Darn, I completely forgot about that part. Vanderbilt's very earnest personality, his idealism and ambition for the Federation to grow, reminded me a lot of Eckhart's Harvey Dent in the first half of The Dark Knight, but I had completely forgotten about how you described him.
Oh holy crap, yes. I'm the world's biggest Hendrix fan, but this never occurred to me until just now. Not sure she's right for B'Oraq, but for Bacco? Hells, yeah....
I've always pictured Michaela McManus (Law and Order: SVU) in this role, largely 'cause I've always wanted to see her in a Starfleet uniform. --Sran
^ I'd much rather see SVU actors who can, you know, actually ACT, like Mariska Hargitay or Stephanie March.
I won't disagree with you, as McManus' acting leaves much to be desired. That said, I think she's a great fit as Kat Mueller physically. --Sran
Just had a casting thought while reading The Poisoned Chalice: How about Cobie Smulders as Christine Vale? I've never quite been able to mentally cast Vale to my satisfaction, but after seeing Smulders as Maria Hill, I think she's a good fit personality-wise, and comes close to how I hear Vale's voice in my head.
Not technically lit characters, but have generally not appeared onscreen "for real" (but have done so in novels), so what the hell: Michael Shanks as Tobin Dax (Or, if you want to up the shy-nerd angle even more: Patrick McKenna) And anyone who's been watching SVU lately might recognize this name: Pablo Schreiber as Joran Dax
Actually, among Stargate actors, I think David Nykl or maybe David Hewlett would be a better fit for Tobin. Shanks is too good-looking, and McKenna is far too broad a performer.
Not a bad casting choice at all. However, as I read this, I'm watching Continuum, and I have to say, I could totally see Rachel Nichols killing it as Vale
I think Rachel Nichols is probably a bit too young yet for Vale. I've always imagined Jorja Fox circa 2000 (when she appeared as a U.S. Secret Service agent on The West Wing) as Vale -- but I gotta say, I think Cobie Smulders would be a perfect, perfect choice if they were casting Vale today.
Touche! My bad -- I hadn't looked up a recent photo of Nichols and had remembered her as looking mid-20s instead of early-30s.
Going with that SVU vibe, here's a thought: the future parents of Sarek. Mariska Hargitay as T'Rama * yeah, I know she's emotional a lot when she plays Benson, but I think she would make a great Vulcan. Casting against type, as it were. Peter Hermann as Skon * Mariska's real-life hubby. Used to show up on SVU a lot as a defense attorney. Very Vulcan-like in attitude.
Now's as good a time as any to say it: I'm continuously impressed/bemused at how you all casually list actors and performers by the dozens, as though there are catalogues in your heads recording the names and acting styles of anyone you've watched, then to match them to literature characters. It's quite beyond me. I'm just constantly thinking "who's that?" I tend to know actors, etc, as "that guy" or "her", things like that.