Recasting Couch
Hanks as Sam (disputed); Crowe; Gandolfini; Hoffman; financing-driven Clooney
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:00Read transcript
- The existing cast is initially considered so strong that no obvious replacement comes to mind.
- A present-day feature might require a star such as Clooney in the Irons role to obtain financing.
- Hanks as Sam would exploit the audience’s instinct to trust him and his skill at vulnerable human moments, possibly making the moral struggle stronger.
- Hanks’s lack of screen sleaze makes him a disputed Sam replacement; he would handle the dog and speeches well but deliver the salesman’s compromised moments differently.
- An Insider-style, heavier Russell Crowe is an alternative Sam, followed by a joking unnecessary Jersey accent.
- Gandolfini would be an excellent Sam.
- Gandolfini could also play John; a claim he could play almost everyone is corrected to exclude Quinto as well as Seth.
- Philip Seymour Hoffman is another highly praised Sam alternative.