WHAT ACTORS WOULD I HAVE PLAY MY CHARACTERS FROM MY BOOK FOR LOVE AND MERCY is a question I have been asked a few times. I know I am not alone in seeing my novels reach the big screen or be made into a series on Netflix or Apple TV. Why not? Of course I fantasize!
So here it goes. . .
Stormy – has to be played by Reese Witherspoon – Stormy has some quirks – she’s a foodie, she loves performing and wearing glitzy clothes and she’s short and cute. Think about her role in Legally Blonde. Stormy is a musician which I am sure Reese could pull that off being she played June Carter! I mean she has to have some knowledge from that role to be able to perform. Okay, she will have to learn the violin – but hey – Reese can definitely pull that off – she taught herself to play the autoharp and to sing and won an academy award for that role. Stormy has a near death experience – a spiritual transformative experience – and well, Reese in Just Like Heaven – had a such an experience – well, okay maybe not quite like Stormy since it was a comedy – but it shows she is open to it, doesn’t it?
For Evangeline – Rachel McAdams would be perfect. She just looks like Evangeline in my head. Evangeline ages most in the novel – we meet her in high school – bright, very determined, has no fear, dancing like nobody is watching. She is full of hopes and dreams and is beaming with confidence. Then we watch as she ages and through life’s struggles, loses her love for life and her hopes and dreams and then later in life comes back to life only to be struck down again by . . . well I don’t want to give it away – but let’s just say – it is not pretty. Rachel Adams, think - The Vow, The Notebook – that says it all! I also like the fact that in real life, Rachel doesn’t own a car (like Evangeline) and leads a simple life (like Evangeline) despite having very successful career.
For Valentino – that was a little harder to pin point who that would be. My first pick was Simon Baker, an Australian actor from the Mentalist who just seems to be so calm and cool. I like the way he carries himself. He also looks like I imagine Valentino would look. But I like either Chris Hemsworth or Liam Hemsworth – brothers who are both actors from Australia - again because they have the look and are good actors. But the person I would really love to play the part – is a real-life opera singer – David Hobson. He is a tenor, hailing from Australia – like Valentino, and is one of the most sought-after opera singer and composers in the world of opera. I’m sure he could adapt his skills from the theatre to the big screen or television if I asked him nicely.