The Fantasy Movie Casting Game

I love this game. I can while away hour after hour giving imaginary interviews to camera about how wonderful it is to have the perfect cast for the movie of my book. Don't pretend you don't do it too.


A fan emailed me the other day about my Sophie Green books and mentioned that her perfect Luke would be Alex Pettyfer. I looked at him and thought: she's right, except for one detail: Pettyfer is 20 years old, and Luke has at least a dozen years on that (I never quite specified either his or Sophie's ages, but he's in his early thirties).

Alex Pettyfer

So I tried to reply with my ideal casting for Luke. And I still haven't come up with him yet. The best I've got is the guy from the Dunhill Pursuit magazine ad (I tore this out of the magazine and stuck it up by my computer. For, you know, inspiration). I especially love the way this guy looks as if he was immaculate about ten hours ago, but he's had rather a lot of adventures since then and could do with a shave and maybe a fresh (handmade) shirt. That's Luke all over.

Except Luke probably wouldn't wander about with a damn orange bottle in front of his face.

I've also considered Rupert Penry-Jones and Paul Bettany for the role, but I feel both of them ought to attend personal castings with me first.

Rupert Penry-Jones

Sophie? Well, I've never quite cast her either. She has a girl-next-door quality, and needs to be played by someone like Kate Winslet or Sophia Myles. I'd be heartbroken if a flat-chested girl played my Sophie. She needs those curves.

Sophia Myles

Then there are other books. Much has been mentioned by me of my enormous crush on Richard Armitage. He first came to my attention in Robin Hood as the deliciously evil but heartbreakingly vulnerable Guy of Gisborne. It didn't hurt that he strode around in black leather, scowling at people, desperately in need of a shave and a haircut. Swap the leather for a WWII army uniform and you've got Harker from the Untied Kingdom (only less inclined to brutalise innocents, of course).

Like I needed an excuse to post another Richard Armitage picture

 His heroine, Eve, is harder to pin down. I visualise her as a teenage popstar gone to seed a bit. Maybe if you took Hannah from S Club 7, added a few pounds and let her pixie crop grow out, you might be on the right track. I also thought of Miranda Raison while she was in Spooks (her earlier episodes, before she got too hard), but I've still never cast her definitively.

Miranda Raison

As for my Cat Marsters books, leaving aside the interesting question of what sort of movie would be made from an erotic romance, I have some easy casting and some impossible. Aidan from Hardest of Hearts was even named after my fantasy casting: Aidan Turner, best known for Being Human. Dark from Almost Human is Hugh Jackman, preferably in his growly X-Men guise. Bael from Mad, Bad & Dangerous started out as Colin Farrell, but God only knows who he ended up as. But as for the heroines belonging (hah!) to those heroes? I have no idea who could play Emma, Chance or Kett.

Aidan Turner. Again: as if I needed an excuse!

Weirdly, it's often the secondary characters who are very clear to me. Kett's stepmother Nuala is and always will be Reese Witherspoon. Sophie's CIA agent friend Harvey is Marc Blucas. Harker's medical officer and engineer, Daz, is Burn Gorman.

What about you? Do you play this game? Do you have any suggestions for my characters? I'll totally credit you when Hollywood comes calling.