The Cast of Westworld

[phoenyx]

I decided to make a new thread to talk about the actors and the characters in westworld and ofcourse hope that I'm not the only one who participates in this thread ;-). I was inspired to do this after watching the following analysis of Anthony Hopkins and his portrayal of Ford. I think the author of this youtube video may be a little -too- impressed with Anthony, and not give enough credit to the rest of the cast and storyline, but he really did make me appreciate why Anthony Hopkins is so well respected as an actor, and why Evan Rachel Wood (who is herself a great actress in my view) has such deep respect for his ability as well...

Edited November 27, 2016 by SilverStormm
A cast specific topic is a better idea.

[jeansheridan]

I will happily discuss these awesome actors, in particular Thandie Newton who is so elegant and dignified it doesn't matter she's naked throughout most of her scenes.  They needed an actress with a highly expressive face for Maeve as well as a certain world weariness.  I appreciate they went with an older actress (and in fact they hired two older actresses as leads which delights me).  She's brutally direct and smart and I love it.  I don't think Newton has gotten a character this well developed in years which irritates me tremendously.  I never watched her on ER but that cast is so huge I wonder if she had any screen time.

And I will give the actor playing Sizemore credit.  He knows he's playing an ass and he's practically the only comic relief on the show, so I will forgive him for playing it broad.  He's a person you want to die and soon.

Woods is just okay for me.  She hasn't sold the big moments very well for me.  The little moments like killing the fly, terrific.  I think she's great switching from emotional to no affect really well.  I realize she's probably this show's "Buffy" in that the blonde heroine will save the day versus Bernard or Teddy, but she doesn't feel heroic to me at all.  I don't find her as compelling as Bernard or Thandie or even the actor playing Lawrence.  All the older actors are killing it and younger ones are holding on by their fingertips, in my opinion.

And it may be because Woods is stuck playing the sweet rancher's daughter personality versus Maeve getting to be world weary and knowing.  And there's one moment when Woods is grabbed by the sheriff host and told she needs to go back home and there's an ugly, fierce look on her face that I loved.  Angry Dolores came through right then.  So Woods may just be hampered by Dolores' current personality.

[Willowy]

I don't remember which episode I quit calling him Basquiat and started calling him Bernard, but Jeffrey Wright is it for me. I'm positively riveted whenever Bernard is onscreen, his sublety and nuance as an actor are phenomenal and so affecting (and effective!). I don't know why but I'm confident they'll bring him back, and hopefully Maeve will be the one to do it, or see it done. Thandie Newton is an acting goddess and more scenes with her and Bernard are my fondest wish for season 2.

I'm with some of you in that Evan Rachel Wood isn't rocking my world. She's very good, but I'm bored out of my tree with Dolores. All of her dithering and slow reaction shots are boring AF. That said, I do find the actress convincing, capable, and committed to the role.

Hopkins has got "benevolent sinister" down, hasn't he? I love his scenes with Bernard/Arnold the most, especially when he's being blatantly honest in answering B's questions. But I also love his interactions with Theresa and Charlotte, especially when they think they are being so clever and almost condescending with Ford, and he calmly lowers the boom. 

I hope this show sweeps the Emmys. Especially for Wright, Hopkins, and Newton.

[phoenyx]

On 11/27/2016 at 6:27 PM, jeansheridan said:

I will happily discuss these awesome actors, in particular Thandie Newton who is so elegant and dignified it doesn't matter she's naked throughout most of her scenes.  They needed an actress with a highly expressive face for Maeve as well as a certain world weariness.  I appreciate they went with an older actress (and in fact they hired two older actresses as leads which delights me).  She's brutally direct and smart and I love it.  I don't think Newton has gotten a character this well developed in years which irritates me tremendously.  I never watched her on ER but that cast is so huge I wonder if she had any screen time.

And I will give the actor playing Sizemore credit.  He knows he's playing an ass and he's practically the only comic relief on the show, so I will forgive him for playing it broad.  He's a person you want to die and soon.

Woods is just okay for me.  She hasn't sold the big moments very well for me.  The little moments like killing the fly, terrific.  I think she's great switching from emotional to no affect really well.  I realize she's probably this show's "Buffy" in that the blonde heroine will save the day versus Bernard or Teddy, but she doesn't feel heroic to me at all.  I don't find her as compelling as Bernard or Thandie or even the actor playing Lawrence.  All the older actors are killing it and younger ones are holding on by their fingertips, in my opinion.

And it may be because Woods is stuck playing the sweet rancher's daughter personality versus Maeve getting to be world weary and knowing.  And there's one moment when Woods is grabbed by the sheriff host and told she needs to go back home and there's an ugly, fierce look on her face that I loved.  Angry Dolores came through right then.  So Woods may just be hampered by Dolores' current personality.

I also like Thandie Newton's performance, and even Sizemore (but yeah, in the show, you definitely want his character dead and soon :-p). We fundamentally disagree on Woods, but I know that you're not alone in your view on this. I guess you can just call me part of Team Dolores :-p. I also liked Dolores' fierceness when that sheriff came to 'round her up', but I really liked all the tender moments as well. For me, Dolores' storyline with William is my favourite- I think they really fell in love (Evan Rachel Wood hopes this is the case as well), and the problem is that it looks like that romance is about to die, or atleast that's what William is going to think- and for years, William/MiB is going to try to get her to remember, but will constantly fail in doing so. I think this will lead him to become increasingly desperate, culminating in his killing of Maeve and her daughter, and though he says he didn't feel anything as he was killing them, Maeve's last act broke a floodgate in him, one that led him to obsessively seek out the maze. Here's how MiB described it back in Episode 8:

**

The MIB's voice plays over the scene

the MAN IN BLACK: I killed her and her daughter just to see what I felt. Then, just when I thought it was done ... the woman refused to die.

TEDDY FLOOD: You're a fucking animal.

the MAN IN BLACK: Well, an animal would've felt something. I felt ... nothing. And then something miraculous happened.

The MIB's voice overplays his memory scene.

the MAN IN BLACK: In all my years coming here, I had never seen anything like it. She was alive, truly alive, if only for a moment. And that was when the maze revealed itself to me.

[Maeve picks up her dead little girl and carries her outside the house. She stumbles along into the center of a dirt clearing and then collapses with her daughter in her arms. The camera draws upward revealing Maeve and her daughter (both dead) laying in the middle of the maze drawn in the dirt.]

TEDDY FLOOD: The maze. What's that damn pattern have to do with this?

the MAN IN BLACK: Everything. In Ford's game, even if I go to the outer edges, you can't kill me. You can't even leave a lasting mark. But there's a deeper game here, Teddy. Arnold's game. And that game ... cuts deep.

**

Episode 9 has Dolores talking to what appears to be a type of memory mixed in with dream, wherein Arnold tells her that he can't help her because he's dead and that she's the one who killed him. I think we may find out if she did in fact kill him (I currently think she did) and why. Like others, I have more than one theory on this one, but my current favourites is that Arnold went mad and decided that the only way that his somewhat sentient androids could avoid becoming slaves to Delos was to kill them. Dolores was horrified that he was doing this and stopped him by killing him.

An alternative which I like less is that Dolores herself killed them. I also can't help but think of all the technicians that were killed in the church basement- who killed -them-? While that may also have been Arnold, I'm also thinking Dolores may definitely be a candidate there. I think a lot will be answered in the final episode.

[jeansheridan]

I don't believe Dolores loves William.  How could she?  She know nothing of him.  And he just sees her potential which is great but not love.  

I did believe Dolores adores Arnold.  Woods' joy at seeing him.  Her delight and then sadness when she realized he was gone.  She sits in that chair echoing her very first scene.  Similar posture, empty face.  But now it is empty because she is emotionally tired.  

[Ellaria]

The cast is magnificent. That is what sold me on this show. I've loved Ed Harris for years. And I never get tired of looking at James Marsden. I'm sorry that we lost Sidse Babett Knudsen so early on. Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright are the perfect emotional core of the show.

