MovieChat Forums > The Great Gatsby (1974) Discussion > Perfect Great Gatsby Cast!!!!! For 2008!

Perfect Great Gatsby Cast!!!!! For 2008!

posted 17 years ago by AzurianNymph
93 replies | jump to latest

Perfect Great Gatsby Cast:

Daisy-Naomi Watts-- would be PERFECT! (sounds weird but watch King Kong)

Gatsby- Ryan Gosling (He has the ability to play a multi-emotioned, very deep character.)

Nick Carraway- Adrien Brody (He is awesome at playing the sort of blandness necessary for this character)

Jordan Baker- Nikki Reed. (She is amazing at playing the part of a suave beautiful woman.)

Tom Buchanan- Tom Welling (Great at being a manly man)

Myrtle- Emily Blunt? She kind of has that pretty but not too pretty thing going on.

A moment's all you can expect from perfection-unknown

[–] sacrednerve 16 years ago

Naomi Watts would have been right for Daisy fifteen years ago, but she's too old now. Daisy is supposed to be in her early twenties. I'm getting a little sick of Scarlett Johansson, but I think she'd make a good Daisy nonetheless.

I want to suggest Keira Knightley for Jordan, even though I question her ability to do a believable American accent. She tried one in The Jacket and sounded ridiculous. But she has the wiry, "jaunty", tomboyish look that Jordan has.

Philip Seymour Hoffman for Wilson, and maybe Michelle Williams for Myrtle? I'll get back to you on Gatsby, Nick and Tom...

With enough courage you can do without a reputation.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] LenPoole 16 years ago

I love your list AuzurianNymph. everyone ! except for nikki reed. blah :(
i maybe could see natalie portman for jordan
has to be sexy, smooth, pretty, and slightly seductive

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] morethan_meets_theeye 16 years ago

After seeing her in Bleak House and House of Mirth, I can't think of anyone better to play Daisy than Gillian Anderson. She would deliver the lines perfectly and not over-do it like so many would. I also always see Daisy as that kind of beauty.

Hey Perry, your lips, my ass, they should meet.

[–] INeedUnguent 16 years ago

I think many of you are casting actors that are too old to play these characters. As I recall, Gatsby is only 31-32 in the book and the other main characters are about the same age or a bit older but not a lot. I think Nick is a tad younger. I've thought about the casting too:

Jay Gatsby - I like Ryan Gosling for the part. He's, what, 29 now so he could do it and he's a brilliant actor. At first I thought of Johnny Depp to play the mysterious Gatsby, but I think he's too old for the part now.
Daisy Buchanan - this is the part I can't cast. Daisy needs to be a ravishing, compelling, unforgettable woman that a man yearns for and played by a great actress. ???
Nick Carraway - James McAvoy. Another brilliant, subtle, thoughtful actor and he's just about the right age.
Tom Buchanan - Leonardo DiCaprio. The part is too small for him, but I think he's got the right 'white supremacist Aryan' look for the part. Another wonderful actor.
Myrtle Wilson - I'm leaning toward Ginnifer Goodwin. I think this is a part Toni Collette could have played a few years ago - not now.
George Wilson - ???
Jordan Baker - Keira Knightley. I think she's better suited for this than - Daisy - thin, boyish figure, athletic - works well with McAvoy.

Director: Anybody but Baz

I have a vewy gweat fwiend in Wome called 'Biggus Dickus'.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] GingerLee2082 15 years ago

Honestly, I've read through this entire thread and I really don't get the age obsession. I agree that actresses over forty shouldn't be considered for Daisy but if they choose an actress in her thirties I really don't see what the big deal is. actors don't have to be the exact same age as the characters. It really is okay. Some people thought that the Harry Potter actors would be "way too old" to continue to play their respective characters and look--it hasn't hurt the movies in a negative way at all. I would rather have a good actor who is a few years too old than an okay actor who is the exact same age as the character. Honestly, there are too many wonderful performances by actors who were older than the characters they were playing to list.

