This suggestion was left in a comment on the last fan-cast post. I think it’s a crime that Vincent Cassel has NOT played Frollo, like in what reality does this man go through life having never played Frollo?
I don’t think I have seen enough of his movies to peg him for a specific type but I think he could pull off a very intense dramatic depiction of the character if the script called for it. OR he could play it more subdue. The point is I think he could pull off most takes of on Frollo. Preferably a dramatic version but if it’s a comedy, he would still deliver a great performance. He did voice Monsieur Hood in Shrek so he could handle a “humorous” take on Frollo if that is the version that was getting made.
The Look
Black Swan
Cassel also has the exact right look for Frollo. He’s has an angler, triangle shaped face which would work so well for Frollo, no conturing necessary. He also has a intense stare which is also needed.
Seriously how has he never played Frollo?
The Role
Vincent Cassel
There are few actors working today that are as perfect for a role as Vincent Cassel is for Frollo. It is an injustice that he has never played the role in a movie or series.
But What do you think? Would Vincent Cassel make an ideal Frollo? Or can you think of someone better suited to the role?
If you have a casting suggestion, please leave it in the comments, I’d love to read them.
It been a VERY LONG TIME since we have done a proper Hypothetical casting post so I thought let’s get back into the groove and cast multiple characters from a single show.
Let’s looks at Bridgerton, which I enjoy (season 3 hype) for casting options.
For those of you who do not know Bridgerton is Netflix show based on Julia Quinn’s Recency Romance Book Series. It has so far one spin-off series with Queen Charlotte but for this casting we will just source the flagship series (I will add a two actors from Charlotte as bonus because I think they would suit the role too.)
For this casting let’s use actors who have appeared in Bridgerton for a Disney version, plus one extra character because I want to. These casting picks are based on the Disney movie so the picks are based off of looks and acting. Let’s ASSUME they all can sing. Side note the gargoyles were a puzzler…..
Jonathan Bailey as Quasimodo
Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton Season 2
Quasimodo requires nuance to play and I think Jonathan Bailey could be up to the task. I mean he could Phoebus or even Frollo but we’re going Quasimodo. Give Bailey as bit of an acting challenge. Plus most actors would love to play Quasimodo.
Simone Ashley as Esmeralda
Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma Bridgeton Season 2
Simone Ashley has already been in one live action, The Little Mermaid it wasn’t a leading role. She would make a PERFECT Disney Esmeralda. She has the right type of look and she plays the head-strong, smart, no-nonsense type but with a soft sensitivity that Disney’s Esmeralda has in spades. Plus she has danced in Bridgeton.
Anthony Head as Frollo
Anthony Head as Lord Sheffield, Bridgerton Season 2
Anthony Head is one episode of season 2 so it counts. Bridgerton, and I might just have rewatch it, doesn’t have a large swath of what I would consider “Frollo-types” in the cast but I think he could make a great Frollo. He has the right look for the part and is a decent age for Disney Frollo, he can also sing which is a plus.
Freddie Stroma as Phoebus
Freddie Stroma as Prince Friedrich, Bridgerton Season 1
Phoebus should be an easy casting and that makes can make it hard. Freddie Stroma would be fine in as Phoebus but Bridgerton has many options and this just the one I picked. Originally I had considered Jonathan Bailey and Regé-Jean Page for Phoebus however Freddie Stroma just edged them out for Phoebus.
Regé-Jean Page as Clopin
Regé-Jean Page as Duke of Hasting Bridgerton Season 1
Regé-Jean Page as Clopin just seemed right. Don’t know why just does. I think he could have fun in the role furthermore couldn’t just see him killing the songs.
Hugh Sachs as Hugo
Hugh Sachs as Brimsley Bridgeton
Hugo was the hardest to cast. I think if there was new iteration of the gargoyles they have to tone them down like in the German musical, especially Hugo. So in the end I just considered just voices so it’s Hugh Sachs who plays Brimsley, also very coincidental about the names. He really the only one from the Bridgeton cast would could voice Hugo effectively.
Julian Ovenden as Victor
Julian Ovenden as Henry Granville Bridgerton Season 1
Originally it was going to be Anthony Head for Victor and Julian Ovenden for Frollo but the deciding factor was age. Disney Frollo skews older than other versions of the character so I swapped them. I do think Julian Ovenden can play the stately, sensitive slight comedic Victor very well and he can also sing very well.
Julie Andrews as Laverne
Julie Andrews
This is an indulgence because it is the treasure to humanity Julie Andrews. She is perfect and would make a perfect Laverne I have no doubt. Goldie Rosheuvel and Adjoa Andoh would also be great picks for Laverne but had to go with Andrews.
