Spinward Fringe - The Official Group discussion

On the Facebook page someone proposed an actor to play a major character in the books and I thought it was a topic worth pursuing. Again, this thread is completely self serving since I'm deeply curious to see how people envision the characters.

Have at it! Let's pretend I have an unlimited budget and I can move back in time to pluck some of our greatest talents when they were still young and strapping!

RL

George Eads (Nick from "CSI") most closely resembles how I pictured Jonas.

http://img1.tvloop.com/img/showpics/f...

Stephen Lang as Frost, he's a bit old but could pull it off.

Anna Paquin as Ashley

Liam Grady -> Liam Neeson

Ayan -> Alexa Davalos

Stephanie -> Jennifer Beals

Oz -> Karl Urban

Agreed, Nathan would be perfect for Jacob.

Mike wrote: "Oh, man! It ABSOLUTELY has to be Nathan Fillion playing Jacob (Jake) Valance! We might probably couldn't afford him, but it's a great dream.

(Bad grammar included at no cost to you)

Mike"

When I read Spinward I have these images of actors in my head.

Valance: Neil Patrick Harris.

Oz: Chris Klein

Minh: I sometimes get an Uncle Benny vibe from him (Lethal Weapon), but I think Dr. Ken Jeong

Ayan: Scarlett Johansen.

Ashley: Anna Paquin

Wheeler: John Savage

This is what I've decided so far. :)

Valance:
Nathan is the obvious pick, but I just see Valance much taller than that. So my other lustful choice is Joe Flannigan.

Ashley:
Mila Kunis

Minh
Daniel Dae Kim or John Cho (can’t decide)

Ayan
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IH9A-1Sbod8...)
Well, you said we could use the 'way back' machine.

:D

Just a few:

Frost: Ian McShane

Wheeler: Stellan Skarsgård

Ashley: Ellen Page

Minh: Daniel Wu http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0943079/

Finn: Anton Yelchin

Scheherizade wrote:

Ashley:
Mila Kunis

..."

OMG YEs!

Lori petty as Paula

Nathan fillion as Jake

Farrah fawcett as ayan

Mark dacascos as Ming or liam or larry

He can fill just about any supporting role! The silent killer, the wise man from earth, or the claustrophobic pilot! I think he would be best as Ming, but up to you.

Lori Petty....good one Matthew.

Lance wrote: "Lori Petty....good one Matthew."

What? I think she would be a perfect cast member for a strong willed person with a shrill voice! And she can lose her mind at a moments notice.

Matthew wrote: "Lance wrote: "Lori Petty....good one Matthew."

What? I think she would be a perfect cast member for a strong willed person with a shrill voice! And she can lose her mind at a moments notice."

Yes, I was agreeing with you. She's perfect.

This is my mostfavouritethread!

I'm hoping to see a few more posts. The casting choices are interesting, and sometimes surprising. You've also cast some parts that I haven't gotten around to (Lori Petty being one, actually).

I also have to know the name of the woman Scheherizade cast as Ayan. Perhaps she has a descendant?

The one, the only, Bette Davis. She was 22. The look she had her very first year in Hollywood is how I picture Ayan. I still think Rita Hayworth for Ayan 1 tho. :)

LOVE your Wheeler and Frost!

Lori is a perfect choice! :)

Gerard butler as frost

Dustin diamond as finn

Scheherizade: The more I think about it, the more I like Mila Kunis better than my choice of Ellen Page.

This is how I picture Stephanie Vega http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/...

and Ayan: http://0.tqn.com/d/beauty/1/0/a/C/1/c...

Olivia munn as Ashley

Jewel Staite as Ashley, Kiera Knightley or Lena Headey as Ayan, Sharon Stone or Lucy Lawless as Admiral Rice. While I like Fillion as Valance, don't think he'd go for it (too similar to The Captain) I think Timothy Olyphant is the perfect choice, but only slightly less perfect would be Joaquim Phoenix, Christian Bale or Jason Statham. Also, for Lucius Wheeler I think Robert Knepper would be ideal, but Sam Rockwell or Ryan Gosling would fit the bill pretty well too..

I can't handle all these choices!!!!! Some of these are just absolutely brilliant!

This is the place to be until Broadcast 7 comes out! There are so many ideas and different takes on how people would like to see these characters represented, it's amazing.

I do have pretty much every character casted in my head, but I'll only share one casting choice so I don't slow the flow of ideas.

