5. Ben Whishaw as Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards)
Josh Trank is hopefully locked away in a room somewhere beavering away on the new Fantastic Four re-boot with Seth Grahame-Smith. One of the most disastrous castings in the original film was Ioan Gruffudd as Dr. Reed Richards. To put it simply, the man was what can only be described as a tepid, grey, wet-weekend of a man. What are Reed’s most prominent characteristics? In terms of a physical appearance, we are looking for someone who might be tall and athletic – but not bulked out a la Tom Hardy/Chris Evans. Secondly, an origins story in FF actually finds Richards in his mid-20s, not late 30s as many are familiar with.
As far as a psychological profile goes, Richards is the classic reluctant hero, but despite his malleability he does have a backbone (Gruffudd forgot this) and stays true to his beliefs even at the cost of the love of his family and friends (such as his stance on The Superhuman Registration Act and controlling the god-like powers of his infant son). Richards is widely held to be the most intelligent character in the Marvel Universe, more so than inventor Tony Stark or physicist Bruce Banner, and that this really is his superpower, as opposed to his elasticicity. If anyone has seen some of Aaron Sorkin’s work, particularly The West Wing, then the fast-talking, fast-walking characters in this show are useful templates for a solid characterisation of Richards.
So who fits the bill? Past rumours had Jonathan Rhys-Myers, Viggo Mortensen and Adrien Brody involved, but these are now unlikely now that Trank is at the helm, and the story is being faithful to a much younger FF team. The decision ultimately comes down to young actors who have shown in the past that they have given intelligent performances. The candidates we considered were Matthew Goode, Paul Dano and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (an incredibly close second). But the winner was ultimately the truly excellent character actor Ben Whishaw.
With a gleaming intelligence that is consistent throughout his roles, and a definite natural awkwardness to his mannerisms, he could be a great fit to a Richards pre-super powers. Secondly, he looks like a young Mr. Fantastic. It’s easy to see him with wavy dark hair, greying slightly at the temples, a clear-cut jaw with some stubble, and incredibly bright eyes behind which lurks a vast intellect. Now, there is a problem to be picked out here. Whishaw’s build is very slight and he does have a certain femininity. However, he’ll only need to bulk up a little, and work on his core so his movements are confident and have a deliberation to them.
One only has to look at his breakthrough performance in the highly disturbing Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. Here, he is genuinely terrifying and most of that comes through his wiry, masculine physical performance, where his soulless, brutal exploits give a sense of the actor’s great ability to handle tough action and lend weight and power to a scene. Lastly his leading performance as the mad king in Richard II and Q in Skyfall show that he has that fantastic gift for words, pacing, and indomitable locution that an authentic, cheese-free portrayal Mr. Fantastic requires. And let’s face it, British actors are dominating the superhero genre. If it ain’t broke…
So, do you agree or disagree? Americans out there, is the place of several non-Americans in this list a problem? Are some actors at the wrong age? And finally, are the criticisms of current acting portrayals accurate? Please post your comments below.