Bonus: Jessica Madsen as Fleur de Lys
Jessica Madsen as Cressida, Bridgerton Season 1
Fleur de Lys does not appear in the Disney version but Madsen as Cressida is much like a Fleur de Lys that I HAD to mention the casting. Plus a remake could add her in, the musical sort of did but is was more of name drop/homage.
Extra – I think Sam Clemmett (young Brimsley) and Guy Henry (Dr. Monro) from Queen Charlotte would be great picks for Quasimodo and Frollo respectively but I just wanted to keep this to Bridgerton but they were my first initials picks.
If you like this let know maybe I will do more like it and suggestions for casting are always welcome though I have a backlog.
This was a suggestion of one of those lists I found a while ago and truthfully this is a great casting idea. Ralph Fiennes would be a perfect Frollo.
Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights
As far as Fiennes acting prowess goes, he can played Frollo regardless of the type of Frollo the version is depicting. Whether it be sympathetic or cruel or some mixture of both. Fiennes has a very unique ability to make his villains likable yet still very threatening. Even his hero gambit run the gambit from nice to intense.
Ralph Fiennes
Fiennes has a good look to play Frollo. Not only is he age appropriate to the role but he has a great bone structure for Frollo’s angular, austere yet intense face.
Ralph Fiennes
He’s got it all. He has good look for the role, he’s age appropriate (if you care), and he’s capable of playing a likable bad guy. Fiennes would be an ideal casting pick for Frollo in any induration of the character. But what do you think? Would you like to see the actor who played He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named play Frollo?
Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort from the Harry Potter franchise
Also the idea of the actors who played Voldemort and and Dumbledore playing the same character makes me smile.
I’m still on the Star Wars actor casting, maybe next time I’ll do an anti-one, like an all Gungun casting, shudders.
Mark Hamill
As far as the different versions take on the role of Clopin they portray him in one of two ways, he’s either leader of Gypsies or leader of the beggars and thieves. Basically Clopin is combination of three characters from Book but MOSTLY he’s still the character of Clopin because that character just has more to do than the Duke of Egypt and the the other guy, whose name I have completely forgotten but know that he does have a name and there are three leaders of The Court of Miracles.
Mark Hamill
So as I was thinking about the Star Wars casting I really wanted to get my head out of the Sequel Trilogy even though I love it, yes I liked The Last Jedi, and then I thought of Mark Hamill and it was BOOM, he be so great as Clopin. It’s a dream casting that I never knew I always wanted.
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Star Wars The Force Awakens
Hamill is most well known for his role as Luke Skywalker, really don’t I even need to say that but he has had a long career and has been a very prominent voice actor including being consider one of the best Jokers ever. He was also in Castle in the Sky as a Villain. If you do know any about Hamill it’s that he loves to troll, in a jovial sense, and has great sense of humor. I could really see Hamill playing Clopin with a delightful dark humor which is there but I think he could only improve of it.
Mark Hamill
This casting just so perfect that even if just vocal performance it would still be awesome but Mark Hamill would still kill it as live action role.
But what do you think? Would mark Hamill make a good Clopin?
Frollo is an interesting character to cast because on the one hand we have the book which tells us that Frollo is 36. But the age of 36 is different in a modern setting than it was in 1482 when the story is set or even in 1831 even the book was written. The book even tells us Frollo is in middle age or the winter of this life. So most of the movie go for an older Frollo. Sometimes it a tad younger or sometime he looks like death, looking at you 1997 Richard Harris Frollo. But can we have both? Can we have a younger-ish Frollo who is believable at acting older or in someway austere and cold but passionate at the same time? Can we have a walking contradiction?
Yes! We can! And it’s Adam Driver!
Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Star Wars The Force Awakens
Driver is best known for playing Kylo Ren in the Sequel trilogy of Star Wars. He is a compelling character even if you don’t like that thing he did in The Force Awakens. Driver is just a very phenomenal actor who bring his A-game to every role and he has already played a priest in Silence, a very different story and character than Frollo. There is no doubt that Driver could excel at playing Frollo.
Adam Driver
Driver would be a young Frollo but he does have a good look for the character already. He’s not a typically attractive, some people find him very attractive and some don’t see it at all. He’s tall which helps, he has a narrow face with good angles, the perfect recipe for a Frollo.
Adam Driver
If this casting happen, I for one would be ecstatic, it just seems like a GREAT fit. What do you think? Would Adam Driver make a good Frollo? Or no?