When I was getting ready to write Broadcast 3: Triton, I couldn't help but realize that Stephanie Vega was not only a character that would walk readers through the experience of trying to fit in on a new ship, but she was also the heart of the book. While I was writing one of the early chapters I caught a TV Movie that reminded me of an actress who I had caught glimpses of on television in previous years but had forgotten. Her name is Lana Parrilla http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0663469/

When I'm writing a scene with Stephanie Vega, that's who I'm seeing. Most of the characters have distinct looks in my head, especially since everything I do now is pre-visualized cinematically in my slightly askew mind's eye.

Again, fantastic ideas here, and my mind has been changed with regards to who would play a couple characters if I had the cash, opportunity and clout to get anyone I wanted. Oh, and a time machine might help.

RL

Alice: artificial intelligence who becomes human/AI - is my fav. i see Alice as Jessica Alba

Ayan: Kristen Bell (veronica mars) in red curls!

Jonas/Jake: Brendan Fehr (Michael/roswell)

Laura: Hayden Panettiere (claire/Heroes)

Jason: Matt Dallas (Kyle XY)

Admiral Rice: Lauren Holly (max/picket fences)

Eve: Joanne Kelly (Myka/warehouse 13)

(is there a list of characters/descriptions??? so bad w/names)

Desi wrote: "(is there a list of characters/descriptions??? so bad w/names) "

Maybe this will help Desi.. I know it's not a COMPLETE listing, but I tried :)

Jonas Scott Valent/Jacob Valence (Simulation Callsign: Horus): "Standing on the smaller display projected from my command chair was the holographic image of a man in his early thirties ..." (SFB:0) "The Captain was just over six feet,..." (SFB:1 and 2:Resurrection and Awakening)

Minh-Chu Buu (Simulation Call sign:Ronin):

Admiral Jessica Rice: "A woman in her middle years with short red hair and sharp features smiled at me and stood. "Mister Valent, I presume?" She asked with a British accent." (SFB:0)

Ayan Rice (the first)(Simulation Call sign: Sunspot): "She was diminutive in stature, and her face was heart shaped with wide cheekbones and bright blue eyes." "...as soon as I reached the qualifying age for infantry cadet training at fourteen I signed up. I was a tall girl at five foot one then, but I stopped growing at five three." (SFB:0)

Ayan Rice (The second) - "..a blond woman, a little too short, not of the desired social weight but still well proportioned...", "...someone would think she was just another early to mid twenties woman.", "..her curled long hair", "...her innocent heart shaped visage", "..her body was proportioned differently than she remembered. Less sleek and more curvy..", "..golden curls down to the center of her back." (SFB:3:Triton)

Terry Ozark McPatrick (Simulation Call sign: Oz): "The security officer was a thickly muscled fellow who stood at least two meters tall." (SFB:0)

Alice (Holographic Depiction): "The representation of her was a black haired, blue eyed woman about twenty..." (SFB:0) "Tall, long brown hair..." (SFB:1 and 2:Resurrection and Awakening)

Laura (later Laura Everin)(Simulation Call sign: Mira): long dark brown hair (SFB:3:Triton)

Fleet Doctor Carl Anderson - "He was a much older fellow with graying hair.." "He was eighty-five but had to slow down on his jogs so I could keep up."(SFB:0)

Doctor Fiona Lang

Derek Gregor

Liam Grady (Chief Engineer, Titan): "I'm seventy three." (SFB:3 Triton)

Stephanie Vega "Stephanie pulled her brown hair into a short ponytail.." (SFB:3 Triton)

Ashley Lamport - "...a young dark haired young woman..", "She had long black hair and dark eyes that were in stark contrast to her pale skin." "She spoke with a slight lisp that most of the crew found endearing, especially when she forgot she had it during a moment of excitement.", "Roger, moving on," replied a female voice with a slight lisp so her s's and z's had a softer sound." (SFB:1 and 2:Resurrection and Awakening)

Hernando Ramirez

Finn - Age is given as 19 (SFB:1 and 2:Resurrection and Awakening)

So I wake up and check my email to find a notification that Griffin has posted this. I floored. It looks like someone posted a section of my own personal Spinward Fringe encyclopedia and even added a few lines. Thank you Griffin, I'm more than a little humbled.

Here's a little extra description of the characters, but it comes at the cost of a...

*** SPOILER WARNING ****

Minh Chu is of Vietnamese descent primarily, and is short but in fairly good shape. The best description of Minh is found near the beginning of Broadcast 4: Frontline when he's waiting to meet Ayan the Second. In short, his hair has grown down to his shoulders (it's half curly, kind of unruly), he's sporting a military physique because he spent time working out every day during his isolation. Unlike most of the Freeground and Samson based characters, he's put on a few years as well.

