Welcome
to the seventh day of The Path of the
Fallen blog tour. The author thought it might be fun to
imagine who would play the characters from his sweeping fantasy novel. This is
a list of actors and actresses he can imagine playing the characters based on
what he has seen them in previously (he comments briefly on what it was
specifically that makes them an ideal fit) as well as the look of the character
as he envisioned them.
Without
further ado, away we go:
E'Malkai
Armen
(Connor
Jessup)
E'Malkai
has always been different than everyone else, and the actor who would play him
would have to be able to convey both a sense of belonging and distance from
those around him. Connor plays Ben Mason on TNT's Falling
Skies, which, in the words of a friend of mine, is little more than a
science fiction family drama. That being said, he delivers on a kind of quiet
desperation and intelligence that I think would fit E'Malkai well.
Elcites
(Adewale
Akinnuoye-Agbaje)
Elcites,
Umordoc guardian of young E'Malkai, must be able to convey tremendous emotion
and power with only slight movements and limited facial expressions.
Additionally, the beast-like appearance of the character requires much emoting
without saying very much at all. Adewale has a great screen presence, and this
was quite apparent in his character 'Mr. Eko' on Lost. I
think his ability to convey emotional depth with a stare or a posture makes him
ideal to play the remorseful and trustworthy Elcites.
Fe'rein
(Ryan
Gosling)
Fe'rein,
born Ryan Armen, has become the All-god of a world bathed in hatred and shadow.
The character undulates between a sullen hatred and a wanton desperation
obscured by tremendous power. Ryan has demonstrated his ability to be
a likable character, a powerful actor. His performance in Drive solidified for
me that he had the physicality and emotional range to truly bring to life the
villainous and flawed Fe'rein.
Arile
(Jim
Caviezel)
I
have to admit that Arile is one of my favorite characters. His wry cynicism and
quiet, yet powerful, demeanor makes the choice of Jim Caviezel a no-brainer.
His portrayal of 'Mr.Reese' on Person of
Interest has shown that he can play physically imposing
characters.
Leane
(Lena
Headey)
Leane,
E'Malkai's mother, is a character fraught with secrets and influence. Her
sadness is hidden behind a veil of confidence and command that serves her too
well. Lena Headey portrays 'Cersei Lannister' on HBO's Game of
Thrones and has proven to be an incredible actress. I could
not imagine a more cunning character, and as such I think she would be a
perfect fit for Leane.
Seth
Armen
(Jude
Law)
The
path of the Fallen began with the exile of Seth Armen. Seth has all of the
qualities present in Jude Law's portrayal of 'Dr. Watson' in Sherlock
Holmes. Seth is strong, intelligent, and somber by
necessity. Though not a major component of The Path
of the Fallen, he still has a strong influence over E'Malkai's
journey to discover his place in the world.
Kyien
(Ben
Foster)
Kyien
is the leader of the Culouth armies and
a narcissistic, unlikable jackass. Ben Foster, from
the moment I saw him on Six Feet Under, was brilliant. He
has range and I would love to see him play a power-hungry madman who at moments
can be cunning and manipulative.
M'iordi
(Tom
Hiddleston)
M'iordi
is a manicured, cultured councilman who sits
at the right hand of
Fe'rein. His intelligence, as well as his lust for power,
make him a useful ally and a frightening enemy. The obvious selection for
Hiddleston's prowess would be his commanding villainy in
Avengers. However, it was a quiet performance in
Midnight in Paris that really resonated with
me.
T'elen
(Katee
Sackhoff)
T'elen
is a powerful and beautiful warrior woman who commands
legions and is quick to take a man's head for foolishness. I have two words for
you: Battlestar Galactica. I might as well have just named
the character Kara Thrace, but honestly Katee encompasses everything about the
character that I could imagine.
Xi'iom
(Tim
Kang)
Xi'iom
is a commander with a simple demeanor and a severe dislike for smiling. If you
have watched The Mentalist, then you will no doubt be
familiar with Tim Kang's portrayal of CBI agent Kimball Cho. He has the
serious demeanor and unwavering personality
that defines Xi'iom so well.
Higald
(Alexander
Skarsgard)
Higald,
proud chieftain of the Fallen, is built like a viking: blond hair, cold blue
eyes, and a somberness that cannot be quelled. Sounds a bit like Eric Northman,
no? Not really, but Alexander Skarsgard has the look, though he would need to
put on some muscle to look the part and smile a little less. Higald is not as
pleased with himself as Eric on True
Blood is.
S'rean
(Idris
Elba)
S'rean
is by no means a major character, but he is a significant presence
in the second half of the book. Idris Elba has taken on so
many fantastic roles from The Wire to
Luther that I wish I could cast him somewhere else. Perhaps
if the movie ever does get made, casting folks will be able to place him in a
role worthy of his acting prowess. Either way, he would be a wonderful fit for
S'rean.
