Casting is an art form. Finding the right actor to inhabit a role is never easy; get it wrong and you have a Katie Holmes Batman Begins situation, get it right and you have a Harrison Ford IS Han Solo one. In this addition of Armchair Casting we take a look at upcoming Steven Spielberg Project Ready Player One to offer up suggestions for some key roles.
Beware this article contains spoilers for Ready Player One...You have been warned
Synopsis:
In 2044 Wade Watts is an orphan living a miserable life with his aunt and her abusive boyfriend in a trailer park known as the Stacks. His only escape is the OASIS a completely immersive virtual reality experience that was created by a man named James Halliday. Almost everything is done in the OASIS, shopping, school, quests, adventures; the OASIS is full of worlds not just realistic ones, and allows its users to escape their bleak real lives.
Upon his death Halliday leaves a digital will that reveals he has left 3 keys that will unlock 3 gates inside OASIS, upon unlocking the 3rd gate the winner will inherit Halliday’s entire fortune and control over the OASIS (which only has a one time .25cent user fee).
5 years after his death not a single key has been found until egg hunter (Gunter) Wade Watts manages to find the first key setting off a dangerous race to be the first to reach Halliday’s fortune.
Expected Release Date: Dec 15, 2017
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Script writers: Zak Penn, Eric Eason
Characters
Wade Watts / Parzival
An orphan living with his aunt and her abusive boyfriend in a trailer park known as the Stacks, Wade uses the Oasis as his only escape from reality spending most of his time learning everything he can about Halliday’s quest. At first Wade is described as an out of shape loner; after moving out of the stacks Wade begins to train becoming an inshape isolated loner. Oh yah as part of this new regime he shaves off ALL of his bodyhair, eyebrows included.
Wade races to collect the keys and stay one step ahead of Nolen Sorrento and the IOI Sixer Army who will do anything to get there first.
Suggestion: Taron Egerton
Taron Egerton has proven in Kingsman he has no problem with stunts and action scenes. In that film he also proved he has some acting chops. The upcoming Eddie the Eagle shows that he also has no problem playing socially awkward, less physically impressive. Egerton is a chameleon and for a role that requires such shifts in character; physically and mentally, in the real world and the OASIS, being a chameleon is a necessity.
James Halliday
The mad genius Steve Jobs-esque creator of the OASIS. Halliday is the one who hid the Keys in the Oasis and left a series of Easter Eggs to find them. In his video will Halliday states that the first person to find all three keys and solve the puzzles to unlock the corresponding gates will inherit his entire MASSIVE fortune, including control of the OASIS. Solving the clues would require an immense knowledge of Halliday’s passion for the 80s.
Halliday is described as an eccentric loner, who died at 67 a friendless bachelor who drove away everyone around him with his need for control. Even after death Halliday lives on in the OASIS in the form of his Avatar a wizard named Anorak whom Wade encounters on several occasions.
Suggestion: Jeff Bridges
Oscar winning actor Jeff Bridges would be a great Halliday, he has that air of aloofness needed, and could dive into the more eccentric and isolating traits. The role of Halliday needs to be played by someone who makes an impact in the few scenes he is in, and more importantly makes you believe he is someone that could inspire so many people even after his death.
Helen Harris /Aech
Aech is an interesting role to cast. Parzival’s best friend in the OASIS, Aech’s avatar is that of a tall white male while it is later revealed that Aech is actually Helen Harris an African American female who travels around in her solar powered RV. There is no way to have one person play both roles so two actors are going to have to inhabit the same role ensuring that no matter who we see, Aech or Helen, its always going to feel at its core like the same person. The character is just as devoted as Wade to the hunt, and is a loyal friend even when Wade begins to ignore their friendship to chase after Art3mis.
Suggestions: Dylan O’Brian and Gabourey Sidibe
Dylan O’Brien fits the physical description of Aech, beyond that he’s also capable of playing the best friend and supporter. He can also make the character memorable which is important since Aech isn’t around for a significant chunk of the book. Gabourey Sidibe is a great actress and has the smile and personality that would make the audience instantly love Helen even after the reveal she is the real Aech. While O’Brien and Sidibe seem like an odd match, they both are gregarious people and would match up well together creating a cohesive character.
Ogden Morrow
Ogden Morrow is Wozniak to Halliday’s Steve Jobs. Together they create an empire and ultimately OASIS with Morrow concentrating on the business side allowing Halliday to work his creative magic. The two have a falling out after the woman they both like, chooses Og over Halliday. Og has moved away from the OASIS and focused his attention on educational software but still maintains a hand in Halliday’s Easter Egg Hunt.
Suggestion: Jonathan Frakes
I am by no means a Trek fan, Star Wars was always more my thing, but I did watch quite a bit of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Will Riker was always one of my favourite characters. Frakes has moved more behind the camera recently directing episodes of various TV shows including Castle and Agents of SHIELD, but I think he would make a great Ogden. Besides being the right age, Frakes was always great at playing authority figures, he has the gravitas to pull off Ogden. The key to Ogden is he has a bit of mystery around him, and yet he is extremely likeable,plus I like the idea of casting someone who has been out of the spotlight for awhile much like Og.
Daito/Akihide Karatsu and Shoto/Toshiro Yoshiaki
Two gunters that are hot on the heels of Wade and Art3mis after the discovery of the first key. In the OASIS they present themselves as brothers however its revealed they are not actually related. Both characters are from Japan and at times become allies of Wade when necessary.
Suggestions: Yûya Yagira and Ryan Potter
Here’s hoping that for Ready Player One they cast actual Japanese actors as Daito and Shoto. Ryan Potter is technically Japanese American, but he spent much of his childhood in Tokyo. You may not recognize his face but Potter was the voice of Hiro Hamada in Big Hero 6 and has the martial arts chops to play a kickass young samurai gunter.
Yûya Yagira may not be a familiar name to you but in 2004 at the age of 14 he won the Best Actor award at Cannes for his role in Nobody Knows. Yagira has been acting steadily ever since in Japan, gaining more experience. This could be a breakout role in Hollwood for an established Japanese actor and Yagira has proven he has the talent.
Two of the key roles in Ready Player One have already been cast.
Nolan Sorrento – Ben Mendelsohn
The book and films protagonist, Nolan is a high ranking member of Innovative Online Industries and the head of the Sixers a vast army recruited to ensure IOI are the first to Halliday’s final prize. Nolan is ruthless in his quest to gain control over the OASIS, resorting to blackmail, threats and murder pitting him against the films hero Wade Watts. Mendelsohn is in early negotiations for the role, and as an actor who proves he can do villainous and powerful, he’s sure to bring this character out of standard villain and make him memorable.
Samantha Evelyn Cook/Art3mis – Olivia Cooke
Art3mis is an online crush and, at first reluctant, ally of Wade’s in the search for Halliday’s keys. In real life Art3mis is Sam a Canadian blogger dedicated to her search for the eggs. Cautious and fiercely independent, Art3mis is determined to hunt solo; regardless of her own feelings she tries to remain focused on the task at hand. Art3mis support and competition play a major role in Wade’s arc throughout the novel. The first role cast for the movie, Art3mis will be played by Olivia Cooke best known for her role on Bate’s Motel.
Some fantasy casting for #Spielbergs #ReadyPlayerOne #NotmyWadeWatts #Jeff Bridges Casting is an art form. Finding the right actor to inhabit a role is never easy; get it wrong and you have a Katie Holmes Batman Begins situation, get it right and you have a Harrison Ford IS Han Solo one.
