The Wheel of Time Casting Call, Tier 3, Part 2

Here is part two of my The Wheel of Time Casting Call. I forgot Amathera last week, so she's first, and then we're on to the B's. For all the you could possibly ever hope to read (and plenty I'm sure you don't care about) in regards to how I'm doing things here, please refer to the Part One as well as the Introductory Post, where I go on in endless detail about why I think what I think when I think it. And if nothing further needs saying (which, let's face it, is true), we shall move on to the casting now.

Amathera
Amathera, the Panarch of Tanchico, who became just 'Thera' once the Seanchan took over, is Julian Sanders' love interest. She is described as being well short of her middle years, lovely, and having a 'pouty mouth' and dark hair. So we're needing someone not into her middle years, considered to be attractive, dark hair, and pouty lips/mouth. I'm going to put someone up that people have a tendency not to like...


Liv Tyler is, for the most part, all of those things above. And she's really not that bad of an actress, despite the rep she's got from a couple of bad movies. Many will know her as Arwen, from The Lord of the Rings movies of course, but she's been in other movies as well, and I feel she tends to hold her own pretty well.

Places you’ve possibly seen her:
Lord of the Rings movies
Armageddon
Empire Records (awesome!)

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Bain
Bain, one of the Aiel ladies who follows Faile around forever, and become part of the love circle that Gaul so humorously participates in. She's never really given a lot of description, except that she has 'fiery hair,' and dark blue eyes. And she is the taller of her and Chiad. We have no true indication one way or the other about her age, but I can probably be assumed she's relatively young.


Laura Prepon is a beautiful young actress who fits pretty close to the criteria. It is going to become very hard to cast all the Aiel women at proper heights, since there just aren't that many extremely tall actresses in Hollywood, but I think height (for some characters) can be sacrificed for acting chops and general looks. Prepon doesn't always have 'fiery' hair, but she often does, so I think that works for her.

Places you’ve possibly seen her:
That 70's Show
Various Other TV Shows

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Bair
Bair is one of the oldest Wise Ones of our 'main' character Aiel, and is almost always described as wrinkly, leathery, grandmotherly, or all three. She needs to be powerful (as all the Aiel do), and needs to have a pretty strong presence.


Vanessa Redgrave has been, for the years I've been watching TV and movies, 'the grandmother' in countless shows and films. I remember her from several TV shows and movies, and always think, "Hey, it's that woman who always plays the grandmother." I think she'll do a fine job as Bair. Plus, she's already been in one movie called The Gathering Storm, so it's like it's destiny or something.

Places you’ve possibly seen her:
Deep Impact
Cradle Will Rock
Various TV Shows

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Basel Gill
The innkeeper and owner of 'The Queen's Blessing,' friend of Thom Merrilin, and general all-around 'good guy,' Basel Gill is the 'trustworthy' type of innkeeper - that is, he's fat and jolly. He is described as having a pink face and being very round, and having a pleasant smile.


There are a few good portly actors still around, but not all of them fit the 'pink' face-ness of Mr. Gill. Paul Sorvino is one who does. He often plays lawyers and gangsters, but I think he would be able to pull off the friendly innkeeper pretty well.

Places you’ve possibly seen him:
Goodfellas
Romeo + Juliet
Many TV Shows

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Bayle Domon
The Illianer captain of the Spray who inadvertently saves Rand, Mat, and Thom's lives in The Eye of the World has taken on a bit of a larger role in the later series. Though he is not by any means a main character, he is around often, and is attached to Egeanin. He is a large man, muscular and wide, and do be 'as big as a bear,' according to Nynaeve.


I think the first time I ever saw Robbie Coltrane was in Goldeneye - the movie itself was pretty terrible (as were most of the Brosnan-era Bond movies), but Sean Bean and Robbie were two 'lights upon the darkness' in the movies. He's a big fellow, and very wide, and I think would do well as our crazy-talkin' Illianer.

Places you’ve possibly seen him:
Harry Potter (duh)
Goldeneye
The World is Not Enough

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Berelain sur Paendrag
The beautiful 'First of Mayene,' I knew all along Berelain would be of the characters toughest to cast - not because, like Our Heroes or the SuperGirls, she is so important, but rather because she has a very strict criteria as 'one of the most beautiful women in the world,' and that can be something difficult to be objective about. Lanfear will be the same way, but I've known who would Lanfear since I started this project in my head.


Anne Hathaway fits all of the criteria for Berelain. She is 'pale,' she is 'dark haired,' and she is beautiful. I think many would have a hard time honestly trying to say she was not those three things (even as subjective as 'beauty' is), but on top of all that, she's a really fine actress. I don't have any doubts that she could pull off Berelain with ease.

Places you’ve possibly seen her:
Get Smart (the new one)
The Princess Diaries
Brokeback Mountain

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Beslan
The son of (the late) Tylin, Beslan is first introduced as a bit of a nuisance - one of those 'why won't you just leave Mat alone??' characters (of which there are many). He eventually comes into his own, after the unfortunate demise of Tylin, and right in time to be not-so-much-into-his-own-because-of-the-Seanchan. He is dark haired, young, and has 'beautiful black eyes.'


I cannot think of too many actors with 'black eyes,' but as far as young, dark-haired, and pretty good looking go, there are many. And Frodo wins this one. Elijah Wood, who I never really cared for until he became Mr. Baggins, (and who also played a pretty awesomely horrifying villain in Sin City) has come into his own well in recent years - just like Beslan (should have). He'll make a good queen's son.

By the way, with as much fame as Elijah got from the LotR, it's amazing how hard it is to find decent pictures of him.

Places you’ve possibly seen him:
Lord of the Rings movies
The Good Son
Sin City

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Birgitte
Birgitte Silverbow is the heroine of many hundreds of gleemen's tales and legends. She is also now Elayne's Warder, after having been ripped out of Tel'aran'rhiod by Moghedien. She has long, golden hair, and sharp blue eyes, and is supposed to be relatively tall.


Ali Larter, who you probably know from Heroes looks almost exactly how I picture Birgitte. She's pretty, with 'golden' hair, tall, and has a warrior-like build to her. And she already knows how to do the action role, so no extra training required to look like she's battle-hardened. The picture above is presumably captured from her time spent with Valan Luca and the circus.

Places you’ve possibly seen her:
Heroes TV show
Legally Blonde (yeah, I went there)
Final Destination movies

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There goes Part Two of the Tier 3/4 categories. Next time (probably after Christmas), we'll do Caroline Damodred up through Darlin Sisnera. I hope you're finding this interesting, and please comment if you have any suggestions, or just want to ask more details about why/how I chose various actors.

Cheers!
-E.S.

The Wheel of Time Casting Call, Tier 3, Part 1

Well, I've gotten things going here. I want to let you know though, this is actually a pretty tough project. People don't often think about the complexities involved in choosing good actors and actresses for such popular roles who also fit the look of the characters. 'Tain't easy folks, is all I'm saying, and that's just knowing that I have to make myself happy with these decisions - not even considering that you guys will probably want to be happy with who is casted as well.

I want to say a few things before I get started.

First of all, there is no possible way to get actors and actresses who look just like what their character should look like. In fact, it's impossible to even try. Therefore, for my casting, I have given myself two 'rules' to work within. The boundaries are this - the actor/actress just have a similar defining feature as the character, and, he or she must be an actual actor or actress. The first rule means that, if the most common thing used to describe a character is their hair color (say, with Elayne, when it mentions her red-gold/sun-colored hair), then that is the major physical attribute I use. Height is the second-most important consideration after hair-color, since the Wheel of Time makes so many mentions of it. The second rule means that I won't be using people who are only models, musicians, etcetera - they must have had a speaking role in a motion picture to be included.

A few other things worth mentioning. First of all, for more information about which characters are in which Tier, refer to the Introductory Post I made last week. There was a comment that Lan should be brought up to Tier 2 or even Tier 1, and while I certainly disagree with Tier 1, I could possibly be convinced he's a Tier 2 character, just let me know what you think. Also concerning this, please remember I combined the Tier 3 and Tier 4, and that's what we're working on from here on out.

