MovieChat Forums > I, Claudius (1977) Discussion > Recasting I,Claudius ??

Recasting I,Claudius ??

posted 11 years ago by awrobel
16 replies | jump to latest

Although the original is perfection in every facet, it is interesting to think of actors who might be cast in a future remake. I have some suggestions that I feel would be perfect but again capturing the essence of the original is a monumental task. But in any event here goes , how about.......
Augustus .... Brendan Gleeson
Livia............. Cate Blanchett
Claudius .......JOHN HURT (connection w/ original, someone else plays the younger Claudius )
Herod............Lev Schrieber
Tiberius .........Ciaran Hinds (Rome, Game of Thrones)
Caligula......... Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones)
Messalina.......Zuleika Robinson (Rome , Homeland )

[–] Mortimer605 11 years ago

I don't think that Brendan Gleeson would be the best option to play Augustus. He looks more like Brian Blessed than Augustus. He could play Agrippa instead.

My cast (would be ideal 10-5 years ago):

AUGUSTUS - Daniel Day-Lewis
LIVIA - Emma Thompson
AGRIPPA - Liam Neeson
JULIA - Nicole Kidman
TIBERIUS - Russell Crowe
DRUSUS - Johnny Depp
ANTONIA - Cate Blanchett
POSTUMUS - Christian Bale
GERMANICUS - Michael Fassbender
AGRIPPINA - Kate Winslet
CASTOR - Guy Pearce
SEJANUS - Daniel Craig
LIVILLA - Eva Green
CALIGULA - Jude Law or Cillian Murphy
CLAUDIUS - Paul Giamatti or Toby Jones
HERROD - Benicio Del Toro or Javier Bardem
MESSALINA - Rooney Mara
AGRIPPINILLA - Gwyneth Paltrow
NERO - Elijah Wood

But original is perfection. No need to remake.

"The trick, William Potter,is not minding that it hurts."

[–] hodie 10 years ago

I think Eva Green would be an awesome Livia. I just can't see Emma Thompson as such a villainess.

[–] hodie 10 years ago

Julia was kind of blowsy and self-indulgent, so I can't see the sleek Kidman playing her.

The original cast was so good it's hard for me to imagine anyone else in those roles!

[–] Venus-25 10 years ago

Liev Schreiber has no charisma; he could never be Herod Agrippa. I agree on Ciaran Hines, though.

The Fabio Principle: Puffy shirts look best on men who look even better without them.

[–] hodie 10 years ago

I always saw Jane Seymour as Livia.

[–] hodie 10 years ago

I can see Martin Freeman as Claudius. Brendan Gleeson is a good choice for Augustus but my heart still belongs to Brian Blessed. Maybe Liam Neeson as Sejanus? I don't know about Messalina. She was a harlot but she was also able to put on a shy-maiden act. Christina Hendricks? She was good as Saffron in Firefly.

[–] hodie 10 years ago

Maybe Clive Owen as Tiberius? I like Jude Law as Caligula.

[–] Mortimer605 10 years ago

hodie, check out this on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZoHK4wQjlE. It's my "visualisation" of my list above (with some minor changes; and I have added more characters - Agrippa, Vipsania, Narcissus, Pallas and Britannicus).

Of course, I made this for fun only - nothing can beat original cast and their legendary performances.

"The trick, William Potter,is not minding that it hurts."

[–] hodie1 9 years ago

Mortimer, it's ten months later. I just saw your post. Let me check out the link. Thank you!

[–] hodie1 9 years ago

Hi, Mortimer. I am getting a message saying that the video is private. I am sorry I didn't see your post until now.
It is fun to recast classics. I hear now and then that I,Claudius is being remade. I hope not.

[–] Mortimer605 9 years ago

Hi, hodie1. Oh I forgot about this. Yes, my video was private, sorry about that.

You can watch it now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZoHK4wQjlE

(music is Alex North's unused theme for 2001: A Space Odyssey. It reminds me more of his film scores for Spartacus and Cleopatra. Feels more like Roman epic than Sci-fi)

Yeah, I agree. It's always fun to recast classics with modern day actors, even for us who don't want to see I Claudius being remade.

Fassbender - Mara - Blanchett

[–] hodie1 9 years ago

Hi, Mortimer605.I saw the video and that does look like a great cast. Nicely done, and thank you for posting it!

[–] fabledmabel-10-33913 9 years ago

"I, Claudius" is one of the classic BBC series that should NEVER be re-done. Period. It would be like when they tried to remake 'Psycho' and it was a total flop (or trying to remake 'Gone With the Wind'). The only character I MIGHT have re-casted in the original 'Claudius' was Livia....I preferred Anna Massey over Siân Phillips. Everyone else was superb.

[–] sokeyt 9 years ago

"I, Claudius" is one of the classic BBC series that should NEVER be re-done. Period.

No, it shouldn't. But it's fun to discuss, though.

Forget it Jake. It's Chinatown.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] karpizan 9 years ago

Some interesting suggestions but I really couldn't imagine anyone else in these roles, entertaining as the conjecture may be.