I was trying to come up with someone that could be flippant without being petty, and keep an aura of barely restrained violence around him constantly without being creepy or off-putting. I can't think of any other actor that could do that right. I'd thought of Nathan Fillion earlier, but Mal is too self-conscious and Fillion undercuts himself too often; perfect for that role, but not for Calhoun, who'd need to be more forceful.
I've proposed Fillion before, but he's still not the perfect choice. Downey isn't right physically. Even more, I'm imagining his take on Mac in my head, and it doesn't
feel right. Downey doesn't have the requisite warrior's dignity that Calhoun needs, and no matter how good an actor he is, I don't think he can project that. He's got tremendous presence, but it's not the right
kind of presence. It would be like casting Ian McKellen as Picard. Similar, but
off.
That wuss from Stargate: Atlantis would be terrible and I can't believe anyone ever suggested him.
Aside from being a little young, Joe Flannigan is a
perfect physical match for Calhoun. That and his snarky sense of humour as John Sheppard is why people draw those comparisons. On a surface level, he seems perfect. But, no, Flannigan isn't the right choice. He has neither the range, nor the gravitas.
I've never seen Mel Gibson being right either, for whatever reason, though I know that's PAD's choice.
Gibson around the time of
Conspiracy Theory, with darkened hair and some of the edge he had in
The Patriot and
We Were Soldiers, would have been perfect. But that's a very brief window, and today, there's no way it would work.
Back when NF first came out, I was picturing Alec Baldwin in his Jack Ryan days. Again, except for that
very brief window of time, it wouldn't have worked at all.
And For Si Cwan i see Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He's got the looks and the acting chops to pull off a character like Cwan.
Uh, no. He's huge and imposing, but not in the right way. He'd be a better choice for Kebron, though not compared with someone like Michael Clarke Duncan. And
seriously, saying The Rock has "acting chops," is like saying Joan Rivers can sing opera. He's got some comic timing that works well in kids movies, but he's less of an actor than my spaniel.
I was figuring the Kristen Bell would make a good Vale. But she's a bit too young
Far too young.
