With the onset of movie musicals as of late, who would you like to see in the roles if this show was remade. I'll go first.
Arthur: Hugh Jackman
Guenevere: Kristin Chenoweth, Nicole Kidman or Sutton Foster
Lancelot: Christian Bale
Mordred: Ewan McGreggor
Morgan Le Fay: Ruthie Henshall
Pellinore: Ian McKellan or Jim Broadbent
Merlyn: Jonathan Pryce
This is just what I think. What about everyone else?
Arhur: Ewan McGreggor
Guinevere: I have no idea. Most of the actresses I can think of that could play it, I don't know if they can sing or else they're too young.
Lancelot: Gerard Butler
Mordred: Johnny Depp - he looks young.
Pellinore and Merlyn: I honestly have no idea.
Red, blue, and green are all real colors. Yellow is a mystical experience shared by everyone.
Can they sing? That is a really big part of this production, even though the role of King Arthur can be more spoken than sung.
shareIan Mckellen or jim broadbent in a role as small as pellinore?? Not worth the bother if you arnt going to be realistic about it, as with christian bale and a long theatre run.
I agree about jackman as arthur though, with mcgregor just behind, though he'd have to speak it english...not that this'd work on the west end without harris, it'd have to be broadway
Perfection in darkness
I hope they'd include the entire stage score without deletions.As for casting-I don't know.Samantha Janus made a gorgeous Guenevere on stage in 1999,with Paul Nicholas as Arthur.
shareLaura Michelle Kelly as Guenevere
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OFFICIAL BLEEDER
Perfect!! I was going to mention Laura Michelle Kelly if no one else did. Saw her in Lord of the Rings last October...powerhouse voice. And all the time looking like there was no effort behind it.
The important thing to me is that Arthur needs to be as exciting to the audience as Lancelot is to Guenevere for the simple reason that after Lance and Genny run away we are left with Arthur...and at this point Arthur can become rather boring when you think that the exciting plot line just ran offstage.
So who could hold my interest at that point? I think Hugh Jackman is a good choice actually...though I am sure I could think of another...Jack Davenport maybe?
Patrick Wilson or James McAvoy for Lancelot.
Norbert Leo Butz (From 'Dan in Real Life' for those non-theatre nerds out there) is probably a bit old to be playing Mordred, but he is fiesty enough and I think it would be perfect for him.
Bill Nighy as Merlin
And in a slight twist...Nathan Lane as Pellinore.
Great question! For some reason I found myself thinking about the movie, then ordered it on DVD on Amazon (not in stores!). I knew it would stir up memories of when I was 13 and watching it with my brother Arthur (ironic name), who died in 1980. The wedding scene was particularly breathtaking. I watched it last night and did not expect to cry so much, but "If Ever I Would Leave You" just melted me. The montage has been critized for being cheesy, but I was willing to go along with it because the song is so exquisite.
I tried to cast this with all-English or Irish, as American actors sound stupid putting on accents, and most of them can't sing. And some people are the wrong age. I tried on Jack Nicholson for Arthur: "I wonner whaat the Kiing is doing t'night. Prob'ly playin' blaackjaack." Didn't work. Came up with an unusual choice: Hugh Laurie, who is tall, has screen charisma to burn and can sing. Arthur can get away with being older. I want Cate Blanchett for Guenevere, though she's past it in age, but anyone who can play Bob Dylan can probably play any age. I struggled the most over Lancelot and couldn't come up with a youngish fanatical-looking Brit who could sing. Maybe Tom Cruise could stand on a stool and be dubbed by Josh Groban. For Pellinore, Peter O'Toole, if he's still alive and can be propped up. Mordred was another hard one, as he's such a key figure and needs to be bratty and young, so Daniel Radcliffe was my only choice.
mgunning...you had me rolling. A version with Nicholson might work...in a tongue buried firmly in the cheek kinda way. Sadly O'Toole died recently so he's out. Harry Potter as Mordred, absolutely. Hugh or Ewan as either Arthur or Lance, oh yeah! Although, Gerard Butler could bring a fire and intensity to Lance that would have the ladies warm all over. And what about Liv Tyler as Genny? Don't know if she can sing, but that didn't stop Redgrave, ahem. Tyler has the ethereal looks the role demands. whatcha think?
shareAmerican actors sound stupid putting on accents, and most of them can't sing.
Tell that to Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, Renee Zellwegger, James Cromwell, and others. They're all AMERICANS and all have been generally LAUDED for doing convincing British accents.
I LOVE the idea of Nathan Lane as Pellinore - he would be awesome! 😃
shareHat about Patrick Neil Harris somewhere? He can do it all, act, sing and dance. He looks younger than he actually is, but I think he could carry off Arthur. They would have to give him a beard and some makeup in the second act, to age him some but I think it could be done. I do not see him as Lancelot - you need someone with a booming voice, and while I love NPH, I don't think he has that.
People have mentioned Hugh Jackman as Arthur. But here is a thought - what about him as Lancelot? . It's as important a role as King Arthur, if not more. So with NPH as Arthur, Hugh Jackson would be perfect.
King Arthur - Ioan Gruffudd (from Titantic and Black Hawk Down
Guenevere - maybe Sienne Miller. She has the looks but I'm not sure if she has the acting chops. Would be interesting to see though.
