Harvey Dent/Two-Face Thread

[Art Vandelay]

I see Jon Bernthal suggested around for some weird reason and I REALLY don't care for it because:

1. He doesn't fit the rest of the cast.

2. It focuses way too much on the Two-Face "Big Bad Harvey" thing and arguably forgets that Harvey is supposed to be a trustworthy politician.

Whoever they get has to be believable as someone you can trust and view as a sort of fallen angel and/or tragic figure. You can't just get anyone who has a square jaw and black hair and be done with it.

Not that I want Bernthal in the role, but "trustworthy politician" is a walk in the park for most actors. It's the Two-Face "Big Bad Harvey" persona that the actor needs to be able to nail.

 

[shauner111]

Bernthal could do it. He’s been likeable and trustworthy. He’s also been a tough guy, a coward. He’s solid. But I still wouldn’t cast him because there are better guys for the job. Fresher faces.

 

[metaphysician]

You know, this probably would be viewed as heresy, but a thought I had after watching the movie:

What if Harvey Dent doesn't become Two Face, or even necessarily exists in a future movie at all? What if the authority figure who gets scarred, breaks under the stress and trauma, and turns against the city isn't the DA at all. . . but the new mayor, Bella Real?

 

[blaberskite]

You know, this probably would be viewed as heresy, but a thought I had after watching the movie:

What if Harvey Dent doesn't become Two Face, or even necessarily exists in a future movie at all? What if the authority figure who gets scarred, breaks under the stress and trauma, and turns against the city isn't the DA at all. . . but the new mayor, Bella Real?

That would certainly be very interesting. Whatever happens though it would be good if she does have a larger role to play moving forward.

 

[blaberskite]

If we're going for actors Reeves has worked with before my pick for Harvey is Toby Kebble. He hasn't had a big breakthrough part yet and I think has been very underrated for some time. He's a great actor, his work in dead man's shoes was phenomenal.

 

[Lautox]

I think they are going to go the early 30s route since he is Gotham's youngest D.A in history. Wouldn't be surprised if he were related to Bella Real and maybe was helping her campaign.

 

[Lautox]

Dev Patel? Or is he too Indian for Dent? If that's the case I would save him for Ra's Al Ghul in a reboot like @shauner111 suggested which I think he'd be a better fit.

 

[Andrew92]

Dev Patel? Or is he too Indian for Dent? If that's the case I would save him for Ra's Al Ghul in a reboot like @shauner111 suggested which I think he'd be a better fit.

Dev Patel? The guy's overrated as ****.

 

[shauner111]

Dev Patel? The guy's overrated as ****.

No he’s a strong actor.

 

[DeadlyWest]

Thing is, I feel like somebody who does Two Face is someone who ideally could also play Batman. From an acting standpoint, Two Face is the Bruce Wayne/Batman dichotomy but taken in a complete other direction and cranked up to 12. My personal 2 cents?

Was literally auditioning for Batman before Pattinson got the role, phenomenal actor that I think hasn't had any real opportunities to show off what he's really got, he can portray someone more likeable as proven by his performance as Hank McCoy as well as a few other of his indie movies while also more than capable of portraying someone more sociopathic as proven by his performance as Tony Stonem. It'd definitely be a Two Face who's a lot more sinister rather than bombastically homicidal, but I think that could work a treat in this universe. It'd be more akin to Big Bad Harv more than anyone else. Only thing that could potentially hold him back is if he can do the more gravelly voice associated with Two Face. If he can do that? I think he'd be a fantastic pick

(also yes, I had him pegged for Joker, I think he'd also be a great Harvey)

 

[shauner111]

I find him too tall, lanky and boyish for (how I see) Harvey Dent.

 

[Lautox]

I see Harvey in two ways. All american alpha charming guy, looks like he played college ball and lead the debate team. I always thought that a James Caan or Denzel type actor could nail it. And the other way I see it is the "Al Pacino" controversial route, not that physically imposing but has an out of this world presence and can go one on one with anyone.

 

[Art Vandelay]

I just think some of you guys keep falling into the same trap of trying to recast TDK's Aaron Eckhart as Dent. And Eckhart was great as Dent. Charming, charismatic, a lot of pathos. It's a really solid performance. But it's a performance that is almost undone by an abrupt turn for the character.

I want to see a Dent that has a clear underlying darkness to him. So that when he does become Two-Face, it doesn't feel like the actor is suddenly playing a different character.

 

[shauner111]

I just think some of you guys keep falling into the same trap of trying to recast TDK's Aaron Eckhart as Dent. And Eckhart was great as Dent. Charming, charismatic, a lot of pathos. It's a really solid performance. But it's a performance that is almost undone by an abrupt turn for the character.

I want to see a Dent that has a clear underlying darkness to him. So that when he does become Two-Face, it doesn't feel like the actor is suddenly playing a different character.

Exactly. I want to see Harvey showing signs of a split personality and how it’s affecting his wife and himself, and how hard he tries to hide it from co-workers/friends. Then you disfigure him in his final scene, but you don’t show what his face looks like until the beginning of the third movie.

