The Captain America Casting Thread

[OB12]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

I know a lot of people applaud Marvel's approach(the buildup to Avengers and the 9 billion films with cross pollination), the approach is certainly ambitious and can have an enormous payoff if all goes well. But damn, things can unravel in the blink of an eye if the Cap film is off in any way. And with the names we are hearing lately for Cap and the misstep that it could lead to, all this talk of 9 picture option with sequels and cameos up the ass could be for nothing.

I think they are going about it the right way. The only problem is that Marvel is a victim of their own success. IM was a great movie and hugely popular, TIH was a fun movie and better than the box office numbers showed, and from all of the reports IM2 and Thor seem like they are going to be fantastic. There is a ton of pressure on making the right casting decision on Cap.

[solidsnake86]

The funny thing about tatum being cast is that everyone is saying they wouldnt watch the film, but then there girlfriends would drag them to see it. I can see why they're thinking of tatum regardless of everyones dislike for him, people, especially girls seem to like him and that would put people in seats. Wasn't it dear john that finally stopped avatar? Obviously thats probably not a good reason to cast him but a good reason as to why they might be thinking of him. The most troubling aspect is that its clear they have no clue who to choose.

[Deaths Head II]

Originally Posted by solidsnake86

The funny thing about tatum being cast is that everyone is saying they wouldnt watch the film, but then there girlfriends would drag them to see it. I can see why they're thinking of tatum regardless of everyones dislike for him, people, especially girls seem to like him and that would put people in seats. Wasn't it dear john that finally stopped avatar? Obviously thats probably not a good reason to cast him but a good reason as to why they might be thinking of him. The most troubling aspect is that its clear they have no clue who to choose.

They're not going to get a wooden hack actor to play the iconic Captain America just to get girls dragging their boyfriends into the theater. Especially when so much is riding on this cast choice.

[Chewy]

Just got in an e-mail from someone involved with the production who says Variety has its story wrong. Turns out filming on PUNCTURE already wrapped. Since it's an indie film, it flew under the radar and news of Evans involvement was just released. Consider Evans still a candidate for CAPTAIN AMERICAN then as this film clearly won't be an issue...

SOURCE

[OB12]

Originally Posted by FaT_tONle

I don't think the Hedlund camp would have balked if that was the case... unless it was a money issue. But how much is he making for Tron? Is he a million dollar actor per film at the moment? I doubt it. 300K with incentives is about right.

We don't know, if very likely could've been a money issue. Maybe Hedlund's people were banking on the fact that Tron is going to be big and were wanting $1M with raises for every subsequent film. Maybe the decision makers weren't as enamored with Hedlund as was rumored, or maybe scheduling prevented him from really testing for the role. We just don't know.

[Aesop Rocks]

So Evans is still in the run?

[Blackman]

10000 post still no Cap
Still hoping for Hedlund

[KangConquers]

Thread kill...I guess it's time to open the new one.

[Rock Sexton]

Originally Posted by blinkuldhc

Just cast Ryan McPartlin and let's wing it.

No matter who the candidate is -- Krasinski, Tatum, Pine, Hedlund, Vogel, Phillipe, Bethel, Lutz, Ackles et al. -- not one of these candidates has a Perfect 10/10 rating in any one department (acting, looks, height, age, etc.). There may be some posters who think Hedlund is a good actor, while others are skeptical. There are some who think Vogel looks like Captain America from the neck up, but others point out his height. There are some who think Krasinski is a good enough actor, but others debate that.

That brings me to McPartlin. Now, his acting may be debatable, but I don't think there is any dispute as to whether he looks like Captain America. I'm not even talking about him merely resembling Steve Rogers -- I'm talking about a living, breathing, walking Steve Rogers. That's why I suggest they cast McPartlin, and surround him with good actors and just hope for the best. He is a 10/10 in the Steve Rogers Looks department.

But realistically, how much acting range is required for Captain America? I'm not asking rhetorically, I'm genuinely curious. How much range was required for Christian Bale to play Batman, Downey Jr. to play Iron Man, or Ed Norton for Bruce Banner? If you really think about it, these characters weren't impossibly deep, and the actors weren't really pushed to their limits. These are all great actors, and they put on competent performances, but they weren't All-Star performances, IMO. I mean, I felt like Downey Jr. wasn't necessarily giving a 100% compelling and faithful performance of Tony Stark, but rather Robert Downey Jr was just playing Robert Downey Jr with some Tony Stark sprinkled on top. So, with Captain America, do we really need a top-notch actor, even if it comes at the expense of height/age/looks?

While it is obviously important to cast a good actor, is it really important to have a good acting performance carry the film? (The operative word being "performance"). Ron Perlman was fantastic as Hellboy, but it's not that he put on a great technical performance in the Hellboy movies, it's more that he embodied Hellboy perfectly and made it believable. Perlman had the height, the walk, the voice, and of course the make up that made him the human embodiment of Hellboy. Yes, some of this is attributed to acting, but I don't applaud Perlman necessarily for any of his acting in the HB movies -- rather, I applaud him for embodying Hellboy so freaking well.

Thomas Jane also didn't give an outstanding performance in terms of displaying a wide range and evoking emotion, but he was terrific as The Punisher because he really embodied the Punisher persona/character/aura. Again, his physique, his walk, his voice, his scowl, his presence all screamed The Punisher. But from a technical standpoint, I wasn't impressed with any of his acting. But he was a damn good Punisher nonetheless.

Even Christopher Reeves' Superman/CK was amazing, but not necessarily for Reeves' acting performance, but more that he really embodied Superman throughout the movies. His statuesque figure, his heroic voice, his immaculate smile, etc. all embodied the Superman feel.

I'm guessing that none of these performances (Perlman/Hellboy, Jane/Punisher, Reeves/Superman) would translate well on stage and in theater, but they work pretty damn well on film.

And this segues into why I want McPartlin for Captain America. Maybe he won't wow you with a gripping technical performance, but to me, he embodies the Captain America aura/persona better than any of the candidates. He's got the deep voice, the clean and handsome face, the statuesque figure, and the natural blond hair and blue eyes. His face is square enough and he's got a somewhat prominent chin. This guy is the real world embodiment of Captain America. He may not excite you with any of his performances, but like Reeves, if he can just evoke his Superhero character by giving that presence on screen, it will work well enough.

Phillippe may be a great actor, but does he really give you the sense that he's Captain freaking America? Even Chris Pine might do a good job with the role, but I'd feel like I'd be watching "Chris Pine doing a very good job acting as Captain America", rather than watching and thinking, "Is that Chris Pine or is that Captain America?" The same with Chris Evans -- I'd be thinking "Chris Evans is fun acting as Captain America", whereas I want it to be like "Chris Evans is the living Captain America."

With McPartlin, I feel like I'd be watching Captain America, period. He was born for the role. It's not just his face, but his height, his voice, his broad shoulders etc. If he can give even an average acting performance as Captain America, then I think he'll be more convincing as being Captain America than if 5'9" Ryan Phillippe acted his ass off as Captain America. But that's just me. Even a charismatic Chris Pine would just leave me thinking "Wow, Chris Pine is fun as Kirk AND Cap!"

Look at this man and tell me he's not Steve Rogers:

Bravo!

As I said weeks ago, if I have to go with a relative unknown I'll take McPartlin today and twice on Sundays. Please send your comment to Marvel right away!

[Dr. Sid Jawtug]

^Mcpartlin would have been cast if he had acting chops.

[paulogonza]

one more week and nothing, worse sadly Marvel is Lost, don´t know who cast, i think we have to wait a lot.

[Rock Sexton]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sid Jawtug

^Mcpartlin would have been cast if he had acting chops.

You may be right. Yet, you also may be wrong. Ever consider perhaps the guy didn't like the contractual obligations and pathetic pay?

I also wanted to add, from a marketing standpoint, going McPartlin isn't such a crime. He's on a hit TV show, which has plenty of followers. If I'm a Marvel exec, I would be foaming at the mouth for advertising opportunities that would arise. Same could've been said for Krasinski, but McPartlin does and will forever look more the part.

[flickchick85]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sid Jawtug

^Mcpartlin would have been cast if he had acting chops.

Not necessarily. Several weeks ago there was a quote from Johnson saying that he was finding the trickiest part of the casting process to be finding someone who could also be convincing as the weakling outsider. And let's face it, no matter what effects you use on him, NO ONE would buy McPartlin as a weakling; not with that voice, neck, square jaw, shoulders, etc. For all we know, he could've acted the hell out of every other aspect of Cap, but that still would've been a deal-breaker.

One thing I can say about all these current candidates, is that with a little movie magic, I could buy them all as the weakling outsider. That said, I couldn't buy most of them as the commanding leader though, just because I don't think they have the skills or presence to pull it off.

Thank God Evans is still in the race.

[Dr. Sid Jawtug]

Originally Posted by Rock Sexton

You may be right. Yet, you also may be wrong. Ever consider perhaps the guy didn't like the contractual obligations and pathetic pay?

I also wanted to add, from a marketing standpoint, going McPartlin isn't such a crime. He's on a hit TV show, which has plenty of followers. If I'm a Marvel exec, I would be foaming at the mouth for advertising opportunities that would arise. Same could've been said for Krasinski, but McPartlin does and will forever look more the part.

The chance to be in future blockbuster films would be more than enough to land McPartlin. Like I said he looks the part but his acting is what is probably holding him back.

[Rock Sexton]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sid Jawtug

The chance to be in future blockbuster films would be more than enough to land McPartlin. Like I said he looks the part but his acting is what is probably holding him back.

I hear what you're saying, but it's pure conjecture. There are no guarantees with what films would be made and to have to commit in some way to 9 feature films is not very commonplace.

[Lobo]

Go Phillipe Go! This must have been how Louie felt when Porter was in the running

[Dr. Sid Jawtug]

Originally Posted by Rock Sexton

I hear what you're saying, but it's pure conjecture. There are no guarantees with what films would be made and to have to commit in some way to 9 feature films is not very commonplace.

I understand also but the point is valid. The 9 movies won't all be full length roles. The point is this, if McPartlin was offered the part, chances are he would bend over backwards for the role of a lifetime. The only logical reason for not casting him is the fact that they've seen his screentest and it's not what they were looking for.

[Rock Sexton]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sid Jawtug

I understand also but the point is valid. The 9 movies won't all be full length roles. The point is this, if McPartlin was offered the part, chances are he would bend over backwards for the role of a lifetime. The only logical reason for not casting him is the fact that they've seen his screentest and it's not what they were looking for.

Role of a lifetime? I think that's where we really differ.

[Marx]

New Thread!
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=335216