Dream-casting characters in books I’ve recently read has become my favorite kind of blog post to make. It’s so funny how within just a few pages of some books, an actor’s face will permanently slap across one of the characters for me. For today’s post, I picked books that I’ve read within the last two months or so, thus these “portrayals” are still very vivid in my mind!
For my previous “If These Books Were Movies” posts, check out the category’s tag!
1) Zachary Levi as Joshua Templeman (The Hating Game, by Sally Thorne)
“Shyness takes so many different forms. Some people are shy and soft. Some, shy and hard. Or in Josh’s case, shy, and wrapped in military-grade armor.”
After seeing other bloggers rave about this book, I had such high hopes for it, but it fell a little flat for me. The “romance” stories I gravitate towards are usually more innocent books written by authors like Sophie Kinsella, and they have a well-rounded narrator with an entertaining personality and plenty of fun friends and family around her. This narrator was…fine. The book was just a little dull because I didn’t feel like I knew the main character Lucy very well, and it didn’t help that she lost her only close friend through work drama before the story started and her parents were only seen via Skype.
However, the highlight of the book was seeing Lucy chip away at the tough exterior of her work rival and eventual love interest Joshua. Joshua is a sarcastic guy who plays tough but proves to be a caring softie when Lucy grows more attracted to him. I almost instantly saw Zachary Levi as Josh. I totally fell in love with him after watching him in the live broadcast of She Loves Me last year, and his character in that musical is similar to Josh in that he loves to rile up the people he clashes with. From what I’ve seen, Zach is a genuinely charming and friendly guy, and I think he could pull off Josh’s icy exterior and his succeeding kindness.
2) Eddie Redmayne as Simon (The Diplomat’s Wife, by Pam Jenoff)
I shared my thoughts on Pam Jenoff’s writing recently, and that perspective really applied to this book, which is a semi-sequel to The Kommandant’s Girl. It takes a minor character from TKG, Marta, and explores what she does after the war finishes and how she ends up in a loveless marriage to a British diplomat, Simon.
Simon is initially introduced as a reserved but charming man, and although I won’t reveal how he changes throughout the story, a film portrayal of the character would require a very transformative actor. I think Eddie Redmayne is a fine balance between being handsome and likable and being unreadable and a little unsettling, which fits Simon very well.
3) Rosamund Pike as Sarah (Always the Bridesmaid, by Lindsey Kelk)
“Sarah had a look. Sarah always wore her hair up. Sarah always wore perfectly applied black eyeliner and Sarah always wore shirts buttoned up to the throat. And yet, against all odds, Sarah always looks amazing.”
Always the Bridesmaid was one of my favorite books of the year, and while most of my visions of the characters were vague, Rosamund Pike appeared quite quickly as Sarah, Maddie’s best friend who is going through an unexpected divorce. She’s a little reserved and calculated, and her ex-husband sees her as being very cold in their relationship.
Rosamund Pike has played such a wide range of roles. She’s the sweet and shy sister in Pride and Prejudice, the bubbly and fashionable socialite in An Education, and the scheming, clever neglected wife in Gone Girl. Based off the variety in those performances, I totally see her being capable of playing the buttoned up, sarcastic friend who has just experienced the biggest emotional blow of her life.
4) Pearl Mackie as Lucy (London Belongs to Me & London, Can You Wait?, by Jacquelyn Middleton)
“I think online friends often know you the best.”
This is a bit of a meta pick, because these books talk about nerd culture and have a special love for Doctor Who, but Pearl Mackie, who played the Twelfth Doctor’s companion on the show, just felt like such a Lucy to me. As the best friend of main character Alex, Lucy is a fantastic support system, particularly in the sequel, and a fellow nerd. I actually haven’t watched Doctor Who since before Matt Smith left, but given the books’ emphasis on British actors and culture, envisioning Pearl as Lucy was so natural.
Side note: Jacquelyn Middleton is now up there as one of the authors I’d most like to meet, because she’s such a sweetheart! I recently posted my Favorite Books of 2017 blog on Twitter and tagged some of the authors in the tweet, and she responded with a personal thank you and retweeted my post! So cool.
Have you read anything recently that gave you the perfect “dream cast” vision?
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