Secondly, for the descriptions of the characters, I am going very simple - I am using whatever is said under "Character Description" about the character over at the WoT Encyclopaedia. Therefore, if the only description there is "she's old," even if I could possibly find her hair character by digging through 10,000+ pages, I am not going to do that, and will at that point make a few assumptions. And on the subject of character descriptions, I have always pictured the Aiel as very much Native American-ish - their heights, hair and skin coloring, and even culture is extremely reminiscent of this. However, due to the fact that the number one feature in describing Aiel is usually their height and their light or red hair, those are the two features on which I will be focusing. This means that most of the Aiel I've cast are Caucasions, and I hope that is okay with everyone. While we're on the subject of ethnicity and race, a lot of time, skin-color is mostly left out in tWoT, other than to say "a person is dark-skinned," or "a person is pale," or things of the like. This is not the case when speaking of very specific races, such as Sea-Folk and Seanchan - I take this to assume that the majority of Randland is Caucasian-ish. I do not intend to step on anybody's toes, but with only a few exceptions, there are no black actors and actresses cast.

Thirdly, I am assuming an infinite budget for the casting of this film. What does that mean? It means that if I want to assume that the director is willing to pay the quite-literally billions of dollars it would cost to get all these people together on the same set, then that is exactly what the director will do. I decided not to limit myself by trying to think "how would one realistically cast this series" - the cast is a very ideal one.

Fourth, for the sake the fact that this may take a long time, and could also have been done ten-twenty years ago, I am saying that all actresses and actors I cast, it is assumed they will remain alive long enough for me to finish this project. That means that I won't be recasting someone who is played by an older person if that person happens to pass away in the near future. At the same time, I will not be doing anything like, "well XXXX actress would have made a great YYYY character 10 years ago, let's pretend she's still only ZZZZ years old." That's just goofy (as much as I want(ed) Julia Ormond to play Moraine originally).

And finally, a note about pictures - in particular, in regards to female pictures. In my scouring, I have found that for most of these actresses, under the age of say, 30, the pictures tend to be like they're modeling a dress. Many were pseudo-pornographic. I have tried to choose pictures where the actress or actor looks professional, and in certain situations, may even look like they're playing the role they're in. However, for some of the actresses, it was like swimming up a waterfall to find pictures that didn't look like they were selling lingerie. With that being said, some of the females' pictures are rather, ahem . . . skimpy . . . so hopefully that won't cause any offense. And it's not that there weren't also plenty of male photos of similar ilk, but definitely, it seems to me that actors are photographed in suits much more often than actresses are photographed in dresses. Ah well...

Well, that's all the intro we need, I believe. Let's get started, shall we? Here are the first eight of Tier 3 (and Tier 4, technically) in alphabetical order.

Adeleas Namelle/Vandene Namelle
These twin sisters have been in the series for almost as long as the heroes, though they have had limited screen time. The descriptions of these Sisters usually includes the fact that they are both very old, that they both have white hair, and that they both have very fine features. Well, I'm just going to use one actress to play both parts (since there is a bit of humor in that Mat could never tell them apart), and that person is Maggie Smith.

Put a little bit of dye in Maggie's hair, and you would not even be able to tell that the description above isn't just talking about her, instead of fictional characters. Maggie is a very stately lady, often playing sophisticated parts in movies with a very serious manner. Here's a picture of her being 'wizardly,' suitable for either character.

Places you've possibly seen her:
The Harry Potter Movies
Sister Act
Hook

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Alanna Mosvani
Ah yes, that woman, the one who bonded Rand against his will, and then has done very little in the seven books since then to redeem herself. She is supposed to be very beautiful, often described as 'dark and fiery.'

Gina Holden has played a lot of one-shot roles in television shows, and each time I've seen her (which has been on Supernatural and Smallville), I've been at least relatively impressed with her acting, and thoroughly impressed with her looks. Here she is wearing her Ajah's colors (what little she's wearing, that is).

Places you've possibly seen her:
Saw3D
Various CW TV Shows
Harper's Island

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Alivia
The ex-damane in Min's fabled Viewing, the person who will 'help Rand die.' She likely has a pretty important role to play. She is over four hundred years old, but doesn't look it, due to her remarkable strength in the One Power. She has yellow hair with streaks of white, and 'fine wrinkles' at the corners of her 'blue eyes.'

Meredith Baxter is most commonly known for the roles she played in Family and Family Ties. She has a very strong personality and look, and has just the right amount of crow's feet to look like what I picture of Alivia, though she would need a bit of dye. Here she is in damane-gray (though not a dress).

