Casting Lab: Characters or Caricatures?

[JakeyJokes]

Aniston's father is a working actor (mainly on Days of our Lives) and that may have shaped her view. I read that she offered to cameo on Days *for scale* and their idiot exec producer refused it.

I was impressed with the actors playing the jurors. It's always great to see good character actors getting good scenes. And Matt from "Glee" was in the last episode as the moustache security guard.

[lovinbob]

I was impressed with the actors playing the jurors. It's always great to see good character actors getting good scenes. And Matt from "Glee" was in the last episode as the moustache security guard.

Agreed! I was dreading this aspect of the story—I hadn't felt very sympathetic toward the jury—but the actors were great. And yes, the silent kid from Glee!

[MaryPatShelby]

My vote is Henry Simmons. But sadly, no one asked me.

[gunderda]

It was driving me crazy that I couldn't figure out where I had seen the guy that plays Darden.  Finally looked it up on imdb the other day and while he has a ton of tv credits that i've probably seen him in, that one that I was thinking of is Army Wives!

[Arcey]

Not saying anything profound or new here, just needed to vent after all these weeks.

I also can't believe they hired Cuba for this role. He's wrong in every optic and sound arena, even if he was right as far as the acting goes, which I don't think he is. He's doing okay in the acting part, although not great. But I'm taken out of most scenes he's in because of the poor casting, physical-wise.

Travolta as Shapiro. Ugh. I just can't seem to get past the caricature. I always liked Shapiro during the real trial, which I watched obsessively. I just don't see ANYTHING of what I remember in Travolta's depiction. Hard to watch when he's on the screen.

Schwimmer as RK. He has the look, but I don't think I've seen him smile once in any episode. His mopey, dour expression, 100% of the time, is damn depressing to watch. Very one-note depiction, in my opinion. I know RK was going through a personal moral crisis, but that doesn't mean he can't ever have a different expression on his face. Booooring.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Arcey

[Mittengirl]

I never noticed it until tonight, but the actor playing Jason Simpson looked nothing like the real Jason or Cuba. Actor Jason looked taller than Cuba, but I don't think real Jason is taller than his father. And most pictures I have seen of real Jason make him look a little stocky, but the actor looked thin.

Seeing the closing pictures of Cuba and OJ side-by-side, the jawline is really where the two differ so much. OJ had a very strong, prominent jaw, which Cuba does not.

[Umbelina]

I think Jason was taller than OJ, but I can't remember where I read that.  6'4" is sticking in my mind though.  OJ was 6'1".

 

After the verdict:

 

Actor and Jason.

 

Edited April 6, 2016 by Umbelina

[Eolivet]

Majorly unpopular opinion, I know, but I thought the finale proved why Gooding was the best choice to play OJ Simpson, even if he didn't resemble him physically. He's a good actor. I cannot see Billy Brown from HTGAWM or Terry Crewes pulling off the subtle things he did with his expressions in the party scene, in the bathroom scene, even in the scene with Jason and the puppy. Gooding's entire persona radiated "hollow victory" and you could see him trying to act like everything was normal, while at the same time, realizing it was all slipping away.

 

I hesitate to say that Gooding presented a "sympathetic" OJ Simpson, but I feel he came as close as any actor could. The show very clearly did not take a stance (I thought) on Simpson's guilt or innocence, and Gooding's ambiguous portrayal conveyed that really well.

 

And it honestly worked for me -- I didn't want to watch a miniseries with Simpson as a remorseless, evil villain. To play Devil's Advocate, the case is technically unsolved and if it was presented as "he totally did it," that puts a whole different spin on the messages of racial inequality and racial justice that the show put forth. I thought the direction of the show demanded a more nuanced take on Simpson -- the kind that an experienced actor like Gooding could provide. If the intent was always at the end to draw back from the case and focus back on Simpson, the actor had to be able to make that believable.

 

So, Gooding worked for me in the end. He did what he was supposed to in the scenes where he was featured, and his acting supported the narrative of the show. Knowing the ending of the series, I really do think he was the best man for the job.

[88Keys]

I'm a little behind and just watched the jury episode.  The elderly black male juror, with white hair- wasn't he the old man in "Catching Fire" who whistled after Katniss and Peeta's victory speech in District 11?  And got shot in the head for his trouble?  If not, he looks EXACTLY like him.  Also, the white juror with a beard who was dismissed- I know I've seen him before. 