The two weak links for me are Tessa Thompson and Simon Quarterman. Their acting skills aren't strong, especially when compared to their co-stars. The writing isn't doing them any favors either. 

[phoenyx]

13 hours ago, jeansheridan said:

I don't believe Dolores loves William.  How could she?  She know nothing of him.  And he just sees her potential which is great but not love.

We may just have to agree to disagree on those points.

13 hours ago, jeansheridan said:

I did believe Dolores adores Arnold.  Woods' joy at seeing him.  Her delight and then sadness when she realized he was gone.  She sits in that chair echoing her very first scene.  Similar posture, empty face.  But now it is empty because she is emotionally tired.  

We at least agree on that one :-)

 

4 hours ago, Ellaria Sand said:

The two weak links for me are Tessa Thompson and Simon Quarterman. Their acting skills aren't strong, especially when compared to their co-stars. The writing isn't doing them any favors either. 

I'm definitely not a fan of the role Simon is playing. Also think that Tessa's role is pretty evil. That being said, I like the fact that Tessa is atleast a bit of a team player though- she's clearly recruiting people to her ranks- Theresa, who was apparently in it from the get go, then getting Simon, trying to get MiB. The idea of the lone megalomaniac may work well in hollywood, but in the real world, even the bad guys need to team up. Ford may not have any real human allies, but he's clearly got an army of androids. He also has a pretty keen insight on the baser side of humanity, but I think he clearly lost his way, perhaps around the time that he went to war with Arnold (alright, it's not completely clear if he went to war with Arnold, but that's my theory for now). 

[Gobi]

On 11/29/2016 at 3:39 AM, phoenyx said:

An alternative which I like less is that Dolores herself killed them. I also can't help but think of all the technicians that were killed in the church basement- who killed -them-? While that may also have been Arnold, I'm also thinking Dolores may definitely be a candidate there. I think a lot will be answered in the final episode.

Are we sure they're techs and not hosts? I could see Arnold's death being covered up or disguised as a suicide, but if that many techs were killed people would know, and if a host killed them, that would have shut everything down then and there.

To keep on topic, I think Ed Harris has been terrific in what could have been a one-note performance in someone else's hands.

[phoenyx]

1 hour ago, Gobi said:

Are we sure they're techs and not hosts? I could see Arnold's death being covered up or disguised as a suicide, but if that many techs were killed people would know, and if a host killed them, that would have shut everything down then and there.

I'm not sure. Good news is, we'll probably be finding out in 2 days :-).

1 hour ago, Gobi said:

To keep on topic, I think Ed Harris has been terrific in what could have been a one-note performance in someone else's hands.

Yeah, he's been pretty good.

[Netfoot]

Popped in to say that I was just watching (again) the movie "Pirate Radio" (which I can highly recommend), when I espied a familiar face.  A quick shufti through IMDb confirmed that it was blonde greeter-bot Angela.  I had no memory of her in that movie, but I recognized her face at once.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Evan Rachel Wood did the Ham4All challenge!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ben Barnes did the Ham4All challenge too!

[TudorQueen]

Thrilled with Westworld's Emmy recognition, especially in the acting categories. I was pretty sure Jeffrey Wright and Thandie Newton would get (deserved) attention, but Anthony Hopkins has been ignored by other award bodies and even Emmy predictors, and I really wanted his Ford recognized. It's a great demonstration of what a gifted actor can do when he's inspired by the material, and I've watched some of his key scenes, especially his beautiful final speech, repeatedly.

Not entirely sure about Evan Rachel Wood, as I have a whole basket of feelings about her work as Dolores, but there's enough good stuff there for me to not resent the nomination. And I doubt that she'll win.

[threebluestars]

http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/westworld-season-2-cast-jonathan-tucker-neil-jackson-1202502853/

The news that Jonathan Tucker was cast in season 2 is what brought me to watching the show over the last few days. I'm so hooked! I can't wait to see how he fits in this world.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jimmi Simpson discusses "Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G."

[AnonymousBinger]

Personally, I'm looking forward to the next season to see what role Zahn McClarnon will play. 

