Cast the Characters of Trek Literature

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by Haval_Runa, Apr 10, 2006.

  1. Brefugee

    Brefugee No longer living the Irish dream. Premium Member

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    Personally I can't, but that's just my opinion.
     
  2. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Who's Lalla Rousse? The actress under discussion is named Laila Rouass.
     
  3. ClayinCA

    ClayinCA Commodore Commodore

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    And that was clearly a misspelling.
     
  4. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    And that was clearly a rhetorical device on my part.
     
  5. ClayinCA

    ClayinCA Commodore Commodore

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    My mistake; I thought it was you splitting hairs, as per usual.
     
  6. Zatoichi

    Zatoichi Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    Finished “Precipice” not too long—great novel, by the way—and I came up with a few ideas of my own regarding casting. I’d cruised a bit through the forum and was plenty surprised to read the impressions of others. Even Mack’s inspirations seemed way different than anything I’d imagined! At any rate, here’s a few of my ideas.


    Heihachiro Nogura – Someone suggested Mifune—who I’m a really big fan of—but I couldn’t see it. Nogura always came to my mind as someone wiry, possessing a lot of energy, and still pretty damn intimidating. I was thinking Tadanobu Asano. Maybe if Nogura were older I could see him as Toshiro Mifune.


    Diego Reyes – Diego doesn’t strike me as someone who stands out, but still has some suave. Somehow actors from old ‘50s films always come to mind when I think of Reyes, like Gregory Peck.


    Ming Xiong – Figured him slight but sharp, like Andy Lau.
     
  7. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Right before it came out STM had an excerpt from Open Secrets, which used I belive used Mako as a basis for an image of Nogura. Ever since then I haven't been able to picture anyone else in the role.
     
  8. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Yeah -- Mako is my Nogura now. I used to go with James Shigeta, who played Nogura in a fan film I read about in Starlog once, and who I think was considered for the role in an early part of the TMP or Phase II development process. But Mako is a much better idea.

    Now if only Dave or Dayton and Kevin would write a scene where Nogura says the word "samurai"... or speaks lovingly about tea...
     
  9. Rosalind

    Rosalind TrekLit's Dr Rose Mod Admiral

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    oh, no, not Andy Lau, I can't see him playing an idealistic young man who joined Starfleet to seek out new life and new civilizations.

    btw, was it ever said which way is Ming Xiong's name written? Same goes with Captain Zhao Sheng of the Endeavour, what's his family name? Because Zhao is a very very common Chinese surname, but Sheng is fairly common too. With Ming Xiong, either can be a surname, but neither is a common surname. I gathered from the books that Xiong is the surname, but then I think Zhao Sheng was called Captain Zhao in the books? or was I imagining things because of my preconception?
     
  10. Zatoichi

    Zatoichi Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    @Rosalind

    I dunno, seems to me Xiong's been growing a little less wonderstruck as the series moves on. But I can see what you mean.
     
  11. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    SVU fan chiming in here: how about B.D. Wong?
     
  12. Rosalind

    Rosalind TrekLit's Dr Rose Mod Admiral

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    I think my perception of Andy Lau is firmly grounded in the gambling movies he did and then recently his performance on stage as a singer.

    I haven't watched anything by this guy, so I can't say. Besides, I don't have a very good image of what Xiong is like, and I rarely picture the characters when I read.
     
  13. captcalhoun

    captcalhoun Admiral Admiral

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    oh, i do. it all plays out in my head like a trillion dollar movie. that's why i love books.
     
  14. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Same here, which is why I try to cast as many characters as I possibly can. It makes it easier for me to "watch the movie".
    I feel like I should recognize that reference, but it's not coming to me.
    Whenever I think of Mako, I think of the different roles he played in M*A*S*H. I know I've seen him in alot of other good stuff, but I love M*A*S*H* so they've always stuck with me.
     
  15. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    The former is to his voice role as the villain Aku (and the main title narrator) on Samurai Jack; the latter is to his final role, Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
     
  16. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Here's a Wiki page about his SVU character.
     
  17. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Ah, never seen either of those. Although I do have the first season of Avatar waiting in my Netflix Watch Instantly queue.
     
  18. Csalem

    Csalem Commodore Commodore

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    Rarely when I'm reading a book can I 'cast' an actor in a role, but for some reason I always picture Edison Chen (who played the young Andy Lau in the Infernal Affairs saga) for Ming Xiong.

    I always thought the way he played the character in IA2 is the way Ming Xiong comes across in the books.

    As for Andy Lau, I don't really rate him as an actor. Sorry :(
     
  19. snakespeare

    snakespeare Commander Red Shirt

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    Of course, most people would probably say Lucy Liu with pointed ears. In my imagination she looks like Ezri with longer hair. Are you keeping it to yourself, Chris, or did you have a particular actress in mind? Perhaps Maggie Q?
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    What?? No, totally the wrong type for T'Ryssa. Profoundly the wrong type. That'd be like casting Leonard Nimoy as Chekov.

    Although Lucy Liu does happen to be more or less my mental model for the leading lady in my story "The Hub of the Matter" which will be in the March issue of Analog.


    No, she's not the right type either. Don't think glamorous and striking, think cute and tomboyish.

    And I didn't have a particular actress in mind, no. I have a mental image of her, but it's not based on any single person.

    Actually, after seeing Liza Lapira in a bigger role in a recent Dollhouse -- and seeing her without the facial piercings and a more attractive hairstyle -- I think she's closer to the right type than I did when Cybersnark first suggested it. I also think Smith Cho from the recent Knight Rider revival came pretty close. If you took the average of those two women, that might be pretty close to the mark in both looks and personality.