[lovinbob]

I never noticed it until tonight, but the actor playing Jason Simpson looked nothing like the real Jason or Cuba. Actor Jason looked taller than Cuba, but I don't think real Jason is taller than his father. And most pictures I have seen of real Jason make him look a little stocky, but the actor looked thin.

Seeing the closing pictures of Cuba and OJ side-by-side, the jawline is really where the two differ so much. OJ had a very strong, prominent jaw, which Cuba does not.

Weirdly, Cuba looks more like the real Jason than like OJ.

 

For me, the truly striking difference between Cuba and OJ, other than the size (which is very significant to me), is that OJ's features are so fine. His nose is long and thin, while Cuba's is wider and flatter. Even as he has aged, Cuba seems so kid-like, whereas OJ is/was so manly, for lack of a better word.

 

Not sure I would say the show didn't take a position on OJ's guilt. I felt Cuba's OJ seemed broken, but guilty, shallow, and narcissistic and therefore unlikable.

[88Keys]

The IMDB cast list of the jurors for this show is funny.  They do indeed have the older white lady listed as "The Demon."  The white guy with the beard is "Santa Claus," and the black guy who got dismissed is "Surly Old Black Juror." 

[Dev F]

I'm a little behind and just watched the jury episode.  The elderly black male juror, with white hair- wasn't he the old man in "Catching Fire" who whistled after Katniss and Peeta's victory speech in District 11?  And got shot in the head for his trouble?  If not, he looks EXACTLY like him. 

 

Looks like that was a different actor (Leon Lamar), though Jeris Poindexter did have a memorable turn on one episode of Parks and Recreation as the guy whose bird was missing and he needed a permit to post signs. ("There's no time! He can fly!")

[88Keys]

Looks like that was a different actor (Leon Lamar), though Jeris Poindexter did have a memorable turn on one episode of Parks and Recreation as the guy whose bird was missing and he needed a permit to post signs. ("There's no time! He can fly!")

 

You're right.  I thought Poindexter was the juror who "took his wife for a ride around the block."  They clearly made him look older on this show than he does in real life. 

[BoogieBurns]

Jeris Poindexter did have a memorable turn on one episode of Parks and Recreation as the guy whose bird was missing and he needed a permit to post signs.

 

Pretty sure he was also in a New Girl episode when Nick went to Winston's barber shop. New Girl's bar set was used in this miniseries, so I can see why they would share featured extras as well.

[spaceytraci1208]

John Travolta looks like the bad guy from "The Mask" after he put the mask on lol

[Spartan Girl]

I thought Cuba did a good job too. For a guy that didn't look or sound like OJ, he sure nailed the glimpses of the angry, insincere, narcissist lurking under the Nicest Guy in the World facade...not to mention the pathetic has-been he would become at the end.

Of course Vance and Paulsen were the MVPs of the show. As much as I despised Cochran's ruthlessness, I had to grudgingly admire his intelligence and his stance on fighting police brutality. And of course I did feel for him in the flashback when he was profiled and cuffed in front of his daughters.

[Nozycat]

I am on the side that Cuba was totally wrong for the part.  I have recently again seen footage of OJ and that and the way Cuba plays him look and sound so different to me that it takes me out of the show every time Cuba is on screen.  His voice and the way he carries himself just look and sound nothing like OJ to me.

[Kromm]

Okay, I think we can also use this topic to play around a bit talking about Season 2. Now I know it's not even fully written, but that doesn't mean we can't toss out some interesting ideas about real personages we'd like to see as part of the Season. And yes, actors playing them as well. Both.

 

I'd love to see the story of Willie Mae Seaton. Seaton was a legendary and beloved restaurateur in New Orleans who's place, Scotch House, was destroyed by the flooding. The reason this is so potentially great for the show is that we're likely to get a ton of really dark stories. Seaton's story is a bit lighter and hopeful. So it could be a good counterpoint to the darker stories. In essence, Seaton and Scotch House were so important to people that reconstructing it became a major effort after Katrina--a rallying point. This entry point into the events can also be used to show how the restaurant community in New Orleans did some extraordinary things in those days to feed starving displaced people as well as rescue workers (they'd have to be a little creative how to illustrate that, since the stories about that are spread out among dozens of different restaurateurs, but they can proxy a lot of that through Seaton and not many people would mind). 