Augustine
(Ian
McNeice)
This
might have been the most obvious cast for me. Ian McNeice has
been delighting moviegoers for a very long time, and if I
didn't know better, I would think that I created the part specifically for him.
Augustine is the speaker of the Culouth population,
a vociferous and superfluous orator with a
powerful and distinct voice.
Here be an excerpt for your
enjoyment:
â±·
E’Malkai
E’Malkai
visited the same balcony each time he felt the need to be alone. The dawn had
come and it would soon be midday, but to E’Malkai the lights made no
difference. He was awake most nights and slept very little, usually when the
artificial lights of Culouth shone their brightest. Leane and Elcites had
pressured him to speak about what had happened on the Avenue, but he
refused.
Culouth
was both silent and a cornucopia of noise all at once. This characteristic was
determined by whether or not a person chose to focus on the sounds of the city
or to drown them out in thought.
The
silence was quickly broken as Fe’rein descended from the skies. His trail grew
faint and then receded before E’Malkai turned to look upon his uncle. Despite
his typical, angst-ridden attitude, Fe’rein cracked a smile and opened his arms
for his nephew to embrace him.
E’Malkai
did so without hesitation.
All
of the words that had been spoken about his uncle dissolved as soon as he saw
him. The scarred features could not displace the love that E’Malkai felt when
he saw Fe’rein’s face. Voices tugged at his being, telling him otherwise. As
they pushed apart, Fe’rein’s smile faded back to his trademark
stoicism.
“You
are troubled. I sense that there are those speaking ill of me, that they fill
your head with lies and deceit,” spoke Fe’rein. His voice was ever like a
professor or a historian, each word in rhythm.
“That’s
not fair. Takes the fun out of saying anything,” mused E’Malkai, throwing a
mock punch at his uncle. To which Fe’rein parried, even though he pretended it
had come much faster than he could have anticipated.
He
knew that in the House of Di’letirich there was no need for him to play the
part of mion. “Indeed, but you are troubled,” he replied, reinforcing his
initial words.
E’Malkai
hesitated, averting his gaze for a moment. Fe’rein cocked an eyebrow. “There is
much going on: with the trials of Tal’marath and the Resistance.”
Fe’rein
let his apprehension slide and flashed a tight, grim smile. “There will always
be battles to fight, E’Malkai, though hopefully not for you. May you live your
whole life without ever having to take a life.”
“But
I am training to be a ward––your ward. There will be a need for me to fight at
your side.” Strangely, the talk made E’Malkai giddy despite the warnings that
whispered in the back of his mind.
Fe’rein
smiled. “I had forgotten that you were to undertake them. You will make a great
warrior, E’Malkai, your father would be proud.” His words tapered off and he
lowered his head, growing silent.
The
youth and Fe’rein were the same height. E’Malkai bent in closer upon seeing the
pained look on Fe’rein’s face. “I will do my father proud,” he whispered.
Fe’rein’s
head snapped back into place. The power he possessed crawled over his eyes. Red
and black lines intermingled like horrific dead vines through his eyes before
they dissipated as he met the youth’s gaze.
“I
imagine you will at that.”
E’Malkai
jogged forward, staying alongside Fe’rein. The youth admired the wealth of
power that his uncle walked with. E’Malkai thought that the others were
mistaken, that his uncle was none of those terrible things. “Do you want to see
my mother and Elcites? I am sure they would like to see
you.”
The
line of Fe’rein’s grimace slackened at E’Malkai’s exuberance. He nodded and
allowed himself to be led into the common room of the House of Di’letirich. The
room had been tinted over for the day and the shades drawn all the way around
it. Only an illuminated globe on the center table cast any light over the
room.
Leane
and Elcites sat opposite each other. Silence had descended, but it appeared
that they had been amidst a heated discussion only moments before. Elcites was
the first to stand, bowing quickly and moving away from the comfortable seat
across from Leane.
“My
mion,” he spoke as he bowed gracefully, more so than any other Umordoc was
capable of. Even Fe’rein took note of that. His distaste for Umordoc was
strong.
“Guardian
Elcites, I take care in knowing that you watch over my nephew with your life,”
returned Fe’rein with a bow. He did not look directly at the Umordoc. Sitting
down across from Leane, he crossed one leg over the other. He fixed her with a
complacent glance as E’Malkai moved alongside Elcites.
“He
just got here, mom. Found me out on the balcony.”
His
tone belied his maturity.
“I
see that. How are you, Fe’rein?” She refrained from using his formal title. Had
there been another there, it could easily have been a rather tense and
uncomfortable display.
