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

fester wrote:

Andor wrote:I tend not to contribute to casting threads since my knowledge of actors is pretty spare (I fail to see why people idolize entertainers.)

However my instinct is that an HH movie, especially if it's intended ot be the start of a series, would be better served by making a casting director earn their pay by finding the right people for the job, reguardless of hollywood 'name brand' status. If that gives us a ship full of unknowns who nonetheless look and act their part, I'd be happy.

Agreed for two reasons.

1) Most likely any initial Honorverse production will not be a $100 million dollar mega-movie. (If successful, sequals might see big budgets, but not the first one.)

2) The Honorverse has a mainline span of 20 years now --the actress needs to grow with the character without looking ancient by movie # 5 if the movie series is successful. Prolong is minimally needed as a movie plot device -- it is mainly an wizbang, geewow effect of the future with minimal plot neccessity in the books. An aging Honor is fine, especially if the actress starts off in her 20s and finishes the series in her early 40s.

I generally don't join these types of threads either. But I don't think anyone would disagree that the directors should find the right actor for the job. The point of this thread is for people to propose the names of people they think are right for the job.

Star Knight wrote:
Just think Starship Troopers (yes, i mentioned that one).

I refuse. That movie badly irritated me. The book irritated me too, but like most books, it was better than the movie, lol.

I think emphasizing prolong too strongly would be a mistake. Look at all the vampire movies out there where the vamps have been around for hundreds of years and are still looking good - but not always young. Casting for the Honorverse could be done similarly. Remember that there are multiple ranges of prolong. At this point there's still a significant range of older looking people mixed in with the teenage-looking ship captains in the Honorverse.

I'd prefer Honor be portrayed as an authority figure that would not require a suspension of disbelief - at least for a movie.

Early to mid 20's in Basilisk, then let the prolong take hold in the early 30's. That gives you a VERY wide net to cast for potential actresses. Hollywood can keep an actor looking like they are in their 30's for at least 30 years, enough time for a few movies over time if it does well.

With some appropriate make-up, Kristanna Loken would be a good bet for the fight scenes (remember that the Coup is not a fancy martial art. It's a combination of all the dirty tricks and deadly strikes a few people managed to pull together and call a martial art. It's not going to be fancy, it's going to be straightforward brutal, and Loken did that pretty well in Terminator.

As for command ability, I've not seen any other movie with Loken in a significant role. Looking at her movie roles to date, I imagine she could be hired for less than most of the other actresses mentioned here, lol.

Cheopis wrote:I think emphasizing prolong too strongly would be a mistake. Look at all the vampire movies out there where the vamps have been around for hundreds of years and are still looking good - but not always young.

The question is not what looks "good" but what will bring in viewers. Prolong gives you something to work with in that regard.

Cheopis wrote:
I'd prefer Honor be portrayed as an authority figure that would not require a suspension of disbelief - at least for a movie.

But that is exactly what could be unique when compared to other scifi movies.
You need something like that. A female starship captain is nothing anybody will care about. Just think Janeway, been there, done that. A young, pretty female with a cute cat on her shoulders commanding a starship? Thats something different. Thats exotic. Thats how you generate interest.
I dont see a real issue with disbelieving what you re seeing. We are not talking about immature High school washout getting command of a starship (why does this remind me about Star Trek 11?). As long as Honor is potrayed right and the movie as the right style it will be exotic but not a problem.

Cheopis wrote:
Early to mid 20's in Basilisk, then let the prolong take hold in the early 30's. That gives you a VERY wide net to cast for potential actresses. Hollywood can keep an actor looking like they are in their 30's for at least 30 years, enough time for a few movies over time if it does well.

I wont complain about such things if they give us a couple of movies. I have no issues with ageing.
Im talking about generating interest for the movie. Prolong is great thing for that.

Star Knight wrote:

Cheopis wrote:
Early to mid 20's in Basilisk, then let the prolong take hold in the early 30's. That gives you a VERY wide net to cast for potential actresses. Hollywood can keep an actor looking like they are in their 30's for at least 30 years, enough time for a few movies over time if it does well.

I wont complain about such things if they give us a couple of movies. I have no issues with ageing.
Im talking about generating interest for the movie. Prolong is great thing for that.

Prolong, vampirism, or elves, it's the plot of the movie that matters. Very few people choose to watch a movie because the actors are playing characters that are older than they look. Age is a subtheme at best, normally not even that.

It might be "cool" briefly to watch a 14 year old actress in command of a space ship crewed by a bunch of people that look much older than her, but it would quickly grow irritating to adult viewers.

Cast the Honorverse like you would a movie about vampires or elves. Early-20's to late 40's appearances.

Cheopis wrote:Prolong, vampirism, or elves, it's the plot of the movie that matters. Very few people choose to watch a movie because the actors are playing characters that are older than they look.

They chose to watch cause it looks interesting.
Young pretty asian girl with cat in command of a starhsip is interesting.

Cheopis wrote:It might be "cool" briefly to watch a 14 year old actress in command of a space ship crewed by a bunch of people that look much older than her, but it would quickly grow irritating to adult viewers.

I never said anything about a 14 year old. That would be painful to watch. Someone looking around 17-19 will work.

Cheopis wrote:

Star Knight wrote:

Cheopis wrote:
Early to mid 20's in Basilisk, then let the prolong take hold in the early 30's. That gives you a VERY wide net to cast for potential actresses. Hollywood can keep an actor looking like they are in their 30's for at least 30 years, enough time for a few movies over time if it does well.

I wont complain about such things if they give us a couple of movies. I have no issues with ageing.
Im talking about generating interest for the movie. Prolong is great thing for that.

Prolong, vampirism, or elves, it's the plot of the movie that matters. Very few people choose to watch a movie because the actors are playing characters that are older than they look. Age is a subtheme at best, normally not even that.

It might be "cool" briefly to watch a 14 year old actress in command of a space ship crewed by a bunch of people that look much older than her, but it would quickly grow irritating to adult viewers.

Cast the Honorverse like you would a movie about vampires or elves. Early-20's to late 40's appearances.

Look at Buffy, all the main stars in Buffy were in their twenties when they were cast for their roles and pulled off being teenagers quite well.

For that matter Hollywood always casts people that look far younger than their ranks are in reality. All you would have to do is cast non prolong people the ages they SHOULD be to have the rank they do and you'd have the proper effect.

Sheriff Yoda wrote:Look at Buffy, all the main stars in Buffy were in their twenties when they were cast for their roles and pulled off being teenagers quite well.

For that matter Hollywood always casts people that look far younger than their ranks are in reality. All you would have to do is cast non prolong people the ages they SHOULD be to have the rank they do and you'd have the proper effect.

Relax. Nobody said that the actors had to be[/b] teenaged. The suggestion was that they [i]look teenaged, just as you say.

Sheriff Yoda wrote:Look at Buffy, all the main stars in Buffy were in their twenties when they were cast for their roles and pulled off being teenagers quite well.

You generally don't use under-18 actors if you can avoid it because child labor laws don't mesh well with Hollywood schedules.

drothgery wrote:

Sheriff Yoda wrote:Look at Buffy, all the main stars in Buffy were in their twenties when they were cast for their roles and pulled off being teenagers quite well.

You generally don't use under-18 actors if you can avoid it because child labor laws don't mesh well with Hollywood schedules.

This is true.

At Basilisk Station, Honor is in her forties and is supposed to look almost twenty. Age is not a problem. An actress who looks the part and can act the part - crucial.

Ensign Tremaine and the lieutenant j.g.'s should look like they just hit puberty, but their roles are not as great. Not as much of a challenge as casting for Harry Potter.