# The Icewind Dale Trilogy: Casting Call



## Dark Jezter (Aug 21, 2004)

We've got a casting call thread for the Dragonlance novels, so I thought I'd start one up for the Icewind Dale Trilogy. 

Here's my picks:

*Drizzt Do'urden:*  Ray Park
*Artemis Entreri:* Antonio Banderas
*Bruenor Battlehammer:* James Cosmo (played Campbell in Braveheart)
*Wulfgar:* Vladmir Kulich or Paul Michael Levesque
*Regis:* Luke Wilson
*Catti-Brie Battlehammer:*  Scarlett Johansson (sp?)
*Errtu (Voice):* Michael Dorn
*Akar Kessel:* Steve Buscemi
*Alustriel Silverhand:* Sharon Stone
*Pasha Pook:* Paul Sorvino


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## Ankh-Morpork Guard (Aug 21, 2004)

Ray Park as Drizzt....hmm....wow, that one really does work.


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## KenM (Aug 21, 2004)

I forgot, how old is Catti-Brie in The Icewind Dale Trilogy?


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## Dark Jezter (Aug 22, 2004)

KenM said:
			
		

> I forgot, how old is Catti-Brie in The Icewind Dale Trilogy?



 IIRC, she's supposed to be around 18 or 19 years old.


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## Olgar Shiverstone (Aug 22, 2004)

I vote for Will Smith as Drizzle!


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## KenM (Aug 22, 2004)

Olgar Shiverstone said:
			
		

> I vote for Will Smith as Drizzle!




  Then we'd get the rap/pop song and music video tie in with the movie.


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## Ankh-Morpork Guard (Aug 22, 2004)

KenM said:
			
		

> Then we'd get the rap/pop song and music video tie in with the movie.



 And those crazy kids would come see it just because he's in it! Perfect marketing!


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## Ferret (Aug 22, 2004)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> We've got a casting call thread for the Dragonlance novels, so I thought I'd start one up for the Icewind Dale Trilogy.
> 
> Here's my picks:
> 
> ...




I can't see Ray park as Drizzt although he did darth maul...(Maybe T'ealk's son if enough time passes?)

Artemis suits Antonio Banderas perfectly, as long as he can get past the accent.

I can't remember what Cosmo was like in any other films I've seen with him in, the only picture of him is in All the Kings Men where he is dressed up like a woman. What about Danny DeVito? Actually He might be able to pull it off....

Vladmir Kulich looks right for the part but I don't know what he is like actoring-wise

I don't think Luke Wilson looks right, I know that this is type casting but I can easily imagin Elijah Wood as Regis....

Scarlett Johanson looks right, but I haven't seen her in anything I know.
Michael Dorn would be perfect for the voice of Errutu

I don't remember who Kessel is but Buscemi is a good actor

Sharon as Silverhand, good choice.

I'm indifferent as to who Pook would be...


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## Dark Jezter (Aug 22, 2004)

Ferret said:
			
		

> I can't remember what Cosmo was like in any other films I've seen with him in, the only picture of him is in All the Kings Men where he is dressed up like a woman. What about Danny DeVito? Actually He might be able to pull it off....




He was also in Troy, although his part was pretty small.  He played a Trojan general.



> Vladmir Kulich looks right for the part but I don't know what he is like actoring-wise




If you want to see Vladmir Kulich's acting, go rent _The 13th Warrior_; he plays Buliwyf.

My only reservation about casting Kulich as Wulfgar is that Kulich would probably be too old for the role; in the _Icewind Dale Trilogy_, Wulfgar is only supposed to be around 20 years old, but Kulich is much older than that.



> I don't think Luke Wilson looks right, I know that this is type casting but I can easily imagin Elijah Wood as Regis....




Elijah Wood playing a halfling again, eh?  I don't know if Wood would fit because Frodo and Regis are _very_ different characters; Frodo was all brooding and angsty and almost never smiled (at least in the movies), while Regis is a much more lighthearted character.



> I don't remember who Kessel is but Buscemi is a good actor




Akar Kessel was the apprentice wizard in _The Crystal Shard_ who became incredibly powerful after he found the artifact that the book is named after.


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## AFGNCAAP (Aug 22, 2004)

Hmm... what about Andrew Bryniarski for Wulfgar?  He was Chip Schreck in _Batman Returns_, one of the cult henchmen in _Scooby-Doo_, Zangief in _Street Fighter_, Butterfinger in _Hudson Hawk_, Lobo in _The Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special_, and most recently the man behind the mask in the new _Texas Chainsaw Massacre_.  Big, built, beefy actor, already has long blond hair (IIRC), & does a lot of physical stuff.

