Javier Bardem Offered Role of Gunslinger

Jan 28, 2011   By: Sarah | #Cast  #Gunslinger  #Javier Bardem  #Roland Deschain  #Viggo Mortensen  

Spanish actor Javier Bardem has been offered the pivotal role of the gunslinger Roland Deschain in the upcoming movie version of Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” series. Director Ron Howard plans to condense the seven novels into three feature-length films. Universal Pictures and NBC also plan a television series to accompany the films, although it’s not yet known if Bardem will portray Roland on television as well.

Born in 1969, the actor has been in films since childhood in his native Spain. He didn’t receive international acclaim until his nomination for an Academy award for 2000’s Before Night Falls in which he played Cuban novelist and dissident Reinaldo Arenas. In 2007, he won an Academy award for his role in the film adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel No Country for Old Men. His most recent Oscar for his starring role in the Spanish-language film Biutiful in 2010.

It almost seems to be the actor’s ka to play the role. He’s no stranger either to film adaptations of literature or to the arid western landscape that predominates throughout King’s novels. His craggy, slightly asymmetrical good looks are right for the part, although the actor’s brown eyes are quite different from the piercing blue ones that King has set in Roland Deschain’s weathered face. He has the physical presence that the part requires.

More important, the award-winning actor has proven his ability to carry a movie on the strength of his own talent. The character of Roland Deschain is as central to King’s tale as the Dark Tower itself is to Roland’s quest. Without a believable Gunslinger, The Dark Tower movies could not stand; the Spanish star has the talent to be the axis around which the story turns.

As talented as he is, Bardem was not the only actor considered for the role. Reports that Christian Bale and Viggo Mortensen were strong contenders for director Howard’s attention have abounded. While Lord of the Rings trilogy star Mortensen certainly has the physique and experience portraying a leader of a “fellowship,” he may simply have missed being ideal for the role by a few years. Bale, on the other hand, looks too young.

At 41 years old, Bardem seems to have the right combination of talent, appearance, and age. Both Howard and King are working together to produce films that match King’s vision as closely as possible; if Roland’s creator feels that he’s found his Gunslinger, it’s hard to argue otherwise.

332 responses

This is wonderful news, I think he would be amazing in the role of Roland. I hope he agrees to it. I am so excited that these amazing books will finally be on the big (and small) screen. I have waited many years for this to happen.

Aimee – January 28th, 2011
i’m good with this decision as well. lets hope he signs on

chris – January 28th, 2011
What a horrible choice, Roland is not Hispanic. If Viggo is not the star I would rather reread the books than see the movies.

Tommy – January 29th, 2011
While I am excited to see this amazing story brought to the big screen, I am not pleased with the casting of Mr Bardem. He is a talented actor, but not right, I think, for this role. I’d much rather see a Josh Brolin, or a lesser known star, with those rugged “Young Clint Eastwood” looks. A lesser known star is more likely to do the TV series part of this project, which would lend greater credibility and continuity to the project, as a whole. Having said that, I trust Mr. Howard and his successful track record proves he knows what he’s doing. Roland is such an iconic role that it will be hard to please everyone in casting it. We all have our vision of what Roland looks like and in my mind’s eye, it’s just not Javier Bardeem. One thing is certain, there will enough mutant characters in Roland’s story to find suitable roles for Ron Howards’s odd-looking brother, who’s a fixture in all Howard films.

Troy Tinker – January 29th, 2011
I say mark harmon would be a perfect roland. just a thought.

Klay Averitt – January 29th, 2011
At the moment this is only an offer, so who knows, maybe Javier isn’t even interested in the role. If he turns is down, I wonder who Ron will ask next?

Michael – January 29th, 2011
So not pleased.

Laura – January 29th, 2011
Viggo even has the piercing blue eyes, for god sakes. He obviously should be Roland.

Cole – January 29th, 2011
I’m alright with Bardem, except for his eyes, but that’s not a big deal anyhow. What I don’t like is the reason they give for not selecting Mortensen. They said he’s ‘too old.’ Roland’s age is never actually revealed, as far as I know. We’re led to believe he’s been on this quest countless times. He could be 60.

Logan – January 30th, 2011
What’s with those eyes? He gets the lens, it is clear. If the King ever encountered something in the appearance of Roland’s eyes. Even if Howard later forgot, he reminded the King (left him with brown eyes).

GoodMan – January 30th, 2011
Bardem will have blue eyes! He continued to write is unnecessary. As Farson will have black hair and a red mask. As Eldred gray hair or Roy red, or Sussanah is black. King does not allow to change his story or characters.

GoodMan – January 30th, 2011
This guy looks nothing like Roland. I think they should ask Billy Drago. I mean look at this picture of him I think he’s perfect!! http://www.revampedthemovie.com/images/large/Billy-Drago.jpg

Ryan Nakhleh – January 30th, 2011
This feels like a red herring to me. I reckon RH has cast this name out there just so peeps stop asking him who will play Roland.

James – January 30th, 2011
Eh, a pretty good choice. Josh Brolin would also be very solid. My bigger concern is the “condensing into three movies” part. Only 3? Weak sauce. I can see not doing 7, but I’d think it would need to be at least 5.

bucketochicken – January 30th, 2011
True fans of The Dark Tower DO NOT want to see it on film

Alexander – January 30th, 2011
Not familiar with Bardem so I looked him up….very disappointed. Not the right look at all and if his accent comes through it would be a disaster. Please let’s all make sure Ron Howard knows what the fans think. Reading the books (over and over) I had always sort of pictured Roland very much like early Clint Eastwood without ever realizing it. Honesly I JUST saw “Fistful of Dollars” for the very first time EVER last week. I’m in my 40’s. I understand, appreciate and enjoy the DT even better now. I can’t see Bardem pulling that off. Viggo would be perfect but it would be cool if someone not very well known did it. Not Bardem though, please, he’s just not right.

Cass – January 31st, 2011
I think Javier Bardem is a really good actor, but I just don’t see him as Roland..

Jenny – January 31st, 2011
Nicholas Cage as Roland - Very Clint like, macho rugged good looks and can pull off both an older and younger Roland

Jinx – January 31st, 2011
I am thrilled with this choice. The eye issue is easily solvable and the King and Howard should not limit their search based on eye color. I never imagined Roland as being Spanish…but I always thought he was a little too worldly to have an American accent. I definitely pictured him as Euro-influenced. Javