Lord Peter Wimsey Casting

[vicki]

Picking up a conversation from the Hospitality Suite thread, if filming started today on a Lord Peter Wimsey adaptation, who do you think would make a good LPW? Any casting ideas for other characters from the series?

[sherrie221]

Hugh Laurie!

No doubt in my mind. Between his current role as Dr. House and all of the comedic roles in his past, I've seen enough to make him my first choice.

I'm not saying that he should play Wimsey as a cross between House and Wooster - I mean he has shown just how real he makes his characters. The writing is partially responsible, but a great actor takes a well-written character and adds layers and depth - fleshing out the character, and making him *real*.

LPW is already written as a fully developed, real person - with motivations and *history* that drive and influence who he is and what he does. Imagine what a great actor like Laurie could do with him!

Sherrie (shameless HL and LPW fangirl :D)

[jtb1951]

I would second that, Sherrie! Hugh Laurie is a gigantic acting talent, and both his comedic and serious acting chops are accomplished enough to portray a wide array of characters; I would love to see him as Wimsey!

John.

[mamaocllo]

I'm still mulling over who should play Lord Peter, but whoever it is could certainly go on to play Lewis in Kage Baker's Company series, as they're the same physical type. What about Damien Lewis who's currently on TV in the 'Life' series? He's certainly showed his range by playing Soames Forsyte so dreadfully well that I didn't recognize for awhile that it was the same actor in 'Life.' His face looks right for Lord Peter, to me at least. Of course, I'd still vote for Leslie Howard if he weren't, unfortunately, deceased.

[KarenB]

Daniel Day-Lewis? He certainly has the range to carry it off.

[Jennifer]

Hi you all, dedicated LPW fans!
I think all the men you've mentioned have great acting chops but I argue that they are wee bit long in the tooth for earlier Wimsey mysteries. They'd certainly be awesome as LPW meets Harriet and settles down to domestic bliss. I mentioned before that in MMA, he's only a few years from having been at school, 1910 was the year that the elderly advertising client mentioned as having seen him play. So he'd definitely be in his early '30's. Who's in that range, plays urbane and witty effortlessly and has the approximate physical type? I'd say Jude Law if I hadn't seen him play cockney so convincingly. Am I typing him unfairly? To be Brit and tough seems the order of the day (save my sweet Hugh Grant, no, not a Wimsey even in my wildest dreams or the ever-desirable Colin Firth!). I am thinking of that chap who's the new Bond. He's like a working-class bloke. And the same for Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who seems to excel in really off-stroke types. And he's too young. I need more of an education in who's who in British male actors. But I do think a new adaptation of LPW is past time. All you British members, pipe up with some suggestions!
Jen D.

[Elizabeth]

I think Laurence Fox would be good as Lord Peter.

http://www.foyleswar.com/people/203/walkers.htm

He'll be 30 next year, so by the time the BBC or ITV realise they should be making this series ;) he'll be the right age for Whose Body.

He's already done the rounds of the current mystery programmes: Marple, Morse/Lewis, Foyle's War and Jericho (the UK one, not the US one), was in Gosford Park (right era) and is part of the oh-so-posh Fox acting dynasty (James, Edward and Emilia). He's even played Prince Charles, so playing the younger son of a duke shouldn't be too much of a stretch. :)

[Jennifer]

Elizabeth,
I liked your Laurence Fox! I haven't seen him in anything (tried to watch Gosford Park but found it too post-modern to be taken seriously) but I will certainly try to see him now. He has the facial angularity, and not exactly drop-dead gorgeous, which would put him in LPW's ballpark. I am always fascinated by DLS's descriptions of her man, Wimsey. He's not off-putting with his looks, more approachable because of his lack of spectacular beauty. Of course she gave him the clothes and things of a very handsome man. I want to see a young LPW being courted by Diane de Momery. Watching Ian Carmichael being pursued lacked something.
Anymore ideas out there?
Jen D.