Lancelot - Olivier Martinez from Unfaithful.
Mordred: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Morgan Le Fay: Cate Blanchette
Pellinore: Albert Finney
Merlyn: Ray Winstone (he's brilliant - he could do it!)
King Arthur-Ewan McGregor (seeing him play King Arthur would be the ultimate wish fulfillment for me) but I can also see him easily as Lancelot to Hugh Jackman's Arthur.
Guenevere-Anne Hathaway. She has a gorgeous voice and she has that classic fairy tale kind of beauty that Guenevere needs.
Lancelot-Hugh Jackman but I can also see him easily as Arthur to Ewan's Lancelot. Gerard Butler would be great too.
Mordred-Any of the Spring Awakening boys would be perfect in my opinion. Mordred's the kind of character Jonathon B. Wright was born to play and it would be awesome to see Jon Groff or John Gallagher jr. go over to the dark side. They can all act and they can all sing (obviously) and they're all just the right age.
Merlyn-I've always wondered what kind of Merlin Sean Connery would make. It is non-singing so it doesn't matter. But it might end up being a little too gimmicky. In the end, my vote would go to Jonathan Pryce.
Pellinore-I second Jim Broadbent and Nathan Lane always makes me smile.
Sir Tom--I know it is a tiny role but it is a vital one and I would love to see Ed Sanders (the little boy who played Toby in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd). He wouldn't get to sing but I think he would be perfect.
Damn, I really want to see this now.
Now Father, you're living in the past. This is the 14th century!
Arhur: ? I dont know.. he should be allot older looking than lance and jenny tho...
Guinevere: Kristen Chenoweth
Lancelot: Gerard Butler ( I would love to hear him sing 'If ever I would leave you' :)
Mordred: should be someone that looks really imbred... and evil.
Albert Finney for Merlin and Pelinore would be great played by Christopher Walken :)
Anne Hathaway would be excellent choice as Guenivere.....
It is not our abilities that make us who we are...it is our choices
Tom Hollander as the King and Damien Sargue as Lancelot.
And any woman except for Emmy Rossum as Guenevere.
C'est Jonathan ou Dracula
Arthur: Hugh Jackman
Guenevere: Audra McDonald
Lancelot: Josh Groban
Mordred: Rufus Wainwright
Merlin: John Lithgow
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Hey, she has the voice and the acting ability. If they would make the setting more like a fairy tale, it could work with color-blind casting. Or, she could be a Moor princess
shareThis is the legend of king Arthur, Guinevere is simply not black. The rest of the cast seems ok, apart from Groban, he could never pull off launcelots intesity of get into his shape. I think Jackman would probably suit launcelot better now I actually think about it- perhaps a McGregor, Jackman partnership with Ewan as Arthur?
Perfection in darkness
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What the h--l is wrong with Emmy Rossum? She's beautiful, a good actress, and has a good singing voice. She got many raves from The Phantom of the Opera-many critics considered her the best part of the movie. Not only that, her voice is even better and more beautiful now than it was during that film.
shareRedgrave will be missed, but perhaps she could play the old lady in waiting in the woods.
Cast sounds fine to me. I would only be concerned that it be staged well. The movies have not been kind to these musicals. I have seen My Fair Lady produced by a good community theatre company and I think there is reason to believe that Camelot on stage was much better than this movie.
A re-invention of this form of entertainment might be in order every time it is tried.
CAMELOT was remade for PBS in May 2008 for Great Performances ---
It starred Gabriel Byrne as Arthur, Marin Mazzie as Guinivere, Nathan Gunn as Lancelot, Christopher Llyod as Merlyn and Fran Drescher as Morgan La Fey. It is a beautifully done production and operatic tenor Nathan Gunn is a standout - a perfect Lancelot .
Oh Lord, people. Stop suggesting Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway for everything. They would be completely wrong for these parts and overtake the production. That and Hugh Jackman has terrible vowels and his voice isn't even that strong.
If age is not a factor... Kelli O'Hara, Rachel York.
Casting male leads is more difficult. I'm just going to go off voices. Maybe Brent Barrett or Marc Kudisch or Aaron Lazar. If they did do it, it would probably be a younger leading man that people hadn't really taken notice of.
You need someone who knows their way around a classic score like this. There's now so much a belting/rock/pop sensibility to many Broadway actors' voices that wouldn't fit this score.
If you were casting a Broadway revival , Kelli O'Hara + Brent Barrett might be a good Guinevere and Arthur -- but highly unlikely they would ever be cast in a movie remake.
I wouldn't even know whom to suggest but as this probably will never happen , it doesnt matter - CAMELOT is now "ancient history" for Hollywood.
To see a very well done "remake" , checkout the PBS version w Nathan Gunn and Marin Mazzie.
Cool, thx for the info, I'll have to see if I can find it on the net!
shareThere's only one reason to remake this film, and that's to see a film version that actually stars people in the roles of Guenevere and Lancelot who can actually sing and do the score justice. You can get away with a non-singer in the role of Arthur, but having non-singers (as the 1967 film version did) in the other two leading roles seriously detracts.
shareI'd make a great Guinevere. I love round tables and dark nights.
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