That being said, here's my ideal cast:

Gatsby: Jon Hamm
Daisy: Rachel McAdams
Nick: Casey Affleck
Jordan: Keira Chaplin
Tom: Aaron Eckhart
Myrtle: Ginnifer Goodwin

If they went with a older cast then I'd like:

Gatsby: Brad Pitt
Daisy: Naomi Watts
Nick: Jason Lee
Jordan: Winona Ryder
Tom: Josh Brolin
Myrtle: Drew Barrymore

[–] susieq8684 15 years ago

Brad Pitt would be excellent as Gatsby! I think that's a really good idea for Adrian Brody to play Nick. For Daisy I think Rachel McAdams and Keira Knightley would both be good choices.

[–] linda303 15 years ago

Keep in mind Gatsby is only about 33 and Daisy is barely 25. Brad Pitt WOULD have been fabulous 10 years ago. Don't think KK can manage an American accent -- she's not a good enough actress. Both Redford and Farrow were too old for the parts.

Gatsby is a few years older than all the other main characters. Nick turns 30 at the end of the novel/summer. Tom is about the same age as Nick. Jordan is two years younger than Daisy, making her about 23.

I have been waiting for a re-make for 20 years!

[–] mumblingmouse 15 years ago

Gatsby- Christian Bale or Heath Ledger if he was still alive or Johnny Depp
Nick- Adrien Brody or Ryan Gosling
Tom- Jon Hamm
Daisy- Naomi Watts
Jordan- Scarlett Johannson

[–] DaVooz 15 years ago

That's a great list AzurianNymph and I hope Baz Luhrman listens to you!
However I'd like to plug (well, their names as possibilities) Audrey Toutou (you know from Amelie and Coco Chanel) and Rachel McAdams (The Notebook need I say more...). Naomi Watts in the Mia Farrow role or any role good choice. Not weird at all, have you seen 21 grams or Mulholland Drive... Please make some room for them.
Mad Men's Jon Hamm as The Great Gatsby! He's got that mysterious and gloomy secretive and guilty and saddened side to him from Mad Men > it would be a nice continuation (incorrect timewise but you know what I mean).
(No Kutcher please.)

[–] shani-3 15 years ago

Just to mess with everyone's heads...

Daisy-Amy Adams
Jordan-Isla Fisher

Yeah, they're dead, they're--all messed up.

[–] ebersole 15 years ago

I like the idea of Ryan Gosling. Not so sure about Brody, Welling, or Blunt.

One of the best casting choices of the original was Howard da Silva as Meyer Wolfsheim. "Who's he, a dentist?" "That's the man who fixed the World Series." It requires gentility, a lack of intensity if you will, which is why da Silva was great and Malkovich wouldn't work.

[–] walking-zero 15 years ago

Some of these ideas are ridiculous. I doubt that anyone who is casting 40-year-old Naomi Watts or 42-year-old for 23-year-old Daisy has read the book. According to the book's basic math, Daisy was born in 1899 and the book takes place in the summer of 1922 so she is either 22 or 23 with Jordan being 21. Based on the book:

Jay: Late 20s/Early 30s (probably 29-31)
Nick: Close to Jay in age, though a bit younger (probably 29)
Daisy: 22 or 23 (born in 1899)
Jordan: 20 or 21 (two years younger than Daisy)

Naomi and Nicole LOOK their age. Neither can play 20 years younger. Not even Rachel McAdams can pull off 22. Even the Olsen Twins are over 22 now.

[–] s-alejandro 15 years ago

This was tough.
Some ages may not work.

Jay Gatsby-Ed Norton
Nick Carraway-Billy Crudup
Daisy Buchanan-Naomi Watts
Jordan-Marion Cotillard
Tom Buchanan-Bradley Cooper
Mr Wilson-Sam Rockwell
Myrtle-Helena Bonham Carter
Wolfsheim-Gene Hackman
Mr Gatz-Ian Mcshane

[–] Bozo275 15 years ago

Great Choices there mate!

BTW though, you forgot Owl Eyes. I can see Steve Buscemi as Owl Eyes

[–] 15 years ago

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