Daisy Ridley for Esmeralda was suggestion by Sky. At first this made me think of Ridley to play Fleur de Lys. As much as I love Ridley’s Rey, I do want to see Ridley playing a character like Fleur, maybe as a bitch maybe not. For whatever reason I have a soft-spot for Fleur. Sure in the book Fleur has blonde hair but so does Jehan and Quasimodo has red and Esmeralda has dark eyes, why get bogged down with colorition when other movies ignore them so much? Fleur de Lys could have brown hair why not?
Given Ridley’s star in on the raise it hard to see her accepting the role of Fleur where as Esmeralda is a leading role. I could see her doing Fleur pending on other facets of the production like the director and if it was more of an ensemble piece.
Daisy Ridley
So let’s consider her for Esmeralda. The only way I could see her playing the role is if they did Esmeralda’s original backstory, as in she is French raised by Gypsies, even if they did not have the whole of the Sister Gudule plot in the movie.
Daisy Ridley as Mary Debenham from Murder on the Orient Express
On the acting front I could Ridley playing the role even though she still fairly new and so far her biggest roles have been Rey in Star Wars and Mary Debenham in Murder on the Orient Express. She also playing Ophelia in upcoming movie. Not sure how Ridley would play the role but my guess it would less overtly sexual than some other actresses and portrayals but you never know.
Daisy Ridley as Rey from Star Wars The Force Awakens
Ridley has one big thing working for her as Esmeralda and that is her sword and fighting ability. Ridley has done a lot of strength training and fight choreography for action scenes in Star wars. Those skills could translate into some nice dance choreography.
Daisy Ridley
I could see her going either way. As much as I think Daisy Ridley is cool person, she would not be my top pick for either role but if she were casted for either Esmeralda or Fleur I would happy to see her grace a Hunchback version?
What do you people think? Ridley for Esmeralda? Ridley for Fleur de Lys? Or Neither? Or Both?
This suggestion is off a list from http://fuckyeahnotredamedeparis.tumblr.com as part of an ideal casting. Oona Chaplin is the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin and his 4th wife actress Oona O’Neill. Her mother is Geraldine Chaplin, another prolific actress and Patricio Castilla. Her family is full of actors and performers.
Oona Chaplin as Talia, Game of Thrones
Chaplin is most known for her role on HBO’s Game of Thrones as Talisa, a show only character. Talisa is a noble lady from Volantis turned wartime medicine women turned Queen in the North who is killed at a wedding. Pre-season three, I thought she was a spy for the Lannisters as she did know a lot about Westeros and it would have merged the show with the book but no she was just kick-ass strong women character.
Oona Chaplin as Zilpha Geary, Taboo
Chaplin is a competent enough actress, not amazing but no means bad. She was decent as Talisa but she is better as Zilpha in Taboo. She is also going to appear in James Cameron’s Avatar universe so look forward to that.
Oona Chaplin
However being of Spanish descent does offer an intriguing aspect to Esmeralda that Chaplin could weave into Esmeralda’s characterization. Though Esmeralda in the book wasn’t Spanish, she did travel to Spain as a small child. It would be interesting to see an Esmeralda that had her unique speech patterns that are a amalgamation of youth traveling around Europe. That would be a new facet to a film adaptation of Esmeralda.
Oona Chaplin
I doubt Chaplin would be cast as a naive Esmeralda and probably would play the role closer to Hayek or the Disney characterization but it would interesting if they did make her that type of Esmeralda but kept her book backstory intact. It would be a decent merger of films and the book and would make the character still different.
Oona Chaplin
Not sure if I need to say this but Chaplin has the look of Book Esmeralda. She has the dark eyes and hair that Hugo passingly described. She also has olive skin which Esmeralda has but as the result of traveling around Europe. She does have a more angular face that I personally wouldn’t have envision for Esmeralda but it’s not a count against her especially of they didn’t go with the the type of Esmeralda that is more confident with her sexuality.
Oona Chaplin
Oona Chaplin could play a very interesting version of Esmeralda giving the direction of the movie but what do you think? Do you see Oona Chaplin playing Esmeralda?
Recently I found this http://ideas.wikia.com/wiki/The_Hunchback_of_Notre_Dame_(Live-action_remake) which I consider a treaure trove of possibalities. For the record this is a hypothetical casting for a hypothetical live action Disney remake of Hunchback, it’s not real. So I thought it would be fun to go through these casting picks and see how these actors be in the roles.
Looking at the list the casting picks seem pretty on point but Justin Timberlake as Quasimodo stands out a little or a lot. I just can’t see this as a casting option but I tend to be wrong so let’s dive into this, shall we?
Justin Timberlake
Timberlake is most known as a singer. He was survivor of the Great Boy Band Wars of the late 90’s as he was in the group called N’Sync. He managed to shake whatever personality he had in the group to be a solo artist (wasn’t a fan of the Boy Bands). His music has a slick cool vibe and that vibe seems to get translated into his film roles.
Timberlake has been in quite a few movies but he has never really been propelled into superstar status as an actor the same way he is as a singer. Could a role as Quasimodo be the catalyst for him to be a mega film star? Quasimodo does seem to be a sort of vanity role for actors as it’s very demanding both physically and emotionally, plus it’s scientifically proven that making attractive actors ugly means huge accolades, no wonder Josh Brolin and Max Ryan wanted to play Quasimodo.
Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, The Social Network
However this is Disney’s Quasimodo. Not saying that it wouldn’t be a challenge to play this role in a live-action version but Disney’s Quasimodo is more innocent and naive than other versions. So let’s just pretend for a second and make a GREAT big assumption and say that a live-action version would favor the musical version of the character. Is there much difference between the two versions? Not that much but Quasimodo in the musical seems a little more rougher and less sweet than he is the Disney movie.
Could Timberlake be convincing as Quasimodo? I can’ see it. I can see him singing the Quasimodo’s song but acting as a meek abused yet hopeful character, no. His roles have a sleek and cool edge which Quasimodo doesn’t have at all. Is it fair to base this on his past roles? Yes and no. Clearly he is suited to roles likes Sean Parker from The Social Network but that isn’t to say that couldn’t play Quasimodo. He could nail the part, anything is possiable in theory.
Justin Timberlake
As I said Quasimodo is one those coveted roles that most ambitious actors would LOVE to play so if Timberlake wanted to be considered a serious actor he could try and get the role but considering his filmography and his career as a singers I can’t see him playing Quasimodo.
Then again I could be very wrong. What do you guys think? Could Justin Timberlake play Quasimodo? Do you want him to play Quasimodo?
Fleur de Lys’ cross adaptations don’t really differ that much. Sure, some are fleshed out a bit more than others but really she acts as foil to Esmeralda. So just so we are all operating on some page let’s consider her for a movie verion of the French musical but in English, How would Seyfried be as that Fleur de Lys?
Amanda Seyfried as Sophie, Mamma Mia
Seyfried is a decent actress. She may have never been in a movie that really pushed her acting ability but she definitely competent. I mean she has already played one mean girl, even though she was the dumb one in Mean Girls. Given the right director, she could really make a great conflicted Fleur de Lys. Or that sexually manipulative Fleur de Lys that musical seems to go for.
As for looks, I mean she has the right look. Since Fleur de Lys is the foil to Esmeralda’s sultry dark looks, Fleur de Lys has nearly always been portrayed as a fair beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes, more or less. She doesn’t always have blue eyes but blonde in mostly there. Seyfried fits this type perfectly. Even for just straight-up book version of Fleur de Lys she is on point.
Would Hugh Jackman make a good Frollo? I’d say yes but the Troll part of me wants to say Russell Crowe from Frollo. Anyway what do you think of Amanda Seyfried as Fleur de Lys? Yay or Nay?
Let’s travel back to July 2016, a better time, Disney Star, Sofia Carson, expressed a desire to play Esmeralda. Well to be specific she said that she thought “Esmeralda would be a beautiful role to play.” She also did a recording of Someday in Spanish. So let’s explore this more casting option. You can see the interview here.
Since she very clearly was suggesting playing a Live-Action Disney Esmeralda we’re just going to consider that version of the character.
Sofia Carson
Let’s start with Carson’s look. Carson is of Spanish descent, more specifically Columbian. She still rather young and I’m still not sure how old Esmeralda was supposed to given Disney’s age inflation but let’s just say she is in a good range. She does have the darker features one would expect from Disney’s Esmeralda and contact lenses could give Carson that emerald eye color. One thing that somewhat could work against Carson is that she does have a very youthful somewhat cute look. Just looking at Carson I don’t see her as sultry. Beautiful yes, alluring no. Could she act alluring?
Sofia Carson as Evie, Descendants
I will be frank I have only seen clips of Carson’s acting. Carson hasn’t really escaped that Disney style of acting. She is best known for playing Evie in Descendants. Evie is the Snow White’s Evil Queen’s daughter. I wouldn’t know how to judge someone’s acting skills in that or any made for TV movie Disney TV makes. It’s a very specific style of acting. She could be a great actress or not. Can’t say. I would venture to say she might be good pending on the director. Can’t honestly say I can gauge her acting skills.
Sofia Carson
Sofia Carson would not be my first, second to even third pick for Esmeralda but given that she seems to loves and respects the character she could pull it off and make a beautiful Esmeralda. But what do you guys think? Do you think Carson would make a good Esmeralda?