“Quite
well. I see that the House of Di’letirich has served you well,” began Fe’rein,
looking around the room with a twinge of a smile. “Appears that you are well
taken care of, pampered even?” His eyebrow arched with noticeable
mockery.
Leane
sniffed angrily, crossing her arms over her chest. “Not nearly as well as a
Creator whom a city bows before,” returned Leane with equal rancor. Her face
was a thin line of dissatisfaction. The silence between them was nearly a
tangible one.
E’Malkai
shirked away from the battle of furrowed brows.
“I
will not have this argument with you again, Leane. This will not bring back
Seth, nor will it change what has happened,” snapped Fe’rein.
“Nor
will I sit here and pretend that your presence does not affect me. Or that you
sitting there serves as a reminder that the only man that I have ever loved is
gone forever and what stands in his place is his brother, a man who should
revel in his memory, but instead hides and shrouds it from others so they may
not know.”
Leane
stood suddenly. Flashing another angry glare at Fe’rein, she stormed from the
room. Fe’rein sighed, sitting deeper into the plush cushioning of the chair and
lacing his fingers together on his knee.
“Your
mother and I have a past, one of which we should not speak,” remarked Fe’rein
without looking at E’Malkai. His hard stare was set forward as he spoke. “Your
father, Seth, was a great man by any standard, and a selfless one at that. She
misses him very much. I am a reminder of that.”
E’Malkai
moved around Fe’rein’s seat, taking up the one that Leane had just sat in.
Bending forward, his hands on his knees, he had a curious glean in his eyes.
“Will you tell me about my father?”
Fe’rein
smiled despite himself.
He
bowed his head.
Memories
washed over him, fading the smile quickly. It was replaced by the same tight
lip that he presented always, bitterness or otherwise. “What would you like to
know about him?”
“Anything.
My mother never speaks of him. It is as if the mere thought of him is too much
to bear, and she cannot bring herself to say another word,” replied E’Malkai as
Elcites looked over with his even gaze, without sound.
“He
was not a tall man by any means, though strong. His muscles were long and taut.
When he flexed, they bulged like this.” Fe’rein tightened his arm, showing the
ball that formed there as an explanation and then continued. “He was brave in a
way that I cannot explain. His flawless logic led countless missions into the
upper regions of the tundra where no man had gone. Well, we had thought at the
time that no one had journeyed that far. He was entrusted with the location of
the Fallen amidst the snow drifts that covered the land, each looking like the
others. Many a Culouth traveler has tried to find it. Entire legions have been
lost out there in the cold.”
E’Malkai
was captured by the story now.
Fe’rein
continued. This uncharacteristic storytelling was driven only by the youth’s
zeal for the past. “He left you when he was very young to take me south into
the deserts to find a man. Anyways, he was a very solitary man. Although he
rarely spoke of it, his mind was constantly on the horizon watching for another
time to come, another age of men.”
E’Malkai’s
eyes sparkled. “I wish I could have known him, could have talked to him just
once.”
“Sometimes
I wish he were here as well,” whispered Fe’rein.
“What
was that, uncle?”
The
mion continued. “I was not much older than you when I accompanied your father
on the treks north. I was but a headstrong boy and knew not how to mind my
words yet.” Fe’rein shook his head and then added, “I was foolish.”
“Someday
I wish to see the tundra, to walk where my father had.”
Fe’rein’s
eyes leapt with fire at E’Malkai’s words, standing suddenly. He manipulated the
shadow, making his lank figure seem much larger than it
was.
“There
is nothing to see in the north, young E’Malkai. All that would greet you there
would be the icy grip of death.” Fe’rein’s words were beset with an annoyance
that crackled as he spoke.
“Pardon
my words, uncle. I meant no harm,” spoke E’Malkai softly. He was unsure exactly
what it was that he had done wrong. Seeing the wrath of Fe’rein unfurled, he
shrank back from the mion, his head bowed.
“I
take my leave of you both.”
By
the time that E’Malkai had lifted his head, the words had been spoken. Fe’rein
disappeared from the room, and the boy sat there contemplating his words. His
guardian stood in the shadows behind him as he looked out the tinted windows
into the city, wondering about the uncertain future and the distant
tundra.
Bio:
A psychologist, author, editor, philosopher, martial artist, and skeptic, he
has published several novels and currently has many in print, including:
The End of the World Playlist, Bitten,
The Journey, The Ocean and the Hourglass,
The Path of the Fallen, The Portent, and
Cerulean Dreams. Follow him on Twitter (@AuthorDanOBrien) or
visit his blog http://thedanobrienproject.blogspot.com.
He recently started a consultation business. You can find more information
about it here: http://www.amalgamconsulting.com/.
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