Places you've possibly seen her:
Family
Family Ties
Various Cold Case episodes

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Alliandre Kigarin
Alliandre, Queen of Ghealdan, Blessed of the Light, Defender of Garen's Wall, is one of Perrin's followers as of Towers of Midnight - she asked for his protection from Masema, and has been with Perrin ever since. She is in her middle years, has dark hair, and a long-ish nose.

Julia Ormond is one of two actresses I would have chosen to play Moraine if I had done this twelve-fifteen years ago. She was once beautiful, but I don't find that she's aged particularly well. She still has a majestic presence about her, though, and should be able to pull the Queen with no problem. Best 'queenly' picture of her I could find.

Places you've possibly seen her:
First Knight
Sabrina
Legends of the Fall

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Aludra
Aludra is the Taraboner Illuminator who has run into (and been hanging out with) Mat several times now. She has dark hair (no longer in braids in the Taraboner style), is pretty, and has a 'small, full mouth.' The 'full mouth' description is an odd one, I assume it means 'full lips,' so that's what I went with.


Rachel McAdams fits that criteria, as long as my definition of RJ's description works (and honestly, even if it doesn't, I'm going with it). I never really liked Rachel McAdams, though my wife is very fond of her as an actress. She tends to be stronger in mostly comedic roles, I feel, but I'm willing to give her a chance.

Places you've possibly seen her:
Sherlock Holmes
Red Eye
Wedding Crashers

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Amys
Our first Aiel to be cast, Amys is one of the Wise One Dreamwalkers, and is also a channeler of the One Power. Because of this, she looks younger than she really is, though she has white hair anyway. As an Aiel, she needs to look strong and fierce.


I've gone with Patricia Wettig, who does not have white hair, but I think that can be dealt with pretty easily. What she does have is strength of character, and a strong, tall presence. Her voice could be a bit stronger, from what I imagine of Amys, but once again, I believe that could just be handled by her acting.

Places you've possibly seen her:
Brothers and Sisters
Prisonbreak
Cityslickers I and II

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Androl Genhald
Androl is a Dedicated at the Black Tower, first introduced in Winter's Heart, and then playing a much larger role in Towers of Midnight. His only true description that I've found is 'square-faced with heavy eyebrows,' so that gives us a lot of opportunities to pick and choose. And I'm going with someone that (my guess is) many will believe should be reserved for higher-tiered characters.


Zachary Quinto, the guy with the heaviest eyebrows I can find, looks suitably brooding and dark to be a Dedicated under the thumb of Mazrim Taim. He has some pretty serious acting chops, and even looks the part - behold, here he is in an Asha'Man coat! :)

Places you've possibly seen him:
Heroes TV Show
Star Trek (2009)
Various Single Appearances on TV through the 2000's

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Aram
Aram is the grandson of Raen and Ila, and is a Tinker. He is dark haired, dark-eyed, and handsome, and is a youth like Our Heroes. Until is untimely demise in Knife of Dreams, he was hanging around Perrin, acting rather surly all the time.


The least-famous celebrity on this casting call today goes to Aram - Aaron Johnson will be his actor. I actually don't know him extremely well, but thought he was pretty good in Kick-Ass. Here he is, looking too damned pretty (and quite Frodo-like) for his own good (I'm sure Perrin would have something to say about it as well).

Places you've possibly seen him:
Kick-Ass
Nowhere Boy
Shanghai Knights

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Well, there you have it. Part one, the first eight, which also happened to be all the "A's" in Tier 3/4. I will be doing eight more next week as well, until we're done with this Tier. I do hope you've enjoyed it, and I hope you'll comment if you find any particular improvements I could make, or have any questions to ask. I will say, I have already chosen all the actors and actresses to play the characters, so you don't need to give me any suggestions unless you just want to. But I won't confirm or deny anyone until they've been posted here on the site! :)

Cheers!
-E.S.

The Wheel of Time Casting Call (Take 2) Introduction

Okay, so I'm back, and I have figured out how this is going to work, and thought I would let those of you reading know what's going on, so you have an idea what to expect.

Basically, with the help of some kind people over at Theoryland Forums, I have set up a ranking system for most of the major players in the Wheel of Time. Here is the criteria I used to rank characters.

Tier One Characters are arguably the story's 'main characters' - those who the plot and premise of the Wheel of Time revolve around. There may be a couple names in here that look out of place, but I will explain them if questions arise. Tier One Characters are (in alphabetical order by first name):

Egwene al'Vere, Elayne Trakand, Ishamael / Elan Morin Tedronai, Lanfear / Mierin Eronaile, Matrim Cauthon, Moraine Damodred, Moridin, Nynaeve al'Meara, Perrin Aybara, Rand al'Thor

Tier Two Characters are characters who are the major instigators of sub-plots, have lots of close connections with Tier One Characters, and who play major roles throughout most of the series, in some way or another. They are (again, alphabetically):

Aginor / Ishar Morrad Chuain, Alviarin Freidhen, Aran'gar, Asmodean / Joar Addam Nessosin / Jasin Natael, Aviendha, Balthamel / Eval Ramman, Be'lal / Duram Laddel Cham / High Lord Samon, Cadsuane Melaidhrin, Couladin, Cyndane, Demandred / Barid Bel Medar, Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan, Fortuona (Tuon) Athaem Kore Paendrag, Galad Damodred, Gawyn Trakand, Graendal / Kamarile Maradim Nindar, Logain Ablar, Mazrim Taim, Mesaana / Saine Tarasind / Danelle Sedai, Min Farshaw, Moghedien / Lilen Moiral / Gyldin / Marigan, Morgase Trakand, Osan'gar, Padan Fain, Rahvin / Ared Mosine / Gaebril, Sammael / Tel Janin Aellinsar / Lord Brend, Semirhage / Nemene Damendar Boann / Anath, Sevanna, Siuan Sanche, Thom Merrilin, Verin Mathwin, Zarine (Faile) Bashere

Big list, but there's a bigger coming.

Tier Three Characters were the trickiest to come up with, because with 1800 named characters in this series, I could make tons of tiers, but I needed this one to be the last major tier I cast. The criteria for characters belonging to this tier are that they have to have contributed to the sub-plots in significant ways, either through politicking, constant 'screen time,' or manipulating events to work out in specific ways. This is by far the largest of the tiers. Observe:

Alanna Mosvani, Alliandre Kigarin, Aludra, Amathera, Amys, Aram, Bain, Bair, Basel Gill, Bayle Domon, Berelain sur Paendrag, Beslan, Birgitte, Chel Vanin, Chiad, Colavaere Saighan, Dain Bornhald, Damer Flinn, Darlin Sisnera, Daved Hanlon / Doilin Mellar, Davram Bashere, Delana Mosalaine, Dobraine Taborwin, Dyelin Taravin, Eamon Valda, Egeanin (Leilwin) Tamarath, Elyas Machera, Fager Neald, Galina Casban, Gareth Bryne, Gaul, the Gholam, Herid Fel, Ingtar of House Shinowa, Isam, Jaichim Carridin, Jain Farstrider / Noal, Jaret Byar, Joline Maza, Juilin Sandar, Jur Grady, (al')Lan Mandragoran, Leane Sharif, Lelaine Akashi, Liandrin, Loial son of Arent son of Halan, Martyn Tallanvor, Masema Dagar, Melaine, Merana Ambrey, Merilille Ceandevin, Morvrin, Myrelle Berengari, Pedron Niall, Pevara Tazanovni, Rhuarc, Rodel Ituralde, Romanda Cassin, Sebban Balwer, Sheriam Bayanar, Silviana Brehon, Sorilea, Sulin, Suroth Sabelle Meldarath, Talmanes of House Delovinde, Tam al'Thor, Tarna Feir, Teslyn Baradon, Therava, Turak Aladon, Tylin Quintara of House Mitsobar, Valan Luca

Finally, the last tier.