[crookedjackson44]

Rewatching Westworld in preparation for tomorrow.  Here's to Sir Anthony Hopkins, who studied under Lord Olivier, and follows him as the greatest actor of his time, bar none.

[plurie]

Thandi Newton has a significant role in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY.  (no spoilers, so I can't say much more).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Tessa Thompson, Boots Riley, Lakeith Stanfield, Jermaine Fowler, Terry Crews & Steven Yeun discuss their new movie Sorry to Bother You:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Tessa Thompson at the Met Gala

Edited May 7, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[paigow]

Went to the Sonic movie. Kept waiting for James Marsden to die and come back to life....he seemed to be having fun with the part....

[paigow]

IMDb says that Game Of Thrones is coming to Westworld. Benioff & Weiss will appear this season as nameless Delos lab techs. Likely setting up a meta moment where they die for ruining a narrative...

ETA: Unfortunately, they survived...

Edited March 24, 2020 by paigow

[patty1h]

I've always liked Jeffrey Wright but I like him even more after seeing him on a local NY show.  Jeffrey has a friend who has a restaurant and he sees his buddy struggling because of Covid-19, so Jeffrey went on one of our early morning news/entertainment shows to remind folks that many business owners are also taking a big hit during the quarantine and to get out there and frequent those places.   That's a good guy.

[Growsonwalls]

is Evan Rachel wood leaving the show? 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Great Vulture interview with Thandie Newton

One of the shitty things that happened to her:

Quote

On the last days of doing Rogue … I got killed miserably. I get dumped in a laundry container by this nasty guy, who’s a great actor. I get taken down to the bowels of the hotel, where we had this huge fight where he strangled me to death, and then I get dumped in this garbage-disposal tank, and the last shot of me is sinking down into garbage, like into sewage, babe. But listen to this: On the side of the garbage-disposal tanks, it says WESTWORLD GARBAGE DISPOSAL. They all knew I was going to go on to do Westworld because I’d already signed up to do it.

I ended up in the fetal position, weeping, sobbing. I had put two years of hard work into that show. And there I was: Westworld Garbage Disposal.

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Tessa Thompson Launches Production Company With First-Look Deal At HBO/HBO Max, Will EP ‘Who Fears Death’ & ‘The Secret Lives Of Church Ladies’ Adaptations

Quote

Thompson, who stars in and exec produces Amazon feature film Sylvie’s Love, will exec produce these two projects in development at HBO and HBO Max as part of the deal.

Who Fears Death is an adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor’s eponymous book. In the works at HBO since 2017 with Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin as one of the exec producers, Aïda Mashaka Croal, a writer on Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, has also come board as showrunner, writer and exec producer.

The trio join Angela Mancuso and Michael Lombardo as EPs with Okorafor as co-exec producer.

Who Fears Death tells the coming of age tale of Onyesowu in post-apocalyptic North Africa where her story makes her an outcast.  She must go on a journey from self-reproach to love, but to do so she’ll have to overcome untold obstacles—defeating her hated sorcerer father and becoming the instrument of prophetic deliverance for a land of oppressed people, all the while fighting to master the terrifying powers growing inside her.

At HBO Max, Thompson is also exec producing an adaptation of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies. The short story collection, written by Deesha Philyaw, was published in September and was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction. It contains nine stories about Black women, church, and sexuality.

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies explores the raw and tender places where Black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good. Different generations of women characters grapple with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church’s double standards and their own needs and passions. With their secret longings, new love, and forbidden affairs, these church ladies are as seductive as they want to be, as vulnerable as they need to be, as unfaithful and unrepentant as they care to be, and as free as they deserve to be.

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Evan Rachel Wood has spoken publicly about the abuse she suffered but today she named Marilyn Manson as her abuser. Several other women have come forward too.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKvmsUmF1ho

ETA: Apparently there's still a problem with Instagram not embedding on the forum so here is the text of her statement:
 

Quote

The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson. He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.

She described his behavior when she testified before the California Senate in 2019 for the Phoenix Act, a bill which increased the statue of limitations for domestic violence felonies from three years to five years.

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo