Cast the Characters of Trek Literature

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

  1. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^It's a fantasy casting thread. We can imagine whoever we want.

    Besides, even if it weren't, you don't have to like Star Trek to work on it. Nicholas Meyer never cared for ST, but he still directed two ST movies and co-wrote another one. Pay an actor enough and he'll do ST as a job no matter what he thinks of it as entertainment.
     
  2. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Perhaps. But I'd rather have actors in it who want to be there. They'd be more likely to give better performances if they're enjoying it. I mean, they don't have to be full-out Trekkies, but it'd be rather hard to do a good job at something you hate...
     
  3. DevilEyes

    DevilEyes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    But it doesn't really matter, because this is more of a "who do you imagine in your head while you read/write" thread, than a "who would you cast if it went into production". Look at some of the previous pages, some authors have "cast" people who have been long dead, or younger versions of actors who are now too old to play those characters.

    Now here's something I thought about while reading Seeds of Dissent: in an imaginary situation where the Myriad Universes/Mirror Universe literature were actually filmed, normally you'd expect the same actors to play alternate versions of their characters - and it often makes me think "wow, this would really be a great opportunity for X to play something different"... but would that even be possible for any of the 24th humans in that novella, without the use of CGI? Characters like Princeps Bashir, Optio O'Brien and Jake Sisko in this alternate universe are products of 300 years of genetic engineering and selective breeding. For one thing, it's made clear that the humans of that era are much taller, bigger and stronger than the alien races or the humans of 21st century - now the actors are already tall, particularly Cirroc Lofton, and I guess this could be solved with things like camera angles, shoes, standing on boxes, stuffed costumes... But there are likely to be a number of other differences as well, e.g. it was mentioned that Bashir has blue eyes. Now that of course wouldn't be a problem with contacts... but it still stands to reason that these people would look very different from their canon counterparts. And then there's also the remark that they don't just look stronger, but "denser"... I don't even know what that is supposed to look like. :lol:
     
  4. captcalhoun

    captcalhoun Admiral Admiral

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    NFL linebackers or Rugby props
     
  5. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    IIRC, neither Patrick Stewart nor Avery Brooks were fans of Trek before being cast. Stewart apparently used to tease one of his RSC co-stars who had appeared in Dr Who.

    Plus from any interviews I've seen with Tudyk, he seems to have a rather dry and sarcastic sense of humour (on one of the Firefly commentaries, he describes Gina Torres as 'homely'), so I wouldn't put too much stock in the 'for pussies' jibe.
     
  6. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    That was Lalla Ward, who played Ophelia in a 1980 BBC production of Hamlet opposite Stewart as Claudius and Derek Jacobi as Hamlet. She was starring as Romana in Doctor Who at the time, and Stewart teased her for slumming in a sci-fi show. I reviewed it on my blog recently. Ironically, Ward was one of multiple performers in that production who either had done Doctor Who already (Geoffrey Bateman, Emrys James, and Stuart Fell, along with composer Dudley Simpson) or would do it in the future (Geoffrey Beevers, Jacobi, and Claire Bloom).

    And you're right about Tudyk -- he was probably joking.
     
  7. captcalhoun

    captcalhoun Admiral Admiral

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    i wouldn't call Gina 'homely'... but i wouldn't call her attractive either. one thing that ruined the Jasmin arc on Angel for me was that i couldn't go with the idea that everyone loved Jasmin because she was so beautiful when she was played by an actress i didnt find even slightly attractive. for me it killed my immersion in the story.
     
  8. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Bloody hell... :(

    Quite. So did everybody else on that show. No wonder I couldn't stand it. :p

    I like to think I've developed 'taking things too seriously' into an art form. :techman:
     
  9. Sci

    Sci Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I mean, you do realize that they didn't love her because she was beautiful, they loved her because they were under a spell and beauty was one of their justifications, right?
     
  10. captcalhoun

    captcalhoun Admiral Admiral

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    i know they were under her spell but it still kinda didn't work for me that she was supposedly so beautiful and to me, she wasn't.
     
  11. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    You and about 99.9% of people on the internet! :p
     
  12. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    How about Bill Mumy as SCE's 110/Soloman, made small by Special and Expensive Lord of the Rings Techniques (TM)
     
  13. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^The Bynars in "11001001" were played by diminutive women with their voices electronically lowered.
     
  14. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    ^Then Bill shall be the manliest Bynar of them all!
     
  15. Enterprise1981

    Enterprise1981 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    [​IMG]

    My photomanip of Hugh Laurie as the EMH-Mark III for my fan fic. Could also be of Counselor Cambridge in the Voyager relaunch books.
     
  16. Zatoichi

    Zatoichi Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    I'm just starting Kevin Ryan's "Errand of Vengeance" series, which follows Klingon agent 'Jon Anderson' aboard the Enterprise. A lot of the characters in the novels are minor ones from TOS, but as far as I know, Anderson never showed up on screen. How do you guys envision him?
     
  17. Epsilon IX

    Epsilon IX Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Here are some of my choices. With some of them I was unsure who I would definitely cast, so I've come with some multiple examples.

    Enterprise-E (TNG Re-launch)

    Picard: Patrick Stewart
    Worf: Michael Dorn
    Geordi: LeVar Burton
    Dr Crusher: Gates McFadden
    Kadohata: Stephanie Jacobsen
    Diana Elfiki: Sarah Shahi
    T'Ryssa Chen: Charlene Choi
    Jasminder Choudhury: Janina Gavankar
    T'Lana: Natalie Portman or Keira Knightley
    Vincenzo Ferranga: Danny Nucci

    Titan
    Riker: Jonathan Frakes
    Troi: Marina Sirtis
    Tuvok: Tim Russ
    Vale: Hillary Swank
    Ra-Havreii: Still thinking
    Ree: Andy Serkis
    Jaza: Still thinking
    Pazlar: Daphne Ashbrook
    Lavena: Still thinking

    Aventine
    Ezri Dax: Nicole deBoer
    Sam Bowers: Roger Cross or Peter Mensah
    Lonnoc Kedair: Lena Headey
    Oliana Mirren: Estee Chandler
    Gruhn Helkara: Still thinking
    Michaela Leishmann: Still thinking

    Columbia NX-02
    Hernandez: Ada Maris
    Fletcher: Lucy Lawless
    El-Rashad: Riz Ahmed
    Valerian: Karen Gillen

    Voice of Inyx: Laurence Fishburn
    Voice of Sedin: Alice Krige

    Voyager Relaunch
    Afsarah Eden: Babara Eve Harris
    Batiste: Willem Dafoe
    Cambridge: Hugh Laurie
    Conlon: Jaime Ray Newman
     
  18. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Not familiar with her, but going by pictures, she seems about the right type. And she does have a fair amout of acting experience.


    Again, I had to look her up, but this is a very good suggestion. She's very close to my mental image of Trys, except she's a bit softer and more innocent-looking. And from the video clips, she seems to have the necessary animation and charm. The one catch is, would she be fluent enough in English to have the kind of comic timing and delivery Trys would need? Though if it's just a suggestion for a face readers could imagine while reading, I can endorse this one. In particular, this photo shows her with just about the right hairstyle and a fitting expression. I wouldn't mind seeing a photoshop of that with pointed eyebrows, maybe slightly more Vulcan complexion, and a Starfleet science lieutenant's uniform.


    Interesting thought. I guess they fit the description.



    I think Karen Gillan may be a bit young for the part.
     
  19. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Sarah Shahi on Life (a great show that had to short a life)
    EDIT:[​IMG]
    I didn't do the ears since hers are covered, and I was having trouble with the eyebrows. Sorry. I can do a Sarah Shahi one earlier, and I already did a Ree pic, Amanda Tapping as Vale, and Bruce Boxleitner as Vaugh. I'm pretty sure I posted the Vale and Vaughn ones, but I'll post them again if anyone wants to see them.
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2010
  20. Enterprise1981

    Enterprise1981 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    With what women are doing to their eyebrows these days and Trys embracing her human roots, I wouldn't be surprised if they were human looking.:)