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I'm having thinky thoughts again. Someone should really stop me.
I want to have a discussion. About casting on TV. Really, really great casting, that is.
This discussion is inspired by my current affection for whoever it was who cast Benedict Cumberbatch on Sherlock, because he is so ridiculously, insanely right in that part that it sends me into spasms of delight whenever I think about him.
So what I'm talking about is those actors who are just married to the right material right off the bat: they come in and instantly they just work as the character, selling it immediately and becoming so one with the writing that they create someone real. Who make you sit back and want to write love letters to the casting director (if you're me, anyways, and I'm well aware I'm a bit crazy) thanking them for finding this perfect person for just this perfect role.
This isn't, though, just about good acting. For instance, neither Sarah Michelle Gellar nor James Marsters would be on my list, despite being really wonderful. Smidge wouldn't be there because even though I think she's fantastic in her role as Buffy, I don't think she's so ultimately, awesomely perfect that I can't hardly stand it right from the very beginning--it took me a while to feel that way about her. JM wouldn't be there because that role really grew up around him--he was supposed to be killed off rather quickly, and they just kept bringing him back and giving him more things to do, writing specifically for him, because he was great. But that, to me, is more the show lucking out getting someone so talented than the casting director finding someone indispensable for the role. The same might be said of Enver Gjokaj (whom you all know I adore), I can't decide: the nature of that role was to constantly change, so maybe he is a good example? I'm not really sure.
As another example, I wouldn't put Gillian Jacobs as Britta on Community on the list, either, because even though she's great and is becoming pretty iconic in my mind, I feel like the show floundered a bit trying to figure out who she was. Eventually it did, and it was a glorious thing to behold, but it was a bit wobbly at first. And any actor for whom a character was created isn't going to work either, like Rob Lowe on The West Wing. Or like Christina Hendricks on Mad Men--they changed the part to fit the actress, and thank goodness they did.
Anyways, this is obviously subjective and all based on who just pings for me as a viewer, and I'm not quite sure that I can concretely define what would earn someone a spot on my list. It's like pornography--I know it when I see it.
But here are the people who just popped into my head in the last ten minutes:
- Connie Britton as Tami on Friday Night Lights (a show with some really fabulous casting all-around)
- James Callis as Gaius Baltar on Battlestar Galactica
- Richard Schiff and Allison Janney as Toby and CJ on The West Wing (another show whose casting is so fabulous it seems a shame to single anybody out)
- Leighton Meester as Blair on Gossip Girl (yes, really. Whatever else can be said about that show--most of it bad--girlfriend is Blair Waldorf)
- Danny Pudi on as Abed Community (yeah, there's another one of those wonderfully well-cast shows)
- Hannah Murray and Nicholas Hoult as Cassie and Tony Skins (okay, I need to quit naming shows that just have really strong casting, okay?)
- Hugh Laurie as House on House
Anybody else want to play? Remember, we're talking TV--if we expand it to movies, too, the lists would be endless!
This discussion is inspired by my current affection for whoever it was who cast Benedict Cumberbatch on Sherlock, because he is so ridiculously, insanely right in that part that it sends me into spasms of delight whenever I think about him.
So what I'm talking about is those actors who are just married to the right material right off the bat: they come in and instantly they just work as the character, selling it immediately and becoming so one with the writing that they create someone real. Who make you sit back and want to write love letters to the casting director (if you're me, anyways, and I'm well aware I'm a bit crazy) thanking them for finding this perfect person for just this perfect role.
This isn't, though, just about good acting. For instance, neither Sarah Michelle Gellar nor James Marsters would be on my list, despite being really wonderful. Smidge wouldn't be there because even though I think she's fantastic in her role as Buffy, I don't think she's so ultimately, awesomely perfect that I can't hardly stand it right from the very beginning--it took me a while to feel that way about her. JM wouldn't be there because that role really grew up around him--he was supposed to be killed off rather quickly, and they just kept bringing him back and giving him more things to do, writing specifically for him, because he was great. But that, to me, is more the show lucking out getting someone so talented than the casting director finding someone indispensable for the role. The same might be said of Enver Gjokaj (whom you all know I adore), I can't decide: the nature of that role was to constantly change, so maybe he is a good example? I'm not really sure.
As another example, I wouldn't put Gillian Jacobs as Britta on Community on the list, either, because even though she's great and is becoming pretty iconic in my mind, I feel like the show floundered a bit trying to figure out who she was. Eventually it did, and it was a glorious thing to behold, but it was a bit wobbly at first. And any actor for whom a character was created isn't going to work either, like Rob Lowe on The West Wing. Or like Christina Hendricks on Mad Men--they changed the part to fit the actress, and thank goodness they did.
Anyways, this is obviously subjective and all based on who just pings for me as a viewer, and I'm not quite sure that I can concretely define what would earn someone a spot on my list. It's like pornography--I know it when I see it.
But here are the people who just popped into my head in the last ten minutes:
- Connie Britton as Tami on Friday Night Lights (a show with some really fabulous casting all-around)
- James Callis as Gaius Baltar on Battlestar Galactica
- Richard Schiff and Allison Janney as Toby and CJ on The West Wing (another show whose casting is so fabulous it seems a shame to single anybody out)
- Leighton Meester as Blair on Gossip Girl (yes, really. Whatever else can be said about that show--most of it bad--girlfriend is Blair Waldorf)
- Danny Pudi on as Abed Community (yeah, there's another one of those wonderfully well-cast shows)
- Hannah Murray and Nicholas Hoult as Cassie and Tony Skins (okay, I need to quit naming shows that just have really strong casting, okay?)
- Hugh Laurie as House on House
Anybody else want to play? Remember, we're talking TV--if we expand it to movies, too, the lists would be endless!
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Buffy in the early seasons was bouncy with 99% less pain. But the fact that that 1% of pain was so crystal clear from the beginning is important for me. For Buffy, in the beginning, it's not about oozing pain through her pores with every breath she takes, because Buffy isn't in pain like that, but it's about vulnerability beyond the perky and the harsh denial. And all that Buffy needs to be, all that Buffy is then, is there from the get go.
I dunno. I think it's fair to say Smidge got better as time went on, but I don't think this post is about an actor getting better, is it? Because I think Charisma Carpenter fits this ideal and frankly, I think she got worse as time went on (see: end of Season 3 and all of Season 4). I kinda think Charisma was only good at playing exactly Cordy--which means she's perfect for Cordy, but she's a bit lacking in other areas.
I remember some commentary about Welcome to the Hellmouth specifically the scene with the Principal and it's focus on how SMG's eyes go so wide as she's rambling and she makes herself adorable while awkward. That vulnerability again, that added depth. We have Kristy Swanson playing Buffy and then we have SMG and I think from the get go, the depth and vulnerability were there for SMG while with Kristy it just... wasn't. SMG outdid Kristy in the Valley Girl speak and the rambly at superspeed, but she did it with that look in her eyes like she just didn't want to be hurt and the way her eyes emoted compassion for others.
I'm gonna stop rambling now. I think pretty much no one agrees with me, but I think SMG was the character from the get go and the show settled around her.
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