Just wondering...

[megwrites]

How many of you cast actors in the roles of characters you're writing in your works? How does that work in your writing process, how important is it? Are they just physical models, or do you borrow attributes from either the actor themselves or a role they've played elsewhere?

Comments

[merriehaskell.livejournal.com]

I don't do this. I am amazed/amused that other people do... personally, I think appearance is the least important factor in my thinking of character, and while voice/mannerisms is more important, I find that changes so much with the role for an actor that it's unreliable for me. If I use models, I pick people I've met.

Further, and this is the iffy thing, I don't like to write someone if I can't imagine how they smell, and I can't imagine how actors smell.

[fiction-theory.livejournal.com]

Further, and this is the iffy thing, I don't like to write someone if I can't imagine how they smell, and I can't imagine how actors smell.

I find that really fascinating. I notice the smells of things like food and whatnot, but I tend not to smell anything from people at all. Can I ask what it is about smells that you find so essential, and how does that work into your notions of the character?

[aberrant1.livejournal.com]

I do, probably because I'm a very visual writer. I like to see the scenes as mini-movies in my head, and that's hard to do when your characters keep changing appearances. (Mine change races, sexes, and ages on me all the time.) I rarely actually describe a character in the story, but it's good to have a mental image.

Mentally casting an actor in the role kind of solidifies the character for me, especially if the voice is also right.

[fiction-theory.livejournal.com]

Mine change races, sexes, and ages on me all the time.)

I know. Nothing like having a character basically go, "Uh, yeah, so I'm actually a chick. If you could start adding an 's' to all those he's, that'd just be super, although I still want to have sex with that other chick, so I'm sort of a lesbian and she is too, now. Hope that doesn't put a kink in the plot! Ciao!"

Mentally casting an actor in the role kind of solidifies the character for me, especially if the voice is also right.

Question - does having a really solid mental image of your character help you get deeper insights into their motives/personality? I'm wondering, because I can see how having an actor cast in a role would help you visually present them, their motions, and even their voice.

[madwriter.livejournal.com]

When I was writing a SF alternate history set in ancient Rome and one of my primary characters was Claudius Caesar, I kept envisioning him as Derek Jacobi whether I wanted to or not. :) It actually had a great effect on his conversations--my Claudius sounded a lot like the one rendered by Robert Graves.

[fiction-theory.livejournal.com]

I kept envisioning him as Derek Jacobi whether I wanted to or not. :)

Is this the only time that characters have sort of cast themselves, and do you find that writing that character was easier/clearer than characters that didn't have an actor cast or didn't have one that cast themselves?

I'm really trying to explore this because I'm finding myself suddenly fascinated by what writers use to build characters, and how it seems like some have favorite muses/models the way painters and photographers seem to.

I'm also wondering about it from a reader standpoint, about whether a reader can detect whether a writer has cast an actor in that role or not.

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

I always cast actors as my main characters and most supporting characters. Many of my characters are inspired by roles actors have played, where I can hear their voice in my head when I write. Casting also helps me with descriptions. I think I do this and feel the need to do this because I wrote fanfic for 15 years and of course my characters had known faces. ;)

[fiction-theory.livejournal.com]

I think I do this and feel the need to do this because I wrote fanfic for 15 years and of course my characters had known faces. ;)

I'm wondering if casting actors is a trait primarily of writers who come from fandom or at least have a fannish background.

Can you cite any specific examples from your work (if you're comfortable with that). It interests me that so far, there's been a different response each time ranging from no to different versions of yes.

Did you always do this, or did it gradually grow into something you do?

Also, is that Roy Dupris in your icon? Because *ZOMG*. I loved him in La Femme Nikita. He was like the McDreamy of spies. Except, yanno, LFN was smart and sexy and interesting and I can't say that I care for Grey's Anatomy.

*swoon*. It's been such a long time since I've seen him in anything.

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering if casting actors is a trait primarily of writers who come from fandom or at least have a fannish background.

That's an interesting point and one I've wondered about, too. :)

Can you cite any specific examples from your work (if you're comfortable with that). It interests me that so far, there's been a different response each time ranging from no to different versions of yes.

My first main characters from an actor was inspired by Keith "Mickey Kostmayer" Szarabajka on The Equalizer. I wrote a fair amount of EQZ fanfic and I even got to meet him, so his voice is in my head, especially that character. I created a character for an interactive space opera type writing group and later, reworked that character into others in succession, taking them farther and farther away from Mickey, but retaining the attitude, gravelly voice, and face.

The protag in my WIR is based on Roy Dupuis, who I also use for my main character in a spy series I write with friends that we print up ourselves, via photocopy. So the protag in the WIR is based on the character based on Roy. Actually, it's a bit more complicated than that. The original character was the son of a character in my Man from UNCLE fan fic and the character came first, when he was 12. When he was 16 or so, I decided to cast him and picked River Phoenix, who had the right look. When River died, I wanted to recast, and La Femme Nikita came on the air and I saw Roy and just knew he was Paul. I've been writing that character since 1985 and he really looks like Roy in my head and I used Paul as the foundation, with that face, for my protag in the WIR.

Did you always do this, or did it gradually grow into something you do?

I'd had to say always, because I wrote my first fan fic back in the '60s before I knew others did that or even that it was called fan fic, so when I started creating original characters, I cast them, too. I think I wrote a bad short story in the '70s, and didn't cast it, but the woman in it was pretty much me, anyway.

Also, is that Roy Dupris in your icon? Because *ZOMG*. I loved him in La Femme Nikita. He was like the McDreamy of spies. Except, yanno, LFN was smart and sexy and interesting and I can't say that I care for Grey's Anatomy.

*swoon*. It's been such a long time since I've seen him in anything.

Yeah, that's Roy Dupuis and I seriously lust after him. Most of his current work is in Canada, and I really miss seeing him. Here's my other Roy icon.