Comic book characters have, over the years, gone through many different iterations: Batman has run the gamut from camp to brooding. This pattern is also paralleled on screen, particularly whenever a character is rebooted.
In celebration of the continuing tradition of recasting beloved figures, here are a list of actors that AP2HYC believes could do justice to some of our favorites, giving them a new lease of life, and, perhaps, becoming the standard bearers for their roles.
The focus here is on well-known characters that have been poorly played or who have had so many versions that it is time for a rethink, as opposed to small unheard characters who deserve a shot at the big time.
1. John Malkovich as Lex Luthor
John Malkovich, while maybe getting a little on the old side now (he is 59), has shown that he can do megalomaniac in his sleep. He brings a great intensity and malevolence in his darker performances, and I think this might suit an iteration of Lex that is colder than Kevin Spacey and Gene Hackman’s turns, perhaps a more ruthless and angry take where his flawed personality can really come to the fore. The portrayals, in particular from Hackman and Spacey, really brought out the “comic” in comic book film. They were light, flamboyant and, in honesty, these Luthors were more wealthy and entitled than than darkly intelligent and convincingly Machiavellian.
In films stretching right back to the beginning of his career, Malkovich has always had a fancy for characters of questionable integrity, dark ambition and ruthlesness. One only has to mention Con Air, and you know he can deliver as Lex Luthor. A recommended watch is also Disgrace, a more subtle performance but no less disturbing. In fact, his increased years might suit our current era where we are looking for more authenticity in our stories. At that respectable age, he has had more than enough time to establish himself as a billionaire, have got his hands very dirty in the process, and be even more loath to give it all up for some young Boy Scout in a cape and red underwear. He’ll have that dark shady past, and those older eyes will have seen some horrendous incidents take place, all in the name of power.
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Kingpin
The head of the New York City crime syndicate, The Kingpin is most often fighting against Daredevil or Spider-Man. The Kingpin has no superpowers but has a breath-taking intellect, a mean streak that runs not bone but marrow-deep, and brute strength that Lex Luthor (his most similar character in the DC universe) can only dream of. He was portrayed by Michael Clark Duncan in Daredevil, and was actually a decent enough reading of the character that he later reprised the role in MTV’s animated Spider-Man series. However there is one actor who could really turn the screws with a characterization of The Kingpin, and that is Philip Seymour Hoffman.
The man has a magnificent, physical presence on screen and a proliferating ability to chew up scenes and dominate proceedings. If you are looking for a man who can command everyone’s attention, turn you into a quivering wreck through the sheer force of his rhetoric, then be quite happy to kick you while you are down, Hoffman is that man. A fantastic example of Hoffman’s acting abilities is to be found in last year’s film The Master, in which the big guy put in a mesmerizing, scintillating performance as the inquisitive leader of a cult. He was justifiably nominated for an Oscar, and in this humble writer’s mind, deserved to win. Marc Webb, if you are listening, you might want to consider The Kingpin (and Mr. Seymour-Hoffman) as a worthy villain for Spidey Numero 3.
3. Eliza Dushku as Rogue
This particular offering might be the most controversial, not to mention a trifle premature, as current incarnation Anna Paquin isn’t exactly going anywhere. Now it’s fair to say that Paquin is fantastic and incredibly sexy as Sookie Stackhouse in True Blood. However as Rogue she is frankly awful.
Firstly, Rogue is one of the more flamboyant and openly sexy characters in the X-Men gallery. If you mix that with the tragedy that she can never really act on her passions makes her a great character. Unfortunately, Paquin (or the script she was given) plays her as a bland and unattractive mousey-brown goth. Rogue should be none of these things. She has a husky, confident flirtatatious nature, and she is also an absolute knock-out.
A second issue with Paquin’s Rogue is that she is young and naive, which again doesn’t work for Rogue, who in many ways has a fair amount of bitter experience which hides behind her huge personality. In which case, Eliza Dushku of Dollhouse and Buffy fame could be a really good call.
She is now in her early 30s, so a perfect age for a wise-cracking, confident sassy character, which, to be fair, could be considered her thing. Her character of Faith in Buffy was only meant to appear in 2 episodes but was so popular she was written into 20 more, not to mention appearances on the subsequent Angel spin-off. Faith is in many ways similar to Rogue, with that world cynicism and sharp tongue. Plus no-one can actually have a beef with Dushku, since she is known to kick-box and do her own stunts, which also means that she’s in great shape to play the super strong Southern belle.
Maybe with slightly darker hair and, of course, that famous white streak, Dushku might be a great candidate to make the words ‘kick’ and ‘ass’ synonymous with Rogue once more.
4. Alex Skarsgard as Aquaman
The current generation is probably only aware of Aquaman through the season 2 Entourage storyline, where Vinnie Chase lands his first big role and the film goes on to out-gross Spider-Man. Aside from that, he is not very well known to the cinema-going crowd. However, back in the day he was a huge flag bearer for DC, and dates back to the 1930s.
In brief, Aquaman is half human, half Atlantean and has super strength, endurability, and can breathe underwater. He champions the cause of all marine life and is something of an eco-warrior. However, his back story is rich with tragedy, family dramas and betrayal, making him a close parallel with Marvel’s Thor. A script has been in development for 6 years now with various companies, and so far Leonardo Di Caprio, Josh Holloway and Ryan McPartlin have all been mooted. But the strongest contender so far has to be Alex Skarsgard (just beating rising star Aaron Tveit).
The 6”3 Swede is most famous for playing fan favorite Eric in True Blood, but don’t let that put you off. He is a fantastic actor and one whose star is currently on the rise. If you haven’t seen him in the excellent Generation Kill, do it now. Skarsgard has a swimmer’s physique, matching the Golden Age comic book and post Brightest Day iterations very well. To top that off, Skarsgard is well known to bring a certain amount of nobility and sophistication to his roles, which would lend itself to a princely character, and also help detract from the naysayers who think Aquaman is a little bit twee.
What might also help is if the film is set back in the 1940s like Captain America, Aquaman’s personality really suits that era, more so than today, which would give the film more authority.
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.