Tier Four Characters are people I feel need to be casted whether or not they've significantly contributed to the story (though some have, just in subtle ways, such as Noam) - it could probably be argued that this Tier is basically my favorites that didn't make it onto the previous Tier, but I want to cast anyway. ;) Here you go:

Adeleas Namelle, Alivia, Androl Genhald, Caraline Damodred, Carlinya, Elza Penfell, Faolain Orande, Geofram Bornhald, Jahar Narishma, Laras, Lopin, Nalesean of House Aldiaya, Nerim, Noam, Olver, Reanne Corly, Selucia, Shiaine Avarhin / Mili Skane, Sylvase of House Caeren, Theodrin Dabei, Toram Riatin, Uno Nomesta, Vandene Namelle, Weiramon Saniago

So, a few notes about who I left out. I left out the leaders of all the Houses that competed with Elayne for the Rose Crown, I left out most of Liandrin's original Thirteen, and tons of other named Aes Sedai who haven't really had a part worth mentioning in the story, and it is probably very obvious that I have left out any Sea Folk - I'm unsure of any of their contributions to the story (other than as a passive-aggressive-almost-antagonistic role, if such a thing exists)

I would like you guys to let me know (if you care) whether or not any of those in there you really, really think need casting. Or, if you want someone not mentioned above, please tell me why. Some of the characters may actually be important in some way, but I just don't think most fans (once again) would really care who played them - the actor/actress wouldn't make or break the movie, in other words.

As a final note, I only made Tier Three and Tier Four separate for my arbitrary listing patterns - I will actually be combining them for the casting call itself. I will start with Tier Three/Four characters, going through about a dozen per post (in alphabetical order), then will move up to Tier Two, before ending with Tier One. I hope to have the first post up by the end of next week (Friday-ish).

Hope you enjoy!
-E.S.

On the "Wheel of Time" Casting Call project

For those (few) of you waiting for me to continue this project, I've decided to change up how I'm doing it. I am going to try to do the entire Series, instead of just tEotW, which means I have to resort a lot of characters. So please bear with me as I work out some kinks and then move on.

Wheel of Time Casting Call, Part 1 - Fourth Tier Characters from The Eye of the World

While preparing myself mentally for the upcoming Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Re-Read, I thought I'd partake in a project I've always wanted to do. Enjoy.

Casting The Wheel of Time is something that a lot of people try to do. I’m not saying I can do it better, but my thoughts are that ::ahem:: I can do it better :)  (Please allow your minds to accept some facetiousness, sent your way, courtesy Yours Truly).  One thing I will not be doing though, is casting major actors in the roles of major characters. I’ll probably put some pretty awesome actors in supporting-character roles, but I want faces and names that don’t have a lot of baggage attached to them for major characters.

The casting of The Eye of the World is a very serious thing, with a lot of work to go into it. There are a ton of characters, and most of them are extremely important to not only this first book, but the entire series. And many of them have roles to play in later books, even if they’re not important. I have tried to rank these characters in some sort of Order of Importance and Priority. The First Tier includes Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, Nynaeve, Min, and Elayne (and there would be others introduced in later books), so because I’m a tease, I’ll do them last. Feel free to mention in the comments if you have suggestions, I promise to at least read them. The Second Tier are other characters who are important through both this first book and the entire series as a whole, and have plenty of POVs in the series. The Third Tier includes characters who are extremely important throughout the series as a whole, but may not have major roles to play in The Eye of the World, other than just being introduced. The last and Fourth Tier are characters who have some sort of importance in the series, either as recurring roles in the whole “Conservation of Characters” trope, or they give some sort of important information. I have ranked these characters by my own criteria, so they may not conform to some sort of arbitrary criteria of your own. I’m just not going to worry about that. Aaaaaaand, naturally, I’ll be starting with Tier Four. Enjoy!

(PS - I have no idea if I'll actually do the other books in the series, so assuming laziness, I have casted these characters as if it would be a one-shot movie.  The reason I mention it is because, should I do the entire series, some of these actors may be better suited elsewhere.  But that's neither here nor now.)

Bran and Marin al’Vere - Bran and Marin are Egwene’s parents, and the innkeepers of the Winespring Inn. Bran is the mayor of Emond’s Field, and he’s often described as pretty portly, and not having a lot of hair. The hair he has is grayish. Bran and Marin’s ages are never mentioned explicitly, but knowing that Egwene is sixteen years old when the series starts, and is the youngest of five children, I put the al’Veres to being about fifty-ish years old. For Bran, I’m leaning towards Michael McShane. Michael is large-ish, balding, and a pretty good actor. Though he has mostly done comedic roles, I feel pretty confident he could pull it off. For some reason, while I was thinking of Marin, I was thinking that she, too, was overweight like her husband. However, according to the Encyclopaedia Wheel of Time, she is a slender woman with graying hair, tied into a braid. I think Blythe Danner would be perfect for the role.

Haral and Alsbet Luhhan - The blacksmith of Emond’s field and his wife, Haral and Alsbet are the two largest people in town. Alsbet is often described as “nearly as wide and as tall as her husband.” I don’t recall their ages ever being mentioned, so I’m going for the mid-to-late forties. If anyone can correct me on that with text from the book(s), I may change this selection. For Haral, I’m going with Stephen Lang, who has been seen most recently in Avatar, and the over-muscled general. For Alsbet, though she’s not as large or tall as made out to be, I believe Frances Conroy has a strong enough personality and has enough broader shape to her to pull off the role. Sigourney Weaver was another option, and could really be a toss-up as far as I'm concerned.

Floran Gelb - Gelb only serves the roll of being a human punching bag in this first book, but he do be one of those characters that keeps showing up in later books, so thus needs a named actor. He’s scrawny, and has a long nose, and a “greedy smile.” If I was going by that description alone, I would almost have to put Adrien Brody as him, but Adrien is such a fine and strong actor that, like Sigourney above, I have another idea in mind for him. I’ve decided to go with Mackenzie Crook, who is known as “that eyeball guy” in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He’s thin as a rake, and looks untrustworthy enough to be an... errr... untrustworthy sailor. Plus, he has experience on ships already from Pirates. Win, win all around.

Raen and Ila - The grandparents of Aram. Raen is skinny and gray-haired, and Ila is a bit taller than Raen. I feel as though their roles in the books are to provide a comforting presence to Egwene and Perrin. I pretty much just want to go with Rosemary Harris and Cliff Robertson, or probably much better known nowadays as Aunt May and Uncle Ben from the Spiderman movies.

Aram - The dark-haired, dark-eyed Tinker boy who “dances like a bird” and is apparently very attractive. His age is never given, so I assume him to be no older than Perrin when they meet (18), and no younger than Egwene, based on their interactions. There are a lot of attractive and good young actors out and about right now, and some of them need to definitely be saved for more important characters, but I think Aaron Johnson of recent Kick-Ass fame would do a great job. Sure he’s a little old, but they’ve been putting people who are too old for the role in movies for eons and it’s worked out fine (::cough cough:: Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future and Ralph Macchio in Karate Kid). He looks like a pretty boy, and has some decent chops about him.

Geofram Bornhald - The wise, grandfatherly Lord Captain of the Children of the Light. Dark eyes and gray hair are all the descriptors really ever given of him. I can think of no one better for this role than Geoffrey Rush, who famously played Captain Barbosa in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (but many other awesome roles as well). The man may be one of the finest actors of our time, and he seriously needs to go out with a bang (like, say in, fighting the Seanchan).

Else Grinwell - Plump and pretty Else, who serves no purpose other than to give Rand a bit of “tight pants” while he and Mat are out on the road, and shows up again later in the White Tower. She doesn’t have to be gorgeous, just pretty. Dark hair and “big eyes.” I think Alyson Stoner, a young actress who has been in several comedies and TV shows would do a good job for this relatively unimportant part.

Howal Gode - Another person who isn’t given a lot of screen time or description, but important enough in the first book to warrant a casting. All that is said about him is that he is plump, and has “soft looking hands,” (why are so many people in the WoT “plump?”) so we don’t have a lot to go by. I also picture him looking pretty sleazy, so will go with that. I think Chris Elliot would nail this role - he looks like a slimeball and has a pretty soft look to him. Would need to shave the beard though.

Paitr Conel - Our last Fourth Tier character from tEofW goes to Paitr, the darkfriend who accosts Mat and Rand in Market Sheran. He reappears later in A Crown of Swords, in some character-conservation, and has some relatively minor-major-ish roles to play. He has curly hair, and is older than Rand. He needs to look like he would be pretty easy to beat up, so a lot of the pretty-boy actors of nowadays could handle that aspect, but I don’t get the impression he’s extremely attractive. Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter movies, would do perfectly, I believe.

I hope you've enjoyed this. Hopefully Tier Four was a good enough tease to get you back to look at my casting for some much more important characters.

Until next time.
-E.S.