And how about Paul Giamatti as Regis?  Seems just about right for that character, IMHO....


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## jester47 (Aug 24, 2004)

Samuel Le Bihan deserves to play Drizzt.  I think he would really be able to pull it off.  If you are not sure watch Brotherhood of the Wolf.  Especially where DeFronsac goes ape on the hunters and the cultists.  He has blonde hair, and his face is painted black.  The scene where he jumps into the middle of a bunch of red cloaked cultists and starts swinging around two swords very quickly was all the convincing I needed.  (I mean that scene might as well be ripped from the realms) Not to mention the character is a french naturalist (i.e. Ranger) and speaks french (I believe that salvatore uses french as the basis for his drow words) and so has this weird accent...  He has a hooked nose which I would think makes for a good drow feature. 

Aaron.


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## Numion (Aug 25, 2004)

*Bruenor Battlehammer:* Jason Alexander, the dude who played George Costanza in Seinfeld    with the same glasses and attitude


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## jarlaxlecq (Aug 25, 2004)

I forget what he looks like but the villian in ShangHai Knights (the jackie chan movie) He diff. had the swordsman skills to be drizzt


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## Ferret (Aug 25, 2004)

I rember now! 

Hmm thinking... The guy who plays the lead role in....the D&D movie has a good regis face.....


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## Korgan26 (Aug 27, 2004)

Nathan Jones would have to be wulfgar 6'10 almost 350lbs seems to fit to me.
He was Boagrius (sp) in Troy
Z


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## mmu1 (Aug 27, 2004)

I see a lot of actors being mentioned purely based on their physical abilities and appearance, which I think is rather scary.

Acting ability, anyone? Ray parks is great and all, but his speaking roles have been so limited, that casting his as the lead character (that also happens to at least somewhat emotionally complex) in a major movie would be insane.

Same thing with someone to play Wulfgar... How many decent actors do you know of that are over 6'8"? 

It's a lot easier with current technology to get a good actor and team him up with a great fight choreographer, stunt coordinator and special effects team than it is to get a great martial artist and teach him how to act.


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## qstor (Aug 27, 2004)

Numion said:
			
		

> *Bruenor Battlehammer:* Jason Alexander, the dude who played George Costanza in Seinfeld    with the same glasses and attitude




Noooooooooo! 
Mike


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## Morpheus (Aug 29, 2004)

Here's my .02 worth:

Drizzt is going to be the hardest to cast. I would like Vin Diesel, but he is  probably _too_ big...

Obed Fehr is another possibility for Artemis. He was the Magi leader in _The Mummy_ and was the gigolo the Rob Schneider filled in for in _Deuce Bigelow_...Banderas works too...

Danny DeVito as Regis is almost too perfect...

Keira Knightley works for Catti-brie...

Not to type cast or anything, but John Rhys-Davies as Bruenor should be a given. It would be hard to keep him from seeming like Gimli though...

Wulfgar...Can't think of anyone right now...


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## dreaded_beast (Aug 29, 2004)

jester47 said:
			
		

> Samuel Le Bihan deserves to play Drizzt.  I think he would really be able to pull it off.  If you are not sure watch Brotherhood of the Wolf.  Especially where DeFronsac goes ape on the hunters and the cultists.  He has blonde hair, and his face is painted black.  The scene where he jumps into the middle of a bunch of red cloaked cultists and starts swinging around two swords very quickly was all the convincing I needed.  (I mean that scene might as well be ripped from the realms) Not to mention the character is a french naturalist (i.e. Ranger) and speaks french (I believe that salvatore uses french as the basis for his drow words) and so has this weird accent...  He has a hooked nose which I would think makes for a good drow feature.




Forget him, the real star of Brotherhood of the Wolf was Mark Dacascos! 

Drizzt: Marc Dacascos


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## dreaded_beast (Aug 29, 2004)

Hmm, how about we do some ethnic diversity. After all, we had a black Kingpin, in the Daredevil movie. 

Drizzt: Ekin Cheng (Stormriders) http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Network/7071/Ekin1.jpg

Artemis: Aaron Kwok (Stormriders)
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Network/7071/Aaron1.jpg

Bruenor: Sammo Hung

Cattie-Brie: Qu Shi (The Transporter)
http://image.pathfinder.com/time/asia/magazine/2002/0916/shu_qi.jpg

Regis: Jackie Chan


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## Dark Jezter (Aug 29, 2004)

Morpheus said:
			
		

> Drizzt is going to be the hardest to cast. I would like Vin Diesel, but he is  probably _too_ big...
> 
> Obed Fehr is another possibility for Artemis. He was the Magi leader in _The Mummy_ and was the gigolo the Rob Schneider filled in for in _Deuce Bigelow_...Banderas works too...




Physical size isn't too important.  In the books, Artemis Entreri and Drizzt are both short and slender guys (each one only being about five and a half feet tall), but nowadays actors can be shrunk down to the appropriate size during editing. 



> Keira Knightley works for Catti-brie...




You know what, she _would_ make a good Catti-brie.



> Not to type cast or anything, but John Rhys-Davies as Bruenor should be a given. It would be hard to keep him from seeming like Gimli though...




I intentionally avoided naming John Rhys-Davies as Bruenor because he was a too-obvious choice.


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## Teflon Billy (Aug 29, 2004)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> *Wulfgar:* Vladmir Kulich or Paul Michael Levesque
> [




Do you mean Triple H?...because that's *Jean-Paul Levesque*


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## Dark Jezter (Aug 29, 2004)

Teflon Billy said:
			
		

> Do you mean Triple H?...because that's *Jean-Paul Levesque*



Paul Michael Levesque is sometimes credited as Jean-Paul Levesque.  And yes, he is Triple-H.


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## Cthulhudrew (Aug 29, 2004)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> Physical size isn't too important.  In the books, Artemis Entreri and Drizzt are both short and slender guys (each one only being about five and a half feet tall), but nowadays actors can be shrunk down to the appropriate size during editing.




I think he's referring more to his build than his height. Most actors are probably in the 5 1/2 to 5' 10" height anyway (lots of those guys are real short! And girls, too!). Shrinking a guy Vin Diesel's size (and I don't think he's all that tall, FWIW) would just result in a short, stocky looking guy. Like Bruenor.


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## The Josh (Sep 19, 2005)

*no no no*

ok i dont see how any of those wulfgar choises can work. i didn't see a single one that was even under thirty. wulfgar is 17 or 18 in icewind dale. 

Drizzt - Keanu Reeves or possibly Jet Li (language might be a problem)
Artemis - Orlando Bloom (i usually cant stand him, but i would love to see him in a dark role,  
Oded Fehr sounds ok too)
Bruenor - John Rhys-Davies (kinda like Gimli, but kick him in the crotch, to give him the perfect atitude)
Jarlaxe - Lawrence Fishburn
Harkle Harpel - Gene Wilder (maybe too old)
Catti-Brie - Keira Knightley maybe


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## Dark Jezter (Sep 19, 2005)

Holy thread necromancy, Batman! 



			
				The Josh said:
			
		

> Drizzt - Keanu Reeves




"I know Drow Fu."



> Artemis - Orlando Bloom




 

I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that.

_*curls up into fetal position and begins rocking back and forth*_



> Jarlaxe - Lawrence Fishburn




Lawrence Fishburn is cool, but I simply can not picture him as Jarlaxle for some reason, and besides, Jarlaxle isn't even in the Icewind Dale trilogy. 

I'd actually pick somebody like Johnny Depp or Jude Law as Jarlaxle.  Just shave his head, give him an eyepatch, and cover him in makeup.


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## Ranger REG (Sep 19, 2005)

dreaded_beast said:
			
		

> Hmm, how about we do some ethnic diversity. After all, we had a black Kingpin, in the Daredevil movie.



True, but they didn't try to cast a non-white as Matt Murdock.   

Maybe Jackie Chan should audition for the title role of _Ben Hur._


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## Aris Dragonborn (Sep 19, 2005)

Hmm.

*Drizzt* - Ray Park. No argument there. I say let Ray have a crack at the role. If not, just get someone to do a voice over on the lines, like in The Phantom Menace.

*Wulfgar* - How about Heath Ledger? Extras will be required to be no taller than 5'4". I think that something along these lines was done for The 13th Warrior.

*Catti-Brie* - Keira Knightley, fer sure.

*Bruenor* - Well, John Rys Davies is out, as he said that he would never play another dwarf, due to being allergic to the prosthetic make-up. This could be a tough one.

*Regis* - Also a tough one. Danny DeVito, IMO, is a bit too old for the part, though other than that, he'd be perfect.

*Akar Kessel* - Steve Buscemi. _Perfect_. Though I have to say that Gary Oldman should be considered for the part as well.

