If YOU Were A Director, Who Would You Cast?

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If you were a film director allowed to select any (LIVING) actors to cast in your large and successful filmography, who would you choose?

Here are my lists:

MALES
Leonardo DiCaprio
Al Pacino
Robert De Niro
Jack Nicholson
Edward Norton
Tom Cruise
Jake Gyllenhaal
Denzel Washington
Dustin Hoffman
Jim Carrey
Jared Leto
Kevin Spacey
Will Smith
Johnny Depp
Tom Hanks
Hugh Jackman
Bill Murray
Ryan Gosling
Patrick Wilson
Will Ferrell

FEMALES
Scarlett Johansson
Ellen Burstyn
Kate Winslet
Jennifer Connelly
Diane Keaton
Ellen Barkin
Judi Dench
Cate Blanchett
Uma Thurman
Ellen Page
Annette Bening
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Kathy Bates
Claire Danes
Michelle Williams
Anne Hathaway
Anna Faris
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I would cast a good actor who was right for the role. You throw out names like every actor can play any part. They can't. Most have limitations. Lots of the men and women on your lists would be dead wrong in plenty of roles.

So what you really mean to ask is, who do you think are a bunch of good actors? Because asking who you would cast in a film without a script or even subject matter is the ass backward way of doing it. But have fun casting Tom Hanks or Will Smith as Travis Bickle or Kathy Bates or Diane Keaton as Marilyn Monroe.
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I would cast a good actor who was right for the role. You throw out names like every actor can play any part. They can't. Most have limitations. Lots of the men and women on your lists would be dead wrong in plenty of roles.

So what you really mean to ask is, who do you think are a bunch of good actors? Because asking who you would cast in a film without a script or even subject matter is the ass backward way of doing it. But have fun casting Tom Hanks or Will Smith as Travis Bickle or Kathy Bates or Diane Keaton as Marilyn Monroe.
Actually, that's not exactly what I meant. I meant, which actors would you like to use throughout the span of your career... as in, who would you like to work with? Who would you be proud to cast in one of your films? The role themselves really don't matter. I suppose what I meant was, who do you like so much as actors that you'd be willing to work with them?



Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Ok, if I was a director some of the actors I would be interested in working with would be:

Males:
James McAvoy
Adrien Brody
Ian McKellen
David Tennant
Cillian Murphy
Peter O' Toole
Steve Coogan
Guy Pearce
Michael Caine
Chiwetel Ejiofor

Females:

Emily Watson
Scarlett Johansson
Angelina Jolie
Kate Winslet
Judi Dench
Naomie Harris
Shirley Henderson
Miranda Richardson
Romola Garai
Marion Cotillard



Ok, if I was a director some of the actors I would be interested in working with would be:

Males:
James McAvoy
Adrien Brody
Ian McKellen
David Tennant
Cillian Murphy
Peter O' Toole
Steve Coogan
Guy Pearce
Michael Caine
Chiwetel Ejiofor

Females:

Emily Watson
Scarlett Johansson
Angelina Jolie
Kate Winslet
Judi Dench
Naomie Harris
Shirley Henderson
Miranda Richardson
Romola Garai
Marion Cotillard
O'Toole would be incredible to work with too.



Hmm, l was a bit confused by what you meant at first, Michael. I agree with Holden Pike in that it would be better to add a script or concept to make thi thread a little bit more interesting.

Lets say for example I was going to remake the Resident Evil movie, and restore some dignity to a potentially decent franchise, I would start by casting the film as if I were casting for an indie flick (assuming I had full creative control over the film). I wouldn't do that to come across as pretentious or anything. There is a good reason for that.

A lot of indie actors tend to be very adaptable to mainstream stuff and usually offer a depth of realism that an actor of the magnitude of, say, George Clooney wouldn't add. That's not because George Clooney is a bad actor, quite the contrary. Clooney is far too famous and recognisable which may distract spectators from fully engaging in a particular narrative.

Somebody like Paddy Considine would make a great Chris Redfield or Leon S Kennedy. Why? Because he is adaptable and almost has no limitations. Or maybe somebody like Nathan Fillion could be a decent Leon Kennedy? The point is it has to be somebody BELIEVABLE in that role, not just a bunch of actors you admire.



You ready? You look ready.
AHHHHHHH! Holden, you changed your avatar! My world is shaken.
Nothing new about it, though. It's the same one he had before the last one. And IMO, it is the better of the two.
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Lost in never never land
Just a quick list of top three actors and actresses that would be fun to work with:

Actors:
1. David Tennant
2. Johnny Depp
3. Christopher Walken

Actresses:
1. Kiera Knightley
2. Anne Hathaway
3. John Travolta (just kidding) Emmy Rossum
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I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today,
I wish, I wish he'd go away."
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If i were a director, I'll probably make a comedy movie so Id probably pick these guys hahaha:

1. Adam Sandler
2. Luke Wilson
3. Will Ferrel
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Just a quick list of top three actors and actresses that would be fun to work with:

Actors:
1. David Tennant
2. Johnny Depp
3. Christopher Walken

Actresses:
1. Kiera Knightley
2. Anne Hathaway
3. John Travolta (just kidding) Emmy Rossum
I heard that Walken almost never turns down work somewhere, so it probably wouldn't be hard to track him down. lol He is definitely a talented actor though (The Deer Hunter, The Dead Zone, Catch Me If You Can)..



Male
Leonardo D
Johnny D
Tom Hank
Female
Winona



male:will smith
shia la beouf
adam sandler
keanu reeves
samuel l jackson
morgan freeman
zach breff
john cusack
chris evans
ashtun kutcher
jet li
jason statham
wesley snipes
jon heder
Female: Megan fox
jessica alba
sarah roemer
kate hudson



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Registered User
Al Pacino
Brad Pitt
Matt Damon
Robert DeNiro
Edward Norton
Joe Pesci
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Will Smith
Ray Liotta



Male:
1. Morgan Freeman
2. James McAvoy
3. Djimon Hounsou

The above purely because of the fun they seem to bring to the backstage of a movie from extra footage I have seen. There is the obvious legends of film such as Pacino, De Niro, Hanks, Nicholson and Willis.

Females:
1. Dame Judy Dench
2. Keira Knightley
3. Scarlett Johannsen

^ Picked for similar reasons to the males I have picked.
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