Doctor Strange: Casting Call

Joseph Fiennes as Doctor Strange...

Why He’s Perfect: Now, before we kick this off, it’s worth mentioning that the recent talk surrounding Doctor Strange has been all about the proposed involvement of Pixar.

However, much as we love their brand digital wizardry, we’d rather see the good Doctor given the live action treatment rather than a family-friendly Pixar outing.

With that in mind then, we can see Joseph Fiennes in the lead role.

Not only does he bear a startling resemblance to the character, but he’s also got the right mix of brooding intensity to carry it off.

Plus, we’d like to see him get his sneer on to capture the Doctor’s pre-accident arrogance. He’s British, so it should be second nature…

Essential Scene: Strange is seen thumbing through the collected works of Shakespeare in his office, in a nod to Fiennes’ most famous role.

But if Fiennes can’t do it…

Nestor Carbonell as Doctor Strange...

Why He’s Perfect: A bit of a leftfield choice perhaps, but one we could really see working.

Starring as mystery-man Richard Alpert in Lost , Carbonell was one of the best things on show in the mind-bending (and patience-testing) TV show. Purposeful, swaggering, bewildered, afraid…all the elements needed for a good Strange can be found in Alpert.

Not only that, but he looks pretty darn magical anyway. Carbonell has always maintained he doesn’t wear guy-liner, but whether you believe it or not, it’s a look that works for the character!

He hasn’t had much of a look-in as far as Hollywood is concerned (a small role in The Dark Knight aside), and Doctor Strange could be the perfect springboard to stardom.

Essential Scene: A close-up of the Doctor’s credit card reveals the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42, prompting Lost fans everywhere to spontaneously combust.

But if Carbonell can't do it...

Rufus Sewell as Doctor Strange...

Why He’s Perfect: A key part of Strange’s persona is the preening, self-centered arrogance that forms his modus operandi before a car accident strips him of the use of his hands.

We think this side of the character should be at the forefront of the casting process, and nobody does self-satisfaction quite like Rufus Sewell.

Too frequently wasted in tosh like The Holiday , it’s about time Sewell took on a role deserving of his slippery charms.

He’s more likely to be found playing the villain than the good guy, but as we’ve already mentioned, Doctor Strange isn’t exactly Peter Parker. He’s got a bit of an edge, and one that goes beyond an ill-judged dance sequence…

Essential Scene: Strange saves a young man’s life with a staggeringly skilled bit of brain surgery, before shamelessly bedding his wife. The cad!

But if Sewell can’t do it…

Stephen Moyer as Doctor Strange...

Why He’s Perfect: There have been a number of Hollywood whispers linking True Blood star Moyer to the role, and it’s not too much of a stretch to see why.

As pasty bloodsucker Bill Compton, Moyer has shown he can do the ass-kicking physical side of things as well as bringing a weight of emotional clout to the table.

Moyer’s off-beam enough to make the role his own, and at 40 he’s the right sort of age to play Strange.

We’d also like to see him get the chance to throw off Compton’s gentlemanly trappings in favour of playing a self-interested high-flyer. It’d be intriguing to see him with a bit of colour in his cheeks…

Essential Scene: An encounter with the villainous Nightmare has Strange pursued through his dreams by a cloud of bloodsucking bats. Just to put the boot on the other foot for once…

But if Moyer can’t do it…

Liam Neeson as the voice of Doctor Strange...

Why He’s Perfect: If Marvel decide to go down the Pixar route, it would at least throw the casting process wide open, with voice actors less beholden to issues of age and appearance.

Liam Neeson would be top of our list if the role was a vocal performance only.

As he’s pushing 60, he’s probably a shade too old to look like Strange, but he’s certainly got the required gravitas and emotional range to nail the role.

And whilst we’d like to say he might be a bit sniffy about a magic-packed fantasy yarn, he was happy to take the money for The A-Team , so he’d probably be up for this as well.

Essential Scene: A booze-soaked descent into post-accident depression would be a pleasingly adult take on the character. We’ve a hunch Neeson could take Strange to some very dark places indeed…

Eliza Dushku as Clea...

Why She’s Perfect: Disciple, lover, kick-ass warrior…whoever plays Strange’s love interest Clea has got plenty to get her teeth into.

Of the three, we reckon “kick-ass warrior” probably needs to take top billing in the casting process, which is why Buffy and Dollhouse star Eliza Dushku comes to mind.

Okay, so she’d need a fairly severe dye-job to measure-up to the blonde goddess of the comic books, but she certainly knows how to handle herself when it comes to a scrap.

Plus, whilst Clea takes on the form of a twenty-something girl, she’s actually centuries old. Dushku has the look of someone tougher than her tender years would suggest, and she’s pretty gorgeous to boot. What more do you want?

Essential Scene: A bloody face-off with her brother, the demonic warlord Dormammu, allowing Dushku to give her dark-side free reign. We like her when she’s angry…

But if Dushku can’t do it…

Gemma Arterton as Clea...

Why She’s Perfect: Clea needs to be a character capable of keeping Strange on his toes, and Arterton’s recent turn as smirking sex-bomb Tamara Drewe suggests she could have him, and indeed the audience eating out of the palm of her hand.

On top of that she’s no stranger to the big-budget blockbuster, with her swashbuckling efforts as Prince of Persia ’s feisty Princess Tamina evidence that she’s as comfortable in an action scene as she is in a pair of denim hotpants.

If Marvel can find a way to combine the two, they’ll have a mega-hit on their hands.

Essential Scene: A terribly British sex-scene with Sewell, in which the pair thrash about under an electric blanket before enjoying a fag and a nice cup of tea.

But if Arterton can’t do it…

Malin Akerman as Clea...

Why She’s Perfect: She’s definitely got the look, rocking a Swedish goddess quality that would fit very nicely with the other-worldly Clea. She can also kick ass with the best of them, as she showed in Watchmen .

Underrated as the Silk Spectre, Akerman was far more than mere high-kicking eye candy, her tentative romance with Patrick Wilson providing some of the film’s more tender moments.

Although given that every other scene was stuffed to the gills with bone-crunching violence, perhaps that’s not saying too much…

Essential Scene: Any and all that involve Akerman pouring herself into a spandex suit again. Wowsers.

But if Akerman can’t do it…

Diane Kruger as the voice of Clea...

Why She’s Perfect: Gorgeous though she is, it’d be a bit of a stretch to pass Dianne Kruger off as a girl in her twenties. Sounds harsh? Well this Hollywood, and harsh is the name of the game.

Kruger is better when she’s engaging with the audience in a less one-dimensional fashion anyway.

She was stunning and dull in Troy , but less showy and far more captivating in Inglourious Basterds . Clea needs to be bewitching and yet “other” at the same time. A Germanic accent might just be the order of the day.

Essential Scene: An emotionally draining monologue in which she tearfully explains to Strange that his arch-enemy Dormammu is her brother. Kruger can do “heavy”… she’s just rarely given the chance.

Jackie Early Haley as the voice of Nightmare...

Why He’s Perfect: No Pixar/live-action debate here, thankfully, as the supernatural entity known as Nightmare could only ever work as a CGI creation. The ruler of a shadowy “dream dimension”, Nightmare works his twisted magic by scaring the living shit out of people while they sleep.

Jackie Earl Haley had that pretty much down pat as Freddie Krueger, so who better to put the fear of God into Dr. Strange than he?

Haley also nailed the old faceless-menace routine in Watchmen, and we’d like to see him repeat the trick here. Sleep tight Doctor…

Essential Scene: Haley inflicts one of his own personal nightmares on the Doc, by making him dream his way through the whole of Maniac Cop 3: Badge Of Silence . Yikes!

But if Haley can’t do it…

Vincent D'Onofrio as the voice of Nightmare...

Why He’s Perfect: Simple. He’s probably the most underrated scare-merchant working in Hollywood. Not convinced?

His wacked-out recruit gave us the creeps in Full Metal Jacket , he was the best (and scariest thing) in J-Lo flop The Cell and even his turn in Men In Black was a bit unsettling.

If Vincent D’Onofrio was roaming about our dreams getting up to no good, we’d pretty much give up on sleep full-stop. The man is just a very creepy performer. Sign him up Marvel!

Essential Scene: Dr. Strange is in the middle of a “pleasant” dream about Clea, only to realise her face has been swapped with D’Onofrio’s grinning mug. Aaaaargh!

But if D’Onofrio can’t do it…

Ed Norton as the voice of Nightmare...

Why He’s Perfect: All right, all right, you can drop those eyebrows…just hear us out a minute!

Ed Norton might not seem the obvious choice for a comic-book villain, but he can certainly be an unsettling presence on-screen. Cast your mind back to his early role in Primal Fear if you’re not convinced.

He’s also got the sort of wheedling, whiny voice that lends itself to villainy, not to mention the obvious advantage of casting someone against type for added shock value.

Whether or not Marvel would be keen post-Hulk is another matter, but we’d like to see Norton in full-on villain mode. So long as its nothing like his attempt in The Italian Job that is…

Essential Scene: A final showdown with Strange, in which Nightmare’s lines sound suspiciously dubbed in the wake of another Norton hissy-fit…

John Malkovich as the voice of Dormammu...

Why He’s Perfect: We’re still disappointed that Malkovich didn’t get a crack at The Vulture in Sam Raimi’s ill-fated Spiderman 4 , so we’d like to fit him in here.

Arch, sinister, a bit barmy…Malkovich was born to play a comic-book villain! And no, we won’t make do with his turn in Con Air …

A flame-headed, centuries-old warlord, prone to grand-standing histrionics, Dormammu may be many things, but restrained ain’t one of them. Malkovich off the leash in full-on cackling loon mode? Yes please.

Essential Scene: Dormammu has Strange at his mercy, only to indulge in some sarcasm-laden trash talk that allows our hero a last-gasp reprieve. Loves a bit of trash talk, does Dormammu…

But if Malkovich can’t do it…

Gary Oldman as the voice of Dormammu...

Why He’s Perfect: As excellent as he is as Lieutenant Gordon, there’s still something that doesn’t quite sit right with Gary Oldman playing one of the good guys. Where’s the snarl? Where’s the menace? We want him back as a villain again.

And since Dormammu is something of an epic figure as far as villains go, we feel he should be voiced by an actor of similarly epic standing.

Some fans have suggested Oldman as a candidate for Strange himself, but writer Keith Giffen describes Dormammu as the type of character who, “commits mass murder... on a whim”. That sounds much more up his street, surely?

Essential Scene: A set-up to his rivalry with Strange, in which he casually metes out a spot of genocide, before announcing himself bored with offing your common or garden mortal.

Ben Kingsley as thevoice of Shuma-Gorath...

Why He’s Perfect: Shuma-Gorath is a weird, blob-like creature, largely consisting of a single, giant eye. He thrives on human sacrifice. He has ruled over Earth at one time or another, as a god-like being. He’s bright green…frankly he’s a little ridiculous.

However, get Gandhi to do the voice, and suddenly you’re looking at a much more serious proposition!

In all likelihood, he’s probably a bit too outlandish to feature in the film, although if Pixar are doing it they could just soup-up Mike from Monster’s Inc. and save themselves a few quid on designers.

Essential Scene: Strange challenges Shuma-Gorath to explain just exactly who or what he is, causing him to implode from the mental effort involved. Green goo everywhere…