*Errtu (voice)* - Michael Dorn? Strong possiblities. Tim Curry might be a good choice (he did great as Darkness in Legend), or maybe bring in a heavy hitter with James Earl Jones (although he's probably _too_ recognizable).

*Artemis Entreri* - Cold. Heartless. Ruthless. Merciless. Driven. Amoral. Christian Bale. Or Stuart Townshend.

*Alustriel* - Gwyneth Paltrow, maybe. Sharon Stone just seems too old for me (well, she's not, IYKWIMAITYD  ), but she might fit the role. The trick with any of the Seven Sisters, IMO, is to make them seem old without actually aging them (old souls, as it were). 

*Pasha Pook* - Paul Sorvino. Nice.


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## John Crichton (Sep 19, 2005)

I'll start by saying that I'm kinda sick of seeing Knightly in the hot/tough-chick role.  That said, I did like her in PotC.  Her teeth bug me. 

Casting the whole trilogy, eh?  I do like some of the above choices but the ages for many of them are WAY off.  Sure, they could change things around but I'll keep my cast as close to the novels as possible.  So...

Slicey D(o' Urden) is a tough one.  And since he's not really considered the main character that makes it even harder (he was originally a sidekick to Wulfgar).   Especially for the look.  I really like the choice of *Samuel Le Bihan as Drizzt Do'Urden* based off of his character in Brotherhood of the Wolf.  I went to see that with my gaming group and there were little manly squeals of, "OMG, it's Drizzt! TWO swords!"  >ahem<  And I *really* can't think of anyone else who could looks the part and can pull of some of the physical stuff.

Since we're on BotW, I'd like to see...

*Vincent Cassel as Entreri.*  Right build and attitude.  Can pull off eeeeevil, non-caring and assassin in his sleep.

Wulfgar - If Vin Diesel or The Rock had a more nordic look I'd be cool with either of them.  Vin would be the better choice because of the voice and he looks pretty young.  Not as young as he needs to be I can't think of a single actor that big that looks like he's in his late teens. Except for maybe...

*Tom Welling as Wulfgar.*  Seriously.  He's big (6'3") and has some acting chops.  Just needs to deepen the voice a bit and bulk up a bit.

Bruenor - I have no idea.  Take any of the good character actors from Braveheart or Gladiator who can do an accent (or have one naturally) and act all gruff and fatherly.  

And since we are making large Scottish men look less than 4 feet tall using computers how about - *Zach Braff as Regis*.  Can play laid back, funny and courageous if he has to.  I'd also not be opposed to Dave Foley.

The easy to cast - The actor has to be good-looking and be able to at least look good holding a pair of scimitars.  And the trademark "pissed off" look has to work as well.  With those traits in mind I'd go with eith Ewan McGregor or 

Catti-Brie - Again, not too hard as the character isn't terribly deep.  The only requisite is being able to do the accent and look good holding/firing a bow.    I like the above pick of Scarlett Johansson.   But it's all about the natural red hair so lets go with *Christina Hendricks as Catti-Brie* - Saffron from Firefly.

*Nicole Kidman as Lady Alustriel.*  She's got the look and the screen presence.

Akar Kessel - I like Paul Giamatti here.  But I'd be okay with David Hyde Pierce, playing off-type.


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## Ranger REG (Sep 19, 2005)

John Crichton said:
			
		

> *Tom Welling as Wulfgar.*  Seriously.  He's big (6'3") and has some acting chops.  Just needs to deepen the voice a bit and bulk up a bit.



Well, we can bleach his hair and add extensions, and put him on an intensive weight training program like Tobey McGuire did for _Spider-Man._ But not all barbarians have to fall within the _Arnold Schwarzeneggar's Conan_ benchmark range.


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## The Josh (Sep 19, 2005)

David Hyde Pierce would _almost_ make a good regis


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## The Josh (Sep 19, 2005)

see it works


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## John Crichton (Sep 20, 2005)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> Well, we can bleach his hair and add extensions, and put him on an intensive weight training program like Tobey McGuire did for _Spider-Man._ But not all barbarians have to fall within the _Arnold Schwarzeneggar's Conan_ benchmark range.



 I agree.  However, Wulfgar is cut out of that mold so we need to stick with it.


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## Captain Tagon (Sep 20, 2005)

We could always flip things around from Equilibrium and have Taye Diggs as Drizzt and Christian Bale as Artemis.


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## Ranger REG (Sep 20, 2005)

I dunno. When I think of Drizzt, I see him as having a European-Caucasian feature who just happened to have dark skin pigment, particularly the nose (not flat and wide like mine).


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## The Josh (Sep 20, 2005)

Ray Park's fighting would be perfect for drizzt, but in addition to not having done many voice roles he just doesn't look the part. Almost any of those old guys that were suggested for Wulfgar could play Heafstaag, or one of the other barbarian leaders. I can't see Vin Desil as Wulfgar but he would make a Kick Butt drow, maybe in one of the later books. He could even use the pitch black goggles.

showbread ROCKS!!


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## KenM (Sep 20, 2005)

Elijah Wood as Regis.


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## Captain Tagon (Sep 20, 2005)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> I dunno. When I think of Drizzt, I see him as having a European-Caucasian feature who just happened to have dark skin pigment, particularly the nose (not flat and wide like mine).





Actually, I see Drizzt as more Asian looking. Well, not just him, but the Drow in general.


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## takyris (Sep 20, 2005)

Drizzt should be played by an actor, not a martial artist -- given the makeup, the usual outfit (flowing cloak) and the white-hair wig, it'll be fairly easy to put a good fighter in his place for the fight scenes.

I've always liked the guy who plays Warrick on CSI, and it certainly doesn't hurt that if you add one apostrophe, his name is Gary Do'urden.


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## Ranger REG (Sep 20, 2005)

Captain Tagon said:
			
		

> Actually, I see Drizzt as more Asian looking. Well, not just him, but the Drow in general.



Nah. That's what Kara-Turans are for.


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## Dark Jezter (Sep 21, 2005)

The Josh said:
			
		

> I can't see Vin Desil as Wulfgar but he would make a Kick Butt drow, maybe in one of the later books.




Vin Diesel as a drow?  How about Uthgental Del'Armgo?


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## Zander (Sep 21, 2005)

I don't know if he can sword fight and I don't think he's a great actor but how about Tom Cruise as Drizzt? With the right makeup, he'd look the part.

For Regis, how about John Goodman digitally shrunk and voice made higher?


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## Ranger REG (Sep 21, 2005)

Zander said:
			
		

> I don't know if he can sword fight and I don't think he's a great actor but how about Tom Cruise as Drizzt? With the right makeup, he'd look the part.



Hiss! Can I just get through this year without hearing more about Tom Cruise?!?!!!


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## Dark Jezter (Sep 23, 2005)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> Hiss! Can I just get through this year without hearing more about Tom Cruise?!?!!!



 As annoying as the media's obsession with Tom Cruise can be, it still annoys me less than movies featuring Orlando Bloom as an action hero.


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## Ranger REG (Sep 23, 2005)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> As annoying as the media's obsession with Tom Cruise can be, it still annoys me less than movies featuring Orlando Bloom as an action hero.



Orlando does not annoy me.


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## The Josh (Sep 24, 2005)

That is why i suggested him for Enteri, if he could be a ruthless assasian i would not hate him as much


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## Ranger REG (Sep 25, 2005)

The Josh said:
			
		

> That is why i suggested him for Enteri, if he could be a ruthless assasian i would not hate him as much



I'd rather avoid recasting _LOTR_ actors and actresses.

Otherwise, the gamers here wants to kidnap poor John Rhys-Davies and torturously put him under that allergic dwarven makeup again.


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## Lord Wyrm (Sep 25, 2005)

How about Joaquin Pheonix as Drizzt, or Ray Fines?  How would that work for everyone?


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## Zweihänder (Sep 25, 2005)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> We've got a casting call thread for the Dragonlance novels, so I thought I'd start one up for the Icewind Dale Trilogy.
> 
> Here's my picks:
> 
> ...




A good list.  My alterations:

Entreri: Jason Momoa.  After playing the insane Ronon Dex on SGA, Jason Momoa proved he can play a stone-cold killer.  Strip off the rapier wit, replace the gun with a knife, and you've got Entreri.
Catti-Brie: Jewel Staite.  She's cute, she's cuddly, and she's great at playing multifaceted characters.  Not only was she amazing as Kaylee on Firefly (which would be a good place to draw on for her interpersonal relationships in Icewind Dale), but she kicked a fair number of asses as Elia in a cameo on SGA (preparing her for the action sequences).
Pasha Pook: Jim Broadbent.  All I have to say is Harold Zidler (Moulin Rouge!).


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## Ranger REG (Sep 26, 2005)

Lord Wyrm said:
			
		

> How about Joaquin Pheonix as Drizzt, or Ray Fines?  How would that work for everyone?



Well, Ralph Fiennes is a bit old now.

Anybody know how to photomanip Phoenix into Drizzt?


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