In order to make it clear that Dent has become “one of them” you need to show freaks in the second movie. Beyond just replacing Joker. I’d like a full movie where you see Gotham being taken over by freaks and Dent is on the Gordon, Wayne side. It isn’t until the third movie that you see what happened. They (Maroni, Penguin or Thorne) has turned him into “one of us”. And it’s not just him by his lonesome, nah he’s a part of an ensemble of lunatics that Batman has to fight against. The second movie could be Batman trying to stop these crazy criminals from tearing themselves apart and hurting innocent lives in the process. Dent is helping him with that. But the third movie is like that moment in the Thriller music video where the zombies all crawl out of their coffins and start heading towards MJ’s direction LMAO (but in Arkham )

 

[Lautox]

That would be a great cliffhanger for the third

 

[DeadlyWest]

I just think some of you guys keep falling into the same trap of trying to recast TDK's Aaron Eckhart as Dent. And Eckhart was great as Dent. Charming, charismatic, a lot of pathos. It's a really solid performance. But it's a performance that is almost undone by an abrupt turn for the character.

I want to see a Dent that has a clear underlying darkness to him. So that when he does become Two-Face, it doesn't feel like the actor is suddenly playing a different character.

This is actually why I went with Hoult for my fancasting

The dude basically has that but in micro with his performance as Tony Stonem in Skins where he's more or less a sociopath who hides it from everyone except his friends. And there's quite a few great moments of that, where he seems normal but you can tell that there's a slight screw loose. It's not apparent enough that it's unbelievable nobody noticed, but it is apparent enough to notice as a member of the audience if that makes sense. I don't see why Hoult couldn't do something similar with Harvey.

I find him too tall, lanky and boyish for (how I see) Harvey Dent.

As for him looking too boyish, eh, I can see that but it's not something that'd particularly bother me. It makes sense for someone like Batman to need someone with a jaw on a Greek statue because that's needed in the cowl. That's not really a necessity for Harvey. I can agree it's still something Hoult lacks, but it's also something I could quite easily look past in the performance (I believe) he'd be capable of.

 

[shauner111]

It’s not the jaw. It’s his face. He just comes off like a 25 year old man and he’s much better suited for characters that don’t give off a super masculine energy. I find Hoult has a feminine energy. That’s fine for Joker but not Two-Face. He might work better for a take on Roman Sionis, Joker, Riddler even.

 

[DeadlyWest]

It’s not the jaw. It’s his face. He just comes off like a 25 year old man and he’s much better suited for characters that don’t give off a super masculine energy. I find Hoult has a feminine energy. That’s fine for Joker but not Two-Face. He might work better for a take on Roman Sionis, Joker, Riddler even.

Sure, but as I said previously, it's something I think I could quite easily look past if that's the price for the performance I think he can give

 

[shauner111]

Might be a weird thing to say but here I go...

Let’s say Clayface is in the second film. From the perspective of a screenwriter and also the perspective of the general audience...would it be too repetitive to have a Clayface and a Two-Face as villains one after another?? Especially where both cases seem to lean on “identity” and “people losing their dream jobs because of their disfigured faces, leading them to snap and become a violent criminal”.

 

[DeadlyWest]

Might be a weird thing to say but here I go...

Let’s say Clayface is in the second film. From the perspective of a screenwriter and also the perspective of the general audience...would it be too repetitive to have a Clayface and a Two-Face as villains one after another?? Especially where both cases seem to lean on “identity” and “people losing their dream jobs because of their disfigured faces, leading them to snap and become a violent criminal”.

I mean

I've always wanted to get away from the main villains that Nolan did. I've theorised over Harvey, sure, but that's mostly just fan speculation. I don't really want Harvey, I'd rather for main and focused villains I'd go for people we've not seen (or at minimum not seen in a while). Hugo Strange, Freeze, Zsazz, Clayface, etc. So I'd be okay with Clayface over Two-Face tbh.

 

[chintai80]

I mean

I've always wanted to get away from the main villains that Nolan did. I've theorised over Harvey, sure, but that's mostly just fan speculation. I don't really want Harvey, I'd rather for main and focused villains I'd go for people we've not seen (or at minimum not seen in a while). Hugo Strange, Freeze, Zsazz, Clayface, etc. So I'd be okay with Clayface over Two-Face tbh.

what if we did bring harvey dent in, hint as his mental health issues, but never show him become 2face in this series?

let him be one of the heroes in this, but leave his fate open ended.
or maybe...lets say if they want to do a hbo max series or a 4th or 5th film later down the line, then have him become 2face then.

i want to see a live action portrayal that shows that bruce and harvey are friends first and foremost.
don't need to see an antagonistic relationship btwn them because we already got that romantic rivalry with rachel in the dark knight.

and i would looove if they somehow brought hugo strange into this...possibly my fave golden age batman villain.

 

[DeadlyWest]

what if we did bring harvey dent in, hint as his mental health issues, but never show him become 2face in this series?

let him be one of the heroes in this, but leave his fate open ended.
or maybe...lets say if they want to do a hbo max series or a 4th or 5th film later down the line, then have him become 2face then.

Eeeeh. It'd be an interesting idea, but at the same time Chekhov's Gun, y'know? If you're not gonna make him Two-Face, what's the point in using him? That's what the character brings to the table.

 

[shauner111]

Right. I say don’t use him at all if you’re not going all the way. But it’s an interesting question to ask, if they’d leave it open ended.

I’m with you on wanting to see non-Nolan picks before I see Reeves use Two-Face or Scarecrow, Bane, Ras Al Ghul. But I’m just wondering if you guys think it would be overkill having both Clayface and Two-Face in the same trilogy, one after another. Too many faces methinks!

 

[chintai80]

Eeeeh. It'd be an interesting idea, but at the same time Chekhov's Gun, y'know? If you're not gonna make him Two-Face, what's the point in using him? That's what the character brings to the table.

they had this cool dude in batman 89 tho:

 

[DeadlyWest]

they had this cool dude in batman 89 tho:

Yeah, he just happened to get Tommy Lee Jones'd, unfortunately.