Dream Cast Thursday! Henry VIII

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is Henry VIII. I was really excited to do this one, because I love 16th century English history. The story of Henry VIII and those figures that surround him have always captivated audiences. There have been many adaptations, but when deciding my dream cast, I looked at four specific ones. I looked at Henry VIII (2003), The Other Boleyn Girl (2003 miniseries), The Tudors (2007), and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).

The first character that I cast was Henry VIII. He has been played by Ray Winstone, Jared Harris, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Eric Bana. For my adaptation, I cast James Purefoy.

The second character that I recast was Katherine of Aragon. She has been played by Assumpta Serna, Yolanda Vazquez, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and Ana Torrent. For my adaptation, I cast Giovanna Mezzogiorno.

The third character that I recast was Anne Boleyn. She has been played by Helena Bonham Carter, Jodhi May, Natalie Dormer, and Natalie Portman. For my adaptation, I cast Emily Blunt.

The fourth character that I recast was Jane Seymour. She has been played by Emilia Fox, Naomi Benson, Annabelle Wallis, and Corrine Galloway. For my adaptation, I cast Sienna Miller.

The fifth character that I recast was Anne of Cleaves. She has been played by Pia Girard and Joss Stone. For my adaptation, I cast Ruth Wilson.

The sixth character that I recast was Catherine Howard. She has been played by Emily Blunt and Tamzin Merchant. For my adaptation, I cast Karen Gillan.

The last character that I recast was Catherine Parr. She has been played by Clare Holman and Joely Richardson. For my adaptation, I cast Kate Winslet. 

So what do you all think? Which adaptations have you seen and which one is your favorite? Who would be in your adaptation?

Dream Cast Thursday! Charade

For this week's Dream Cast Thursday, I will be recasting Charade. The original film came out in 1963. In 2002, a remake called the Truth About Charlie came out.

The original film was written by Peter Stone and directed by Stanley Donen. The two main characters are Peter Joshua and Regina Lampert. They were played by Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.

The 2002 remake was written and directed by Jonathan Demme. Regina Lambert was played by Thandie Newton, and Joshua Peters was played by Mark Wahlberg.

For my remake, Regina Lampert would be played by Emily Blunt, and Peter Joshua would be played by Eric Bana.

So what do you all think? Have you all seen Charade and the Truth About Charlie? Who would be in your remake? Leave your casts in the comments.

Dream Cast Thursday! Cleopatra

For this week's Dream Cast Thursday, I will be recasting historical figures. These figures have appeared in many adaptations (including Caesar and Cleopatra 1945, Cleopatra 1963, Cleopatra 1999, and Rome 2005). I tried really hard to pick the right people for the roles. It was really difficult (especially since I love some of the past casting choices - especially in Rome), but here are my choices.

Cleopatra has been played by Vivien Leigh (Caesar and Cleopatra), Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra), Leonor Varela (Cleopatra), and Lyndsey Marshal (Rome). I feel as though Cleopatra is an extremely important character. I actually ended up choosing an Italian-born actress. I thought that this would be a good idea, since she was a descendant of Ptolemy (Macedonian General to Alexander the Great) and by many accounts looked Roman. I ended up choosing Giovanna Mezzogiorno.

The next character that I cast was Julius Caesar. He has been played by Claude Rains (Caesar and Cleopatra), Rex Harrison (Cleopatra), Timothy Dalton (Cleopatra), and Ciaran Hinds (Rome). This was another character that was really hard to cast. I wanted to get the age relationships right between characters. I ended up choosing Liam Neeson.

Next, I cast Mark Anthony. He has previously been played by Richard Burton (Cleopatra), Billy Zane (Cleopatra), and James Purefoy (Rome). I went back and forth between several actors for this role, but ended up choosing Eric Bana.

The second to last character that I recast was Brutus. He has been played by Kenneth Haigh (Cleopatra), Sean Pertwee (Cleopatra), and Tobias Menzies (Rome). I ended up casting Dougray Scott.

The last character that I cast was Octavian. He has been played by Roddy McDowall (Cleopatra), Rupert Graves (Cleopatra), and Simon Woods (Rome). I ended up casting Laurence Fox.

So what do you all think? Who would you cast?