Stephanie Vega is from a colony that is primarily Latino - something I regret I have only been able to infer with some of her slang - is around 5'5" and moves like a gymnast who knows how to march. She grew up learning gymnastics and entered the military in her late teens. She has dark brown hair and "boyish hips" (I think that's the quote from Triton, it's close).

Terry Ozark McPatrick's natural hair colour is blonde. The first time he shaved his head was when he took command of the Roi De Ceil (not in the books, I realize as I type this that the scene he brings that up in was cut from Frontline). He's always been well built, has blue eyes and a big, squarish chin. During Jonas' drug addled state in Starfree Port he saw an exaggerated version of Oz where his teeth were as big as piano keys, and, while his teeth really are proportionately large, they're not QUITE that big.

Liam Grady is of medium build and typically wears old fashioned brown robes tied with a red belt. Symbols representing places he spent any significant amount of time are pressed into the fabric of the belt, including a Triton skull. Even though he's in his seventies, he looks more like a man in his early forties. It's fairly common for characters in the Spinward Fringe universe because anti-aging ingredients are common in food and supplements, like the fitness pills Ashley is such a big fan of.

I hope this helps, I'd add more but I actually have to run!

One extra thought on character descriptions though...

At the same time, a secret has been dragged out into the broad daylight. One of the ongoing experiments with the Spinward Fringe series is the degree to which I describe some characters, and intentionally neglect to describe others. Jonas / Jacob, Laura, Fiona Lang, Hernando Ramirez and Finn were all left fairly blank to see if readers would use them as mental mannequins.

I also refrained from describing characters over and over again, especially since many readers tend to go through the entire series in a week or two - that's a million words, so you know! Did the experiment work? Did it help you make the characters your own?

I still wonder...

RL

Honestly, I read the whole series in just over a week and even though I know that it had certain descriptions for some, I could not help but see a few different. I had a hard time seeing Oz as a blonde and it struck me every time I read it. Also, for some reason, I always saw Vega as a short straight haired blonde. I grabbed right onto the descriptions of Ayan and Ash though.

I see Jonas/Jacob as more of a Sam Worthington (from terminator Salvation) though Timothy Olyphant could be a good choice as I think he could play the sense of humor really well.

Wheeler I always saw as a blonde, but maybe more Mickey Rourke like.

Jason and Finn are both tough, though I see both with dark hair, but Jason's more tight and curly with Finn's longer and more full.

From the show Damages, Rose Byrne for Eve and Glenn Close for Admiral Rice (I know, should be red hair).

I always saw a young Angolina Jolie as Alice.

the great thing about this thread is that any of the choices would fit the characters and bring their own touches.

If I were casting the role of Oz tomorrow, I would love a black actor to play the part, to be honest. The longer I write the character, the more I actually picture him as a strong African American, but don't let that colour the reading of the books.

Carey Mulligan would be a gift to play Ayan. There's actually a head shot of her in my reference folder for that character, even though my original mental image was close to Billie Piper. For a lot of the characters in the Spinward Fringe series I pictured people I knew or actors, but I've found that after a million words the characters have developed faces of their own.

Will I ever describe Jacob Valance even though I have a clear mental image of him? Nope. I think that's a character every reader should have a real mental ownership of. Laura, aside from having dark hair, was never described for the same reason, nor was Finn.

I wonder, did that work for anyone? Did you find yourself filling in those blanks or was it just annoying?

When I posted my reply to Desi, I almost didn't click on the "post" button to be honest.. I wasn't quite sure just who's toes I'd be stepping on when I did. I'm glad you're such a good sport about it though :) And as far as thanks...thank YOU for the voyage that is Spinward Fringe and the friends we've been introduced to while on it!

Gary, I really like Timothy Olyphant as Jacob.

I had a different idea for Finn. Someone that is a friend of my son. His name is Connor, and like Finn, everyone likes him. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3995348/

Lance wrote: "Gary, I really like Timothy Olyphant as Jacob.

I had a different idea for Finn. Someone that is a friend of my son. His name is Connor, and like Finn, everyone likes him. http://www.imdb.com/name..."

I could see him as Finn, actually.

Lance, I think Connor is about what I pictured. Curious to picture him with Ash though, and that even though I have not settled on anyone for her yet. For her it will have to be someone that fits with Minh, since that is where I see that going.

Not sure if he can act, but Johnny Nguyen looks right to me:

http://famewatcher.com/vietnamese-mal...

Thank you Griffin for some really fabulous info. My memory blows when it comes to little details and this was perfect!!! Then with your add-ons Randy, I had to go be all geeky and make a spreadsheet of the characters and associated actors of everyone listed below so far. Yes, I just spent the last hour or so putting it all together. I need serious therapy ...

Quite welcome Scheherizade! :) BTW I just stumbled across a conversation between Ashley and Larry. Apparently she's 21 (or at least looks like it :) ) That might help nail her look down a bit more..

Wow!!! This really helps those of us with name-remembering deficiencies a lot. Thank you so much Griffin and Randolph. I have read several books since SpFr, but nothing has 'grabbed' me, heh. This thread keeps 'em fresh in mind. I'm sure I will still picture Ashley as my friend, Nell (mid 50's now), who had tawny golden brown tresses and raced sled dogs in Northern Idaho ...

You're very welcome, Desi :)

Hmn... Stephen Lang for Lucius? (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002332/) However, (correct me if I'm wrong) didn't I see something somewhere where he's described as being younger than Jonas?

Jonas thought he looked younger when he met him.

"He didn't look much older than myself, in fact his dark hair, falling raggedly down to his jawline made him look younger, almost boyish." - First Light Chronicles

For Wheeler, I'd love to cast him with a really likeable actor who can play a rogue like persona. It would be interesting if Wheeler could charm the audience while he's doing terrible things.

I'd love To see Stephen Lang play Oz's uncle though. I'll save you a hunt - that character isn't in the books.

RL

Hmn... here's a thought for Wheeler... Karl Urban. He's played such diverse characters as Eomer in "Lord of the Rings", Vaako in "Chronicles of Riddick" and of course Leonard McCoy in the recent remake of "Star Trek" :D

Noone has mentioned her so far, but for Paula I would play the time machine game and cast a young Rhea Perlman. She seems about as abbrasive and obnoxious as Paula, but with the strength and command she would have to have.

Alexis Bledel for Ayan? (http://www.imdb.com/media/rm241615078...)

Gotta weigh in here....
Jonas/Jacob: Peter Weller
Wheeler: Clark Gable ... set your wayback folks
Oz: Jesse Ventura (sorry mister former Gov)
Ayan (young): Molly Quinn (watch Castle PLZ)
Stephanie: Eva Mendez
Ayan (older): Bette Davis ....Definitely!!!
Admiral Rice: Judy Garland
Frost: Brendan Gleeson (MadEye Moody)
Leland March: Norman Fell (from the '50s)
Dr. Anderson: Cary Grant
Ashley: Emily Deschanel
Minh: Jet Li
Liam Grady: Alan Hale Jr.
Paula: Lori Petty

At least that's about how they appear in my head. Good thing it's all subjective.

Keith wrote: "Gotta weigh in here....
Jonas/Jacob: Peter Weller
Wheeler: Clark Gable ... set your wayback folks
Oz: Jesse Ventura (sorry mister former Gov)
Ayan (young): Molly Quinn (watch Castle PLZ)
Steph..."

My oh my what FUN picks!!!! Judy Garland? Brilliant! My how I love this! :D

Scheherizade wrote: "Keith wrote: "Gotta weigh in here....
Jonas/Jacob: Peter Weller
Wheeler: Clark Gable ... set your wayback folks
Oz: Jesse Ventura (sorry mister former Gov)
Ayan (young): Molly Quinn (watch Castle P..."
Thanks!! Have a few more but have 2 look up some names. Still not 100% on Jet Li though... have another picture in my head that might fit better just can't remember where I saw the guy... oh well. Will have to keep looking.

Alice (human): Christina Ricci
Gloria/Eve: Charlize Theron

Can't sleep yet! Had to keep posting.

Randolph wrote: "At the same time, a secret has been dragged out into the broad daylight. One of the ongoing experiments with the Spinward Fringe series is the degree to which I describe some characters, and intentionally neglect to describe others. Jonas / Jacob, Laura, Fiona Lang, Hernando Ramirez and Finn were all left fairly blank to see if readers would use them as mental mannequins.

I also refrained from describing characters over and over again, especially since many readers tend to go through the entire series in a week or two - that's a million words, so you know! Did the experiment work? Did it help you make the characters your own?"

Actually, the way I read can best be described as "theater of the mind". When I come across a good book, it sometimes happens. With a great book or a great series like this one, it always happens! It's nothing to SEE the characters in your mind...to HEAR them..to be able on occasion to put yourself fully in their place and to experience the tale from their perspective. It can be a sensory/emotional roller coaster, but it's one I've never tired of riding whenever it happens :) So even without as detailed a description as the rest of the crew, I had no problem visualizing them or any of the others....

Ok ok.. crazy fellow climbing down off of Minh's bar table now.... :D

Not so crazy Griffin. Happens to me too. Have always been able to do that (wish it was only on the good books/series).... Nice to know it's not just me.... BTW, want a little help off that table.... You look a little woozy.