 

Casting Seaton might be a challenge though. She died last year at age 99, so she was in her late 80s during Katrina. So not an easy casting.

 

 

A few years ago Ruby Dee would have been playing roles like this, but she also died recently (a year and a half ago in her case). So... Cicely Tyson? She wears a lot of fake dark wigs, but she's actually the right age (she's actually 91--OLDER than Seaton would have been at the time--but is definitely still actively taking on acting roles since she's been on one of Shonda Rhimes shows AND House of Cards both just in the past year). I know she doesn't really look much like Seaton, but as I said, the choices are probably limited--especially if you want a really good actress.

 

Oh, and don't let my use of the phrase "restaurateur" confuse things. Willie Mae's Scotch House was (and again is) in a little neighborhood you may have heard of called Tremé.  Or if you haven't heard of it, look it up.  Lets just say, it's not the French Quarter, okay? Or maybe some photos will help.

 

 

What Katrina wrought:

 

Edited April 12, 2016 by Kromm

[biakbiak]

Now I want some fried chicken which I have happily had at Willie Maes pre and post Katrina.

The producers have said they will be concentrating on the first few days of the crisis and not the reconstruction, saying Treme covered tht ground alredy.

[BoogieBurns]

So, we can just have Kanye play Kanye. This happened so recently, even Anderson Cooper could play himself too. Those are the main two people I remember seeing on every channel during the Katrina days. 

[helenamonster]

I personally would enjoy seeing Sterling K. Brown say, "George Bush doesn't care about black people" but maybe that's just me.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Steven Pasquale aka Mark Fuhrman did the Ham4All challenge!

[The Wild Sow]

On 4/12/2016 at 3:37 AM, Nozycat said:

I am on the side that Cuba was totally wrong for the part.  I have recently again seen footage of OJ and that and the way Cuba plays him look and sound so different to me that it takes me out of the show every time Cuba is on screen.  His voice and the way he carries himself just look and sound nothing like OJ to me.

After watching today's hearing, I'm totally remembering this!  Cuba Gooding, Jr., is a decent actor.....but he's just NOT OJ.  Mostly the looks (for one thing, Simpson has a very smooth face even at 70; Gooding has only to raise his eyebrows a millimeter and his forehead just folds up like a damn accordion!)  Keith Hamilton Cobb could pull it off looks-wise, don't know if he has the acting chops.

[SarahPrtr]

On 17/02/2016 at 10:53 AM, Chaos Theory said:

Sarah Paulson is perfect as Marcia Clark but then Paulson is the major reason I am watching this to begin with.  I will watch almost anything Paulson is in.  I think she is a wonderful actress and she is perfect for the roll as an increasingly out of her depth lawyer.

 

Sterling K. Brown is doing exceptionally well as Christopher Darden the ultimate victim of the case.  I recognize the actor I just can't place from where.   But this needs to be the likeable roll and so far it is.

 

Cuba Gooding Jr. is probably the only miscast roll but casting OJ Simpson was probably and impossible task and no one was going to be happy with it.  So I think he is doing as well as he can in a thankless and impossible part.

 

David Schwimmer is playing the the ride or die Robert Kardashian extremely well and I don't particularly care for Schwimmer but I am enjoying him in this part. 

 

John Travolta was a sight to behold as Robert Shapiro.  Honestly I don't think I have seen him better in a very long time.

 

Courtney B. Vance next to Paulson Vance is actor that most impresses me.  He is incredible as Johnnie Cochran.  

Did you ever watch Army Wives?  That's where I first saw Sterling K. Brown.

 

I will never understand why they chose CGJ to play OJ.  I actually thought DB Woodside would have been a good choice.  He's tall, athletic and handsome with a masculine voice.  You would see him and believe that he's a football player.

 

David Schwimmer is a lot taller than Robert Kardashian, but I can live with that.  He was good as RK.

 

Courtney B. Vance was also really great as Johnny Cochran - Yes!

 

Kenneth Choi - OH. MY. GOD!!!!!  THAT was my favourite casting choice.  Everything he did resembled and embodied Judge Ito - the hair, the voice, his mannerisms, everything.  Kenneth was perfect.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

David Schwimmer & Sigal Avin discuss the  #ThatsHarassment campaign

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Darren Criss at the Met Gala

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Annaleigh Ashford singing Mister Mistoffelees from Cats at Miscast 21: