Casting Rumours for the Prisoner of Azkaban
For all of those who, like myself, have been in fits over who will play Sirius Black in the 3rd Harry Potter movie (because I'm in LOVE with Sirius), you won't find any help here. On Sirius I'm just as clueless as the next girl. We'll wait and see, but I'm sure whoever they decide on will be fantastic.(QUICK NOTE: rumour has it that Gary Oldman has received the part of Sirius. Mind you, this is only according to the IMDB, but they have been right about SOME things. Not too many, but some.)
Lupin, on the other hand, is a different matter. I didn't really care about his casting until I found out the choice of actors. The character is so important and I know we all don't want the whole rest of the series to get jacked up, so let's break it down, shall we?
Ralph Fiennes
A great and talented British actor. Schindler's List, the English Patient, you name it, he's been in it. My problem with this is that almost all of the cast has been relatively unknown, as was the intention. Why break with tradition? It would be like hiring an American!
Christian Bale
I've been a fan of Christian for a long time, ever since I saw the movie "Newsies" actually. Because it was such a light film and I'm so used to him that way, maybe this opinion is just mine... but does he seem a little young to you? Lupin went to school with James, so feesibly he could have a child close to Harry's age had he gotten married and somehow gotten around that whole werewolf thing. Does this kid look old enough to have a kid? Nope, I thought not.
Ewan McGregor
Who seems to be leading the pack in all the speculations that I have read. Another man that I've been a fan of for a long time. He's a remarkable actor when given off-the-wall things to do in characters such as the heroin addict Renton in "Trainspotting" or the clumsey love-struck Christian in the insane "Moulin Rouge", but playing a seemingly normal Hogwarts professor? I understand that Remus is a werewolf and a wizard, but it's not an obvious thing. He's kind and gentle... soft-spoken... kind of like... hmmm...
This.
How perfect would Ronan be for this role? This is the man who steals the show with a two line part! He is so expressive without using words. He feels, he reacts, he communicates. He could be a deaf-mute and still be perfect for the part because he's a good actor. He understands the person he's portraying and he conveys it well, we've all seen it.
Can Ralph or Christian or Ewan do that? Possibly. Can they do it better than Ronan? Not a chance.
(Recently a fellow Ronan admirer gave me some assurance about this. She said, "Opportunities are like buses, Wolf. I'm sure if he doesn't catch this one there will be three more waiting. Maybe going somewhere else, but they'll be there nonetheless.")
I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway.