Who would make a good Honor Harrington in a Movie/TV role?

KNick wrote:

civserv wrote:Thought I'd just go for all the celery and put in my 2 cents worth on a lot of the characters and who should play them. Some of the actors don't fit the physical descriptions RFC gives, but the actors just seem to fit the "voice" of the character in my head.

<<SNIP>>

I see you have given some small amount of thought to this topic. That is always nice to see in a first time poster. Welcome to the forums. May you continue to contribute wisely. Enjoy yourself.

Thank you. For me the characters interplay and back story are more interesting than the space hardware. That's why they really need to get the actors right. I would like for them to match the description DW provides but can live with a short actress playing Honor, so long as she is brunette and had almond shaped eyes. The scene where Scotty Termine chases after her after she leaves Mai-Ling, might be a tad challenging but do able. I really hope they leave in the whole scene of the discovery of the RMN prisoners otherwise the reasons for the differences between Grayson and Masada don't truly track. Its ugly but and gets a visceral response on multiple levels including engagement of the hind brain and happy to see her trying to blow Williams brains out and Scotty and the RMM stopping her.

I can see and hear the actor Wil Wheaton playing Williams and not over doing it. Same for Christopher Rich playing Mr. Houseman and his terror of Honor and the coming Masadan attack.

Also, I can see Richard Brooks (bounty hunter Jubal Early - Firefly) or Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator) playing Alistair McKeon. Brooks performance of Early was quiet, calm and not over the top. When he threatened Kayelee it was believable, same for when he realized River was on his ship. Hounsou portrayal of his character in Gladiator left me feeling the character was real and not a prop for Crowe's character. Same for David Wenham (Faramir - LOTR), plus he fits the characters description in DWs books.

That's why my first choice of Erica Cerra for Honor makes sense to me, even though she's short for Honor, she looks like Honor and sounds like Honor more so than Parker or Bloodgood (who the more I think about the less I like her for the role)

I'd like to at least see Kristen Kreuk audition as Honor. Bulk her up. Camera angles to make her tall.
Michelle Henke...Gabrielle Union!

cthia wrote:I'd like to at least see Kristen Kreuk audition as Honor. Bulk her up. Camera angles to make her tall.
Michelle Henke...Gabrielle Union!

Kristin Kreuk is definitely on my shortlist for Honor, though Moon Bloodgood is my top choice. I know she's bashed for Smallville, but Kristin's got some serious chops. Olivia Munn is another one; that girl can act, though she's probably far too model-esque to play ugly-duckling Honor.

Michelle Krusiec is my pick for Estelle Matsuko, if they do have flashbacks to OBS (...and because I freakin' love Estelle Matsuko), though she's a few inches too tall. And going along with my love for Saganami Island characters, Norm Lewis is basically Augustus Khumalo in every possible way.

I've always seen Thomas Theisman as a young Bruce Greenwood, though he's much too old now. I'd say Chris Pine is my current top choice for Tom, but he might be too gorgeous - no one could ever accuse Chris Pine of looking ordinary!

Nicole Beharie, despite the fact that she's ridiculously tiny, is my top choice for Michelle Henke, and Diane Neal is my #1 for Alice Truman, though she'd have to go blonde again.

It's a fairly recent choice, but I also happen to think Lupita Nyong'o would be perfect for Queen Elizabeth.

Lucy Liu is my first choice for Allison Harrington, with Tamlyn Tomita number two on that list.

I'd say that Mila Kunis is my top choice for Eloise Pritchart, though in my head she's always looked like the inhumanly beautiful Aishwarya Rai.

...I was an actor okay I cast people in everything and I may have thought about this too much?

Personally I would prefer complete unknowns. There are a lot of VERY talented actresses out there who just need a break. Then rather than Honor being one of many roles (and perhaps not even the most important role) of her career, it will be the defining role for her career.

Plus Evergreen is on a tight budget, by using a very talented but unknown actress they would be able to spend more money in other areas. Say CGI for example.

biochem wrote:Personally I would prefer complete unknowns. There are a lot of VERY talented actresses out there who just need a break. Then rather than Honor being one of many roles (and perhaps not even the most important role) of her career, it will be the defining role for her career.

Plus Evergreen is on a tight budget, by using a very talented but unknown actress they would be able to spend more money in other areas. Say CGI for example.

I do very much agree with you - I went to school with an outrageously talented actress who would make a phenomenal Queen Elizabeth, for instance - the blunt truth is that a movie like this, with a fairly niche fanbase, needs a big name for box office draw. Star Trek got away with casting relative unknowns because it is Goddamn Star Trek. Its title is a box office draw unto itself. The Honorverse, as much as it may be loved by SF fans, doesn't have that kind of big-name franchise behind it - and I'll guarantee you a not insignificant draw for the Trek movie was Leonard Nimoy.

Now, the big names in question don't have to be Honor or the main characters. I could see those big names playing Elizabeth and Benjamin, for instance. But in order for this film to succeed, not just among Honor fans but among the general population, we are going to need one or two - if not more - big-name, marquee players.

biochem wrote:Personally I would prefer complete unknowns. There are a lot of VERY talented actresses out there who just need a break. Then rather than Honor being one of many roles (and perhaps not even the most important role) of her career, it will be the defining role for her career.

Plus Evergreen is on a tight budget, by using a very talented but unknown actress they would be able to spend more money in other areas. Say CGI for example.

Agree completely, which is why I don't think I've ever offered a suggestion in this thread.

Heh... it wouldn't surprise me if there were a 6 foot tall Eurasian actress with broad shoulders already out there somewhere and unable to get work because there are no parts for a 6 foot tall Eurasian actress with broad shoulders.

Edit: roseandheather - I agree to some extent. After all, Star Wars had two *huge* actors - Peter Cushing and Sir Alec Guinness. On a $10m budget. In 1977.

The difficult part is finding a name actor, or actors, that won't command a huge paycheck.

roseandheather wrote:...the blunt truth is that a movie like this, with a fairly niche fanbase, needs a big name for box office draw. Star Trek got away with casting relative unknowns because it is Goddamn Star Trek. Its title is a box office draw unto itself. The Honorverse, as much as it may be loved by SF fans, doesn't have that kind of big-name franchise behind it - and I'll guarantee you a not insignificant draw for the Trek movie was Leonard Nimoy.

Now, the big names in question don't have to be Honor or the main characters. I could see those big names playing Elizabeth and Benjamin, for instance. But in order for this film to succeed, not just among Honor fans but among the general population, we are going to need one or two - if not more - big-name, marquee players.

I totally agree with this and have said so earlier, but I go furthur. The movie needs a MAJOR name for the lead or it will get NO attention and will be drowned out by the latest Marvel or Trek or Star Wars movie.

Evergreen should go for Jennifer Lawrence. She'd be perfect for Honor. That alone will generate huge amounts of buzz, which is what this movie will need. Everyone else can be unknowns.

If not JL, then Scarlet Johannson. Or Uma Thurman. Or Milla Jovovich. Who cares if they don't exactly match Honor's description, most of that can be deslt with "movie magic". In a comic, you can draw the characters any way you like, but with a movie, you have to be much more flexible.

61Cygni wrote:

roseandheather wrote:...the blunt truth is that a movie like this, with a fairly niche fanbase, needs a big name for box office draw. Star Trek got away with casting relative unknowns because it is Goddamn Star Trek. Its title is a box office draw unto itself. The Honorverse, as much as it may be loved by SF fans, doesn't have that kind of big-name franchise behind it - and I'll guarantee you a not insignificant draw for the Trek movie was Leonard Nimoy.

Now, the big names in question don't have to be Honor or the main characters. I could see those big names playing Elizabeth and Benjamin, for instance. But in order for this film to succeed, not just among Honor fans but among the general population, we are going to need one or two - if not more - big-name, marquee players.

I totally agree with this and have said so earlier, but I go furthur. The movie needs a MAJOR name for the lead or it will get NO attention and will be drowned out by the latest Marvel or Trek or Star Wars movie.

Evergreen should go for Jennifer Lawrence. She'd be perfect for Honor. That alone will generate huge amounts of buzz, which is what this movie will need. Everyone else can be unknowns.

If not JL, then Scarlet Johannson. Or Uma Thurman. Or Milla Jovovich. Who cares if they don't exactly match Honor's description, most of that can be deslt with "movie magic". In a comic, you can draw the characters any way you like, but with a movie, you have to be much more flexible.

I certainly agree a big name is important and probable, but there are very, very real problems with having a character who is half-Asian in the books played by a white actress. It's not just 'matching the appearance' - it's that Honor Harrington is one of a rare handful of explicitly non-white science fiction lead characters. We owe it to her, and to science fiction fans everywhere, to honor that in good faith, the same way we owe it to them to cast Elizabeth Winton as a black actress.

The only thing Asian about Honor that has been detailed are her almond eyes. The rest of her can be placed as Eurasian, and I think there is a quote from Weber somewhere where he says that his mental image of Honor is of a young Eurasian-looking Sigourney Weaver.

So really, there is a far larger pool of actresses to choose from for Honor. You need a big name, regardless of what she looks like. The eyes can be changed with makeup and/or prosthetics/CGI. Age doesn't matter either, that also can be dealt with, and I think the whole prolong issue should be greatly modified or dumped altogether anyway.

The rest of the characters can be cast according to their book descreiptions, as they don't really matter, can be all total unkwnowns.

61Cygni wrote:The only thing Asian about Honor that has been detailed are her almond eyes. The rest of her can be placed as Eurasian, and I think there is a quote from Weber somewhere where he says that his mental image of Honor is of a young Eurasian-looking Sigourney Weaver.

...except that her mother Allison has been noted to be of almost entirely pure Old Earth Chinese heritage, meaning Honor is indeed half Asian. It's not a matter of whether or not the eyes look almond, it's that she is a non-white character and that needs to be respected.

61Cygni wrote:SNIP

The rest of the characters can be cast according to their book descreiptions, as they don't really matter, can be all total unkwnowns.

Emphasis mine.

Please, feel free to explain. I'm sure we'll find it fascinating how none of the other characters matter.