Ideal Casting #1: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

For those who don’t know, Uncharted is a game for the PS3, which is really an action movie already. The movie is being made, first by David O. Russell, who actively tried to ruin it before it was even made, and now in the hands of Neil Burger, who I can’t say I know too much about, but he made Limitless, and that seemed okay. If he wants a good cast, he needs look no further than here.

Directed by Joss Whedon

Like I said, I’m unfamiliar with Neil Burger’s work, so he may be amazing, or he may be crap. One man that I do know can handle action, drama and razor sharp wit, however, is Joss Whedon. In all of his TV shows, he’s demonstrated the ability to give us reasons to truly care about characters. Not to mention, Nathan Drake is the most charismatic game hero around at the moment, and Joss certainly knows charisma.

CAST
Nathan Drake - Nathan Fillion

I know I’m not the only person who is longing for this casting announcement. And with good reason! Nathan Fillion is Nathan Drake. When I think of Drake, two things come to mind. Clumsy fighter, and quick-witted. You know who else fits those traits? Captain Mal Reynolds, that’s who. There really is no-one more suited to play this character. 

Victor Sullivan - Harrison Ford
 
Gruff, lovable, grouchy. Wait, am I describing Victor Sullivan, or Harrison Ford? He’s pretty much making a living playing these characters nowadays, so why not get him to do it in this? He’s always fun to watch, and I think he’d do a pretty great job as Sully. Plus, who doesn’t want to hear him say “El Goddamn Dorado!”?

Elena Fisher - Scarlett Johansson

I had a fair amount of trouble picking someone to play Elena. If Cameron Diaz was 10 or 15 years younger, she’d have been absolutely perfect. Elena has to be cute, focused, and a bit of a badass when she needs to be. Scarlett is definitely cute, is a great actress, and as we’ve seen in Iron Man 2, kind of a badass.

Gabriel Roman - Tom Wilkinson

Tom Wilkinson can be pretty intimidating when he wants to be, and the presence he projects can be very strong. This is exactly what’s needed for Gabriel Roman. He’s an Academy-award nominee, so you know he’s got acting chops, yet he’s not above doing the odd popcorn movie, like The Green Hornet. He’d be great as Roman.

Atoq Navarro - Benicio Del Toro

When you need a badass Latino in your film, you really need look no further than Benicio Del Toro. Menacing just seems to be his natural state, so for Atoq, that’s really all you need. You need him to just emanate evil, that you can tell he’s a bad apple just by looking at him. Del Toro would bring that in spades. 

Ideal Casting #2: Heavy Rain

Submitted by flap-my-jack

There was actually a thread on IMDB, in which I already answered this. I actually had the actors from Ethan and Jayden switched up. SPOILERS MAYBE AHEAD. So without further ado, let’s go on to the casting!

Directed by David Fincher

The thing I always equated Heavy Rain to while I was playing was the king of all thrillers, Se7en. Who better to direct the film than the same man who directed that? Even without Se7en, I consider Fincher to be the master of the mystery thriller, with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo coming up, and films like Fight Club in his back catalogue.

CAST
Ethan Mars - Casey Affleck

Casey Affleck is a ridiculously underrated actor. Ethan Mars needs to be vulnerable, but tough at the same time, which is tricky to pull off, but I’m confident that Affleck could do it. He just has this ability to be completely pathetic, yet incredibly intense at the same time, which in my eyes, makes him the perfect Ethan.

Madison Paige - Natalie Portman

Haha, before people start thinking I’m just gonna cast Natalie Portman in everything, let me say this. I first cast this on IMDB almost a year ago, before I’d seen Black Swan, and I thought Natalie was an average actress. I cast her because I thought she was perfect for the role at the time. Madison needs to be cute, but also strong and dedicated. She also needs to flash a little skin every now and then, referring to the club scene. Natalie can do, and has done, all these things before.

Scott Shelby - Vincent D’Onofrio

Anyone who’s seen Criminal Intent knows that Vincent D’Onofrio can play calm and rational whilst also being a badass, and also play detached and a little deranged. This is basically Scott Shelby in a nutshell. When I originally did this, I had Philip Seymour Hoffman, or Michael Madsen in mind, but now I can see nothing but D’Onofrio.

Norman Jayden - Mark Wahlberg

A lot of people hate Mark Wahlberg, and I can kind of understand, but when Wahlberg is given the right part, he can be an amazing actor. The last movie I saw him play law enforcement in was The Departed, in which he was the best part of the movie. I say lightning would strike twice, and Wahlberg would knock it out of the park. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he can do Jayden’s accent, which I’m still not sure on whether it was Jersey or Boston.

Lauren Winters - Marion Cotillard

Playing Heavy Rain, I could never get over how terrible Lauren’s voice actor was. She had a French twinge to her voice, which isn’t terrible, but you could tell she was trying to stifle it and do an American one. I say why not just give her a French accent and cast Cotillard? She’s got the acting chops, and we’ve seen she can play depressed and neurotic in Inception. I had originally cast Carrie-Anne Moss, because she’s the spitting image of Lauren, but now, all I can see is Cotillard.

Carter Blake - Michael Madsen

Michael Madsen has pretty much made his name off of playing cocky dicks, so I see him as perfect for Carter Blake. My mouth is practically watering at the thought of him doing the scene where they kick the crap out of Ethan’s psychiatrist, cause we’ve certainly seen him torture somebody nonchalantly before.