Looking ahead: season 4 fantasy casting

[jo]

***THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN POTENTIAL SPOILERS IF YOU'VE NOT READ DRUMS OF AUTUMN***

While season three hasn't quite yet hit the halfway mark, cast and crew are back in Scotland and have already started work on season 4. Since they tend to film pretty much in order, that means there are going to be some key casting decisions made soon or maybe already made but not announced.

While there will be a number of new characters introduced in season 4, there are two roles in particular that I am looking forward to see how they will cast. Those are Jamie's Aunt Jocasta, and, of course, Stephen Bonnet. Who would you like to see cast in either of those roles? Are there any other major new characters from Drums of Autumn that you are looking forward to seeing on-screen?

Comments

[anoyo]

Um, ideal casting, or who we think they'll go with? Because I can think of one actress I would love to see as Jocaste.

Diana Rigg. She has so much range, and I feel like she'd pull off Jocaste's mix of wit and leadership perfectly.

[jo]

I was going with who you'd like to see because I have no idea who they'd cast!

Diana Rigg would be totally cool, but even if they could get her, I doubt they would go that route. Maril Davis has said she's not a fan of "celebrity" casting because it detracts too much from the character/feels like a stunt, and given Rigg's fame (esp. from GofT), pretty sure she'd fall into that category.

I saw something recently online that some actor named Simon Cotton had been cast for season 4 -- apparently he'd tweeted as much, but the tweet was later deleted. Was wondering if he's going to play Stephen Bonnet -- though he doesn't look much like the book description (not that that's been much of an issue for other characters). Bonnet appears right at the start of DofA, so they must have cast that role by now.

[anoyo]

Hmmm. I mean, if we're going for the obscure, then, I'm not sure. I don't find anything wrong with "celebrity" casting if they're the right person for the show, but hey. (Also, why wasn't Tobias Menzies considered "celebrity" casting? I'm pretty sure everyone had already seen him in plenty.)

That said, Caroline Blakiston would also be fabulous. Would she count as celebrity casting? She can play characters that even look nothing like one another, and it's not like she's been in many blockbusters lately. >_> (She'd do a magnificent job all around, really. Same range and ability, though she doesn't look quite as much like I imagine Jocaste in my head.)

[jo]

I think by "celebrity casting" they mean really well known in the US primarily, and I'm not sure Tobias really fit that description pre-Outlander. Yeah, he was in GofT, but a fairly minor role. A fair number of the first season cast are fairly well-known in the UK, but not in the US. And they cast some well-known in France actors in season 2 -- but again, they're not well-known in the US. Some people on Twitter were/are pushing for Lou Diamond Phillips to be cast (I'm assuming as one of the Native American characters -- or is that kind of racist of me?), as he's a big fan of the show.

I don't think Caroline Blakiston would be considered celebrity casting -- I had to google to see who that was.

I always thought Cillian Murphy would make a great Stephen Bonnet, but a) they probably couldn't get him and b) he is probably too well known and too established as Tommy from Peaky Blinders to play another similar role.

[anoyo]

HMMMM. Interesting. I'd seen Tobias Menzies in a bunch of stuff, but then, I watch one hell of a lot of TV. So.

(I don't think that's racist. It could be, I just don't think it is.)

See, in my head, Stephen Bonnet is more like Eoin Macken, but I know that isn't actually how his character is described - it's just how I've always seen him. (That said, I would be 100% okay with Eoin Macken playing him.) I don't know if I have a hard and fast opinion about Bonnet's casting, but my mental image of him is definitely Eoin Macken.

And Caroline Blakiston is fantastic. Everything she does is witty and just Really Well Done (except for roles that aren't meant to be witty; even then, she kind of manages it).