Although the subject matter is trivial, believe me when I say that the logic is serious. If you're the kind of person that thinks any muscle-bound WWE star can play a superhero, this isn't the article for you. As I've stated before, this is an exercise in careful compromise, taking the essence of each character and finding the the best actor or actress to bring it to the screen. Thoughtless flaming will not be tolerated, but if you disagree with a choice and can sway me with an alternate, I'll not only change my submission, I'll credit you with the switch. So let the intelligent discourse begin!
Professor Xavier - Patrick Stewart
Occasionally, the films do get things right. Patrick Stewart is the only man alive who should be allowed to play Professor X. I don't think I have to even explain why. But here's a bit of fan trivia, there's an X-Men/Star Trek crossover book called Planet X where Storm and Wolverine actually meet with Captain Picard. The hilarious part of the meeting is where they comment on how much the Captain looks like the Professor. This book came out in 1998, and even then there was no doubt as to who should portray the Prof.
Cyclops - Neal McDonough
More often, however, the films get things oh so very wrong. James Marsden was given the role for the X-Men Trilogy, but as far as I can tell, his casting is completely off on so many points. Cyclops is supposed to be the team leader. An imposing man both physically, and in general presence. What they did, though, is throw a GQ pretty boy into a role that would be better suited for a soldier. I don't really have anything against James Marsden, but as Cyclops, he was sorely miscast.
My pick to fix: Neal McDonough. He's a lesser known actor (which is a shame really) who's played supporting roles in a number of films. But the role that convinced me was his part as Buck Compton in Band of Brothers. Here is a Cyclops that I would actually follow into battle. Standing at 6 feet, Neal is only three inches shorter than the real Cyclops (as opposed to James Marsden's five inches), and has the physique necessary to fill his frame on screen. He may be blond, but if you've seen Star Trek: First Contact, you'll see what a little dye can do for his look. Lastly, Neal has one of the most expressive jaws I've ever seen. The range of emotion he can convey with just the lower half of his face is crucial to making a great Cyclops. Seriously, go check out some of his work and see if you're not convinced. In an interesting bit of trivia, if Neal were to actually play Cyclops, it would be his second time taking orders from Patrick Stewart, as he's already done in his role as Lieutenant Hawk in First Contact.
Jean Grey - Kate Beckinsale
Famke Janssen from the X-Men films is another example of uninspired casting. The only thing she had going for her was her look. She couldn't act, let alone be Jean Grey, and in the first film, her American accent needs some serious work. My pick to fix: Kate Beckinsale. Granted, any time you throw in an A-list actor or actress that's in the most-mind-bogglingly-beautiful-people-ever list, you're going to get some knee jerk reactions that immediately dismiss you as crazy. But after watching more of Kate's work, I'm convinced that the woman knows how to actually act and is much more than just a very, very, very pretty face. As a disclaimer, I'm not convinced that she's the perfect woman for the role, just the least wrong out of all the women I've considered for it.
Admittedly, Jean Grey is a tough character to play. She's a little insecure, immensely powerful, more than a little bi-polar, and caught in a seriously tense love triangle between Cyclops and Wolverine. But take a good look at the films Kate's been in and you'll see that she can actually cover the requisite range. In particular: Vacancy, Underworld, Pearl Harbor, Van Helsing. As an added bonus, Kate is 5'8", which is only two inches taller than Jean Grey is. As an even better added bonus, we've already seen the kind of chemistry she and Hugh Jackman have in Van Helsing... which bodes well for the believability of the love triangle. To top it all off she can even sport a respectable American accent. Toss in some hair dye and green contacts and you're good to go.
Storm - Vanessa Williams
Talk about downright painful. Halle Berry as Storm? To quote Gob from Arrested Development, "Come on!" If your only requirement was that the actress be black, you could have done better picking a name out of a hat than purposefully choosing Halle Berry. Here's the bad: She didn't look the part, and had about as much screen presence as a paper bag. I don't care if she won an Oscar, I'm still unconvinced that she can actually act. My pick to fix: Vanessa Williams.
You may be asking yourself, "the lady from the Proactive commercials?" And my answer would be a resounding yes. I first really noticed Vanessa Williams when I saw her playing Rose Alvarez in the film version of the musical Bye Bye Birdie. This woman has presence... loads of it. And really, that's what you need in a good Storm. If she's supposed to be an African Princess (and practically a goddess), she should very well have the charisma to make you believe it. Halle Berry? Not so much. Vanessa Williams, on the other hand, has the full figure, the vocal command, the theatricality and the beauty to give life to the Storm that the films desperately lacked. The added perk here is that Vanessa can pull off the long hair for real (none of that wig nonsense). A silver/platinum dye job would be all you really need. She even has Storm's blue eyes. Lastly, being a senior member of the X-Men, you'd want to cast Vanessa in her mid to late twenties to effectively play a mature leader of the team.
Wolverine - Hugh Jackman
And score two for Hollywood, Hugh Jackman really is an inspired choice to play Wolverine. Any fan will tell you, the Wolverine on screen is a bit different from the one in the comics. The most glaring alteration? The height. Wolverine is actually only 5'3" tall, and about 300 lbs. due to his adamantium skeleton. Hugh, on the other hand, is just over 6'2" and nowhere near as bulky. As far as changes go, though, this is a good one. Wolverine's the most popular character in Marvel history. He works in the comics, but how's a tiny, hairy, animal of a man going to hold up on the big screen? Not very well, that's how. What Hugh's taken and run with is the complex persona of Wolverine. Add a little feral rage and you've got yourself a much better result than you'd expect. We've yet to see the true berserker show himself, but hopes are high that X-Men Origins: Wolverine will cover it. As for me, Hugh Jackman is Wolverine, and I'm sticking with him.
So there are the first five of the X-Men. Stay tuned and check the Dream Cast Label for the next (and upcoming) set(s), which will cover Nightcrawler, Colossus, Shadowcat, Gambit, and Rogue!
7 comments:
Hey Sun!
Interesting read. I haven't watched as many films as you probably have to know how well some of the actors you mentioned perform, but I trust your analysis. I'm sure though your cast is a hell of a lot better than what I saw in the X-men films.
~ Daniel Dyba
I definitely agree with no Halle Berry. She was absolutely horrible. As for the rest of her decorated career, agree that she hasn't proved she can act.
Interested to hear your thoughts on Gambit and the guy cast in the Wolverine movie.
Poor Halle Berry. I think she's only partly responsible for the terrible portrayal of Storm in the movies; you have to look at the writing to really see what a massacre the films made of an inspiring character. Halle Berry's storm lacked presence, I think, at least in part because she wasn't given the opportunity in the script. And it's interesting to note that a central character in the comics was reduced to peripheral (and, even worse, lackluster). Perhaps because the character is a black woman? Hmm.
That said, Vanessa Williams ftw!
Oh agreed, they reduced an inspiring and prominent character into a cardboard cutout. Tough to give everyone due screen time with such an ensemble cast though.
Vanessa Williams as Storm? She could have pulled it off in the acting department, and quite frankly anyone would have been an improvement from Halle Berry. But Vanessa Williams? I go with Angela Basset. Yes, she's older, but at the time X1 was cast, Angela Basset could have done it. She's a GREAT actor with a POWERFUL presence and a voice that's as deep and rich as I hear when I imagine Ororo Munro would sound. And I think Ms. Basset could have pulled off an African accent. Too bad Naomi Campbell can't act...
vanessa william as storm? LOVE IT! and agree with the other poster... she needs better writing. actually, they all do.
Trevor Donavon- cyclops, malin akerman-phoenix, vanessa williams-storm, kyle howard-iceman, ray park-nightcrawler, vanessa ferlito-rogue, nicolette sheridan-emma frost
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