Monday, November 12, 2012

Casting Macbeth

I was thinking about Ms. Schieffelin's post on the "cast" of Nine Stories.
I decided I would cast Macbeth since that's the book we're reading right now and I watch a lot of Netflix. I did not do the entire cast of the play... not everyone is interesting enough.

Macbeth = Tom Hanks
He can do this. He's got that deep penetrating stare that I think is important and he has pulled off interesting characters in the past. Macbeth also needs to have a certain look. Tom Hanks is perfect because he can look so innocent, but, as I said before, he has a deep (murderous?) stare.

Lady Mac = Helena Bonham Carter
This woman can pull of the creepy wife who convinces her husband to commit murder. Some might say she could also be a witch, but I think she could play a mean Lady Macbeth.

Duncan = Michael Gambon
You probably know him as the second Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies. He has got the old man quality I need for the perfect Duncan. Father-figure, nice guy, and beard makes Gambon the perfect Duncan.

Witch 1 = Uma Thurman
Witch 2 = Salma Hayek
Witch 3 = Vanessa Williams
I chose these witches because they all have the capacity to look and act evil. Also, they are all very pretty which I think is a nice twist on the stereotype that witches are ugly.

I cannot think of a good Banquo. If you want, write a comment on who you would cast as Banquo and why.

6 comments:

  1. I don't know specifically who should be cast as Banquo, but I imagine him to be quite ordinary looking. He would have dark hair (most likely brown) and be of average height. I suppose I imagine Banquo to be like this because he is second to Macbeth. He isn't given titles like Macbeth, and I see Banquo's physical characteristics mirroring his "unspecialness".

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  2. Since Banquo is like Macbeth's sidekick I envision him as a lot of different fictional characters. Luigi would work because he is Mario's right hand man, and I also think Ron Weasley would work. He is seen as Harry's friend, but he is also an important character in the books. Those are my thoughts.

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  3. Liann! Shira! Awesome comments!
    Liann: I agree that Banquo should be ordinary looking because he is an underdog in the play and is a character with less action. As you said, he should be average. Most famous actors today are top dogs and that's why it was so hard for me to cast a good Banquo because people like George Clooney, Johnny Depp, and Colin Firth cannot look average.
    Shira:
    I think that doing a contemporary scene with characters from Super Mario Bros. would be awesome! Princess Peach and Mario could be Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Luigi would, of course, be Banquo. Bowser could be Duncan (that doesn't quite fit, but who else could be the king?) The witches could be three Kamek's...we should talk about this further.
    Harry Potter is also an interesting idea because Weasley is quite the loyal sidekick.

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  4. I really love the idea that the witches would be beautiful, which would contrast the "ugly" stereotype. It makes them less of generalized evil archetypes and more of complex characters with outside innocence and inside creepiness. Helena Bonham Carter is an awesome choice. Along with the Harry Potter theme, thinking of her as Bellatrix makes her seem perfectly obvious to play a cold-blooded, mildly insane character.

    I agree with Liann that Banquo would be perfectly ordinary looking...maybe his son would be interesting though, considering he's supposed to be king.

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  5. First of all, I was just wondering if you cast Dumbledore into this as an added effect to the whole supernatural witchcraft idea or if that was a coincidence. I also agree that the Banquo should be "ordinary looking" as Luisa put it. I think this due to the fact that to Macbeth, once the possible struggle for power Banquo could cause arises, Macbeth views Banquo as nothing more than an average man instead of his best friend.

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  6. I love this post! Helena Bonham Carter would be great to portray Lady Macbeth, and I could definitely see Tom Hanks as Macbeth. I also love Uma Thurman as one of the witches. Maybe Banquo could be played by Ben Stiller? I could see that. Just a thought.

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