[vicki]

I like Laurence Fox, too. I looove Daniel Day Lewis, and he is a phenomenal actor, but I can't see him as a blond for some reason, and he's got that arresting, chiseled face that doesn't seem very LPW. On the other hand, DDL seemed unchiseled and very mannered in A Room with a View, so he might be able to pull off something like a LPW performance.

LPW is one of those literary characters I have a lot of trouble mentally casting. It's very frustrating!

[KarenB]

It was Room with a View that I was thinking of when I put down Daniel Day-Lewis. Seeing the pix of Laurence Fox, he does look more the Wimsey type, but as I haven't seen him act I can't judge. Part of the problem is that PDBW changes over the course of the books so much. Harriet addresses that in GN (I think) about how he has stripped away all of his defenses for her, so the actor would have to be able to play someone who seemed rather shallow, but could develop convincingly into a much deeper character.

[Jennifer]

That Lord Peter changes is such an important part of anyone playing him! I was sorry that the folks who did the Edward Petherbridge versions chose to start that far along. I know "Whose Body" would make a very good adaptation. We get to see LP at the earlier stages of his sleuthing and as he can still quite clearly remember the War, as in the incident where he's off his head, thinking he's in the trenches. He's quite young in this one. Bunter talks about him as if he's a child during that incident. The EP versions seemed to have already begun the stripping down but we had nothing to go up against unless they were trying to make a very unsubtle comparison with the IC Wimsey. The "hail fellow well met" was gone. I would have loved to see EP play in MMA or "Cloud of Witness" to have some direct comparison.
Daniel Day-Lewis, by the way, is wholly brilliant. "Room with a View" made him unrecognizable. But then, I've never ever seen him settle to a type of character. Do you think he'd make a good Sherlock?
Jen D.

[KarenB]

Jen - I think he probably could do quite a good Sherlock. I never thought of Holmes a good-looking, though. (and DD-L certainly is that!) Or his looks being the characteristic that would be the most striking about him. It is more his intelligence and passion (suppressed or not) that make him such an attractive character. What do you think?

Karen

[Jennifer]

Karen,
I think it's very easy for Daniel Day-Lewis to be attractive in a role that requires that but he's so versatile, I am sure he'd not let that side of his personality become the dominant thing. He plays intensity so well you can't take your eyes off him and I think that would play well for a younger Sherlock. He's certainly not of an age to play Sherlock with MRH. That's what I would like to see if any Sherlock were put up for our attention. Who could do that convincingly? Jeremy Irons? Maybe he's too pretty...
Jen D.
Okay, I only know a few British actors but what about Alan Rickman? He's intense but not a pretty boy...

[KarenB]

Jen - Jeremy Irons would be good I would think. I'm soooo behind on movie and tv watching I will never get caught up. If ever I'm in the dentist's office looking at their People magazine, I find myself thinking "who are these people?" Oh well, someone needs to support the authors!:)

[Jennifer]

Karen,
I feel so "out of the loop" when people talk about all the new actors like Laurence Fox. I've never seen anything he's been in! I don't watch network television much, kids are always in the room! We just keep safe watching engineering, cooking and kids' shows. When I have tried to watch something that was supposed to be "hot," I am usually mortified at the violence or language! When I see the old shows like LPW on dvd, I wonder, how did we lose the ability to make a show w/o showing someone's bum or talking like sailors? I only hope if they do choose to make a MRH film or tv movie that they stick to the words LRK wrote!
Jen D.

[KarenB]

and here I thought I was all alone in feeling like that. I was sick last year and watched "All in the Family" and thought why don't they make shows like that with good writing and good acting that I am not horrified at having my kids watch? I think my daughter may be the only girl in her middle school that hasn't seen "High School Musical."

Karen

[Younger Son]

and here I thought I was all alone in feeling like that. I was sick last year and watched "All in the Family" and thought why don't they make shows like that with good writing and good acting that I am not horrified at having my kids watch?

<raises an eyebrow>

All in the Family is the first TV show in which I'd ever heard "damn" used as a swear word (or maybe it was just as an intensifier). It built episodes around many themes that had been considered un-broadcastable. Archie Bunker was considered to be incivil to the point of coarsening society. I believe it got thousands of complaints.

Against this was the fact that it was often well-written, well-intentioned, and built up characters that were diverse and generally sympathetic. Caroll O'Connor made Archie work as a human character, when most actors could not.

So it's a good series. I'm just surprised, as one who lived through its first run, to hear All in the Family called family fare. I don't mean to criticize, I'm just interested in how times have changed.

I'm kind of ashamed to take the thread off casting Peter Wimsey. Back to the theme (perhaps after the right of reply)!

[Jennifer]

Whoee Younger son! I just thought of another good Wimsey prospect even if I know precious little about who's "hot!" Nigel Havers! He is admittedly probably too old for the early Wimsey stories but he does have the ability to play a gracious nobleman with aplomb. He's been fabulous in so many things, "Chariots," and my personal favorite "Empire of the Sun." I need to survey the younger crowd!
Jen D.

[Bachi]

My vote would be Huge Laurie or Daniel Day-Lewis assuming either would be willing to go blond. 1st choice Huge. I think the more mature actors could portray the younger Lord Peter with more conviction and believable than the younger actors pulling off the more worldly Lord Peter as he matures. Although after checking out Jude Law (who I could look at all day!) I think he is to drop-dead gorgeous for Lord Peter. I still want to put in a good word for EP portrayal – although I observed the minimizing of his lighter jovial side, some humor did come through in his bantering with Bunter and determination with Harriet. I attributed the fault portrayal in the screen writers, not the actor. None-the-less it sure would be wonderful to have someone now do a bang-up-job portraying all the LPW novels.
Regards

[Jennifer]

Hi,
Just wanted to clear up any idea that I fault Edward Petherbridge for his mournful portrayal in "Strong Poison." I know it's the adaptation that called for less of the "silly ass" and more of the serious sleuth, worried about the woman he loves and plans to marry. This was new territory for Lord Peter and DLS had to keep him true to himself as well as a man fighting for his woman. I like the books, felt he was still himself as well someone who cared deeply for another person in a way I'd never seen before. The adaptation didn't approach that interesting development as well.
Cheers!
Jen D.

[Bachi]

I hope my recognition of EP didn’t stir you Jen. I just recently saw all 3 of this later series and preferred them to the earlier series. They were all with Harriet, which are among my favorite stories, and I also enjoyed the richness of the costumes & sets. As I recall, in one of the earlier adaptations there was one scene (I think it was “Murder Must Advertise”, but I’m not sure) where he jumps in a fountain or something and the portrayal was nothing at all like what my mind had conjured. Yet someone else I know thought the scene was true to their image of him. So it’s all in a minds eye and that’s why often reading (in my case audio 'reading') is better than seeing!

[Jennifer]

Bachi,
I quite agree the first set with IC weren't up to snuff. He was too old sadly enough because he would have been fine a mere 10 years earlier. He had the goofy quality I see in Lord Peter, you know, the "act" that makes people think they are dealing with a dotty peer. He knew how to deliver the chatter, the meaningless "what ho" kind of blather that DLS had LP babbling. He oozed good will and charm. EP had those things in his portrayal but I guess the writers of that version didn't want him to seem so inane. I never found LP inane but maybe they did. I am still trying to get hold of "Have His Carcass" and "Gaudy Night" in audio form so's I can read 'em. I feel I have to do that before I see the rest of EP's versions. I do not detest the later version at all, just found LP so wratched down that he was not the man I knew in the books. Oh yes, MMA was a wreck of an adaptation. No cricket match? Unthinkable!
Jen D.