When a screen adaptation of a beloved book is announced, there’s usually a bit of nervousness from fans, especially surrounding casting decisions. People often picture characters in a very specific way when they read a book (based on the description that the author gives), and casting an actor who doesn’t look like the character or who, more importantly, can’t fully embody the traits and personality of a character, like Harry Potter for example, can almost ruin the viewing experience for a fan.
Sometimes book-to-movie adaptations get the casting very wrong—for example, the casting of the Percy Jackson movies in which they decided to cast the main characters (who were 12 in the first book) as way older for no discernible reason. But there are also times when book-to-movie adaptations got their casting completely right. So which adaptations managed to get the right people to play their iconic roles?
The Lord of the Rings series
Heralded as one of the best book-to-movie adaptations all-around, one of the things that makes the Lord of the Rings movies so fantastic is the casting choices that were made. Every character is brought to life so perfectly and the actors embody the characters so well that even now, 20 years later, it becomes hard to separate those actors from their roles in this trilogy.
Sir Ian McKellan was a stellar choice for Gandalf, giving the wizard the gravitas and wisdom that was needed to portray a sense of power, but McKellan also lends a softness to the character, which makes his relationships with the members of the Fellowship, particularly Frodo, so believable. The audience trusts Gandalf just as much as the characters do, and is set at ease when he’s on screen.
Elijah Wood as Frodo is another perfect choice, as he’s able to play all sides of the character well, and is incredibly expressive with his face, in big ways as well as subtle ones. Sean Astin is heartwarming as the loveable Samwise Gamgee, Sir Christopher Lee is wonderfully intimidating as Saruman, and Viggo Mortenson is an absolutely perfect Aragorn, even though he was brought on to the project last minute, and Aragorn was almost going to be played by another actor. There’s also Andy Serkis’s portrayal of Gollum, which was revolutionary for the technology involved, but it’s Serkis’s mannerisms and iconic Gollum voice that made the character come to life expertly.
The Hunger Games series is another all-around great adaptation that manages to capture the tone and message of the books and bring them to the screen in a way that is faithful to what’s on the page. Again, a large part of what makes the adaptation so great is that a lot of the actors in the film were perfectly cast for their roles.
Jennifer Lawrence was a great pick for Katniss Everdeen, because she’s able to tap into one of Katniss’s main traits, which is that she often has to hide her emotions and how she’s really feeling. Lawrence is able to do this without being overly stoic, and while still giving subtle hints as to what her character is thinking and feeling through minute facial expressions. Josh Hutcherson plays off her so well as Peeta Mellark, and so perfectly portrays Peeta’s combination of soft kindness and strength.
Also noteworthy is Woody Harrelson, who is absolutely perfect as Haymitch. There’s no one else who could as believably go from the sarcastic and callous Haymitch at the beginning to the Haymitch at the end of the series who becomes family to Katniss and Peeta and cares deeply for them. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of great casting in this series; we would be remiss not to include Donald Sutherland’s absolutely diabolical turn as President Snow, or Jena Malone’s spunk as Johanna Mason, or Lenny Kravitz as the quietly glamorous Cinna.
It might be an even tougher job to cast an adaptation of a graphic novel because now there are fully-illustrated characters that need to be played by real people, and while they mostly look for talent, the casting directors also need to try to get an actor that looks similar in some way. Scott Pilgrim is a great example of how to do this right.
Michael Cera is great as the main character, the titular Scott Pilgrim, and really plays into his “normal, nerdy guy” energy while not being afraid to bring out the unlikeable aspects of Scott as well. Kieran Culkin is a great pick for Scott’s roommate Wallace, as he perfectly captures Wallace’s sarcastic personality and makes him feel real.
Ellen Wong is also spectacular as Knives Chau. Her spunky and cute energy is perfect for the character, and she’s able to switch between all of Knives’s emotional highs and lows so well. Brie Larson also deserves a special shoutout for Envy Adams, and for bringing her cooler-than-everyone attitude to life so well (as well as for her rendition of “Black Sheep,” which is iconic).
The Harry Potter series has a solid cast for the most part, though some fans complain about the casting of Lily and James Potter – as well as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin – for being much older than they are supposed to be in the books. There are, however, some standouts in the casts of these films.
For instance, Emma Watson is Hermione Granger. She plays the character so well, bringing a lot of her own (quite similar) personality to the role. It may have had the unfortunate side effect of her being typecast as the sensible, bookish character in many of her later roles (Belle in the Beauty and the Beast remake, or Meg in the 2019 version of Little Women), but she brought Hermione to life so naturally that it’s almost no surprise. Alan Rickman is also wonderful as Professor Snape. He so deftly plays all the levels of the character and his ever-shifting motivations, and with the cold, calculating demeanor and that absolutely iconic voice, Rickman really was the ideal choice for the role.
Other exemplary casting choices in the Harry Potter movies include Dame Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall (she’s excellent at playing characters who are outwardly stern but caring underneath), Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge (she makes Umbridge the type of villain we love to hate), and Helena Bonham Carter as the unhinged Bellatrix Lestrange.
Even the worst book-to-movie adaptations can benefit from a good cast, and in a really great adaptation, good casting decisions can be the cherry on top. This barely scratches the surface of fantastic casting in adaptations, but all of these actors deserve the highest praise for bringing their respective characters to life perfectly.
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