At the moment, my top choice would probably still be Viggo Mortenson after watching Eastern Promises. And, no, it is not because of his nude fighting scene.)
To me having Laurie as Roland would be like the Rick Moranis Darth Vader parody in Spaceballs. I realise he can act, and pull off Rolands 'sense of humour' but he is in no way someone who the tet could look up to, he's in no way a father figure, he's in no way intimidating, he's a camp little English man, Roland is the hardest mofo ever created in the world of literature and you want Hugh Laurie????????? the bad ass side of Roland is what would sell the films/series to outsiders, he is the archetypal anti-hero, its the side of Roland that everyone throughout the series reacts to first and foremost. Laurie cannot pull this off. Tull for example would be rubbish ''thats Hugh Laurie JUST KICK HIS ASS YOU PUSSYS'' would be my first thought. Ive seen some House and he's good in it, but this is far far beyond him. Do you honestly think that Hugh Laurie would be better than Daniel Day-Lewis (I salute you sir).
i think it's a matter of not settling for what i've seen as far as his casting has gone. before Natural Born Killers I'd have scoffed at the idea of Woody Harrelson being intimidating. Now I can't say that. There is more to Hugh Laurie then what he has played to date. What is intimidating? Physical size? Viggo ain't that big, neither is Daniel Day Lewis, or a lot of the other people mentioned. So what makes Viggo intimidating, that we have seen him play intimidating? I won't vote someone out bc they never played a role like this before. I'm telling you, put two blazing revolvers in his hand and he'll be no less intimidating than anyone else. Think outside what you've seen him as in the past. It's Hugh Laurie the actor, not Dr. House, or any other role I want.
I completely agree - and I'm one who knew him from Blackadder first. When House was first advertised, I didn't even recognize Hugh Laurie. The sound was muted (commercial) and no actor's name was shown, so I had no idea. Imgaine my surprise when I realized who was playing House*.
*Insert sex joke here (insert next sex joke here and to infinity because I used the phrase "insert sex").
Last edited by Woofer; 02-27-2008 at 05:53 AM. Reason: Typo.
It'll take a lot more than words and guns,
A whole lot more than riches and muscle.
The hands of the many must join as one.
And together we'll cross the river.
Puscifer, "The Humbling River"
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
Yo R of G, been waiting for you, hehe, your right -Robin Williams in One Hour Photo, even Heath as Joker spring to mind, but playing a phsycho killer is a bit different, casting someone you wouldnt expect almost helps that kind of role, it makes it more creepy (Hopkins -Lambs). Yes im basing my opinion of Day-Lewis and Viggo on what they have done before -fantastic work, embody the character, what else can you do other than guess. Your basing your opinion on Laurie 'the actor' solely on House (sorry but its the only thing he's done that you mention) When I see Day-Lewis in anything I see the character not the actor.
I dont mean intimidating in a buff physical sense, its something intangible that Eastwood, De Niro, Brando, Day-Lewis, and Viggo all have and we know it - Its the difference between Elvis Presley and Cliff Richards.
Hmmmmm Daniel Day-Lewis as Roland...interesting. I've never even thought of him before...I'll have to mull that one over a bit and get back to you whether or not thats the right opinion.
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
Well yes in terms of legacy. Day Lewis is always intense to me Gangs Of New York and There Will Be Blood are amazing performances, his name will be more than comfortable in that company by the time his career is over, no doubt.
I see, so thats how its going to be...
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah
i agree in principle, but until you cast someone in a role it's hard to tell what they can and can't do by looking at them. also, both elvis and richards sucked as actors. i don't know that we'd have seen it in Viggo had he not gotten some good roles where he could show it. btw, i did also see Laurie in the remake of Flight of the Phoneix. again, i thought he was very good. when it comes down to it, this is why i like the idea of casting uknowns so there are no preconceived notions of who can and can't do what. [the real truth is that i am against the idea of it being made into a movie but can't help play casting speculation games]. could you handle an animated roland voiced by hugh laurie?
I didnt mean Elvis and Cliff as actors it was meant as an analogy of the difference between Day-Lewis and Laurie.
Im against a film as well but damn i could do this all day. And Laurie isnt an unknown. Ive had an awful thought - with JJ Abrams attached to this theres every possibility that Matthew fucking Fox could get the part and play Roland nooooooooooooooooooooooooo- Give me Laurie now!
Also guys I apologise but I havent figured out how to quote y'all yet.
Unknowns would be best, no doubt about it. A cast of unknowns would also be more likely to see the series through to the end. The story and concept markets itself as far as Im concerned. Lord Of The Rings didnt have 'major' stars, just good solid actors, they were successful because they were fantastic films- look at how quickly The Golden Compass dissapeared - which is a prime example of how badly this could turn out.
Personal niggles aside, its still an amazing piece of work, being an editor myself I can understand your problems with that aspect - as far as the writing goes, I was just pleased to have a fantasy story that was taken seriously and given weight.
overall i liked it and was happy with it, but a lot of it still rubs me the wrong way only bc of what was omitted and what was created from whole cloth in its place. it's what i fear with a DT movie as well. taking things out i understand, but putting in "new material" is unacceptable at the expense of real material
Your fears cant be helped with the 'trilogy only' rumours circulating, I cant fathom how that would be done without cutting the heart and soul from the entire story.
Well, Gangs Of New York was a great film (I haven't seen the other film), but I don't see him or Viggo as equally intense as the others you mentioned. But, I mean it's all subjective I suppose. I just can't see it though.
All of us today can agree on one thing though; we'd rather they not make a DT movie at all.
No movie, but a full-cast, audio drama with sound effects...
"It's his eyes, Roland thought. They were wide and terrible, the eyes of a dragon in human form" - Roland seeing the Crimson King for the first time.
"When the King comes and the Tower falls, sai, all such pretty things as yours will be broken. Then there will be darkness and nothing but the howl of Discordia and the cries of the can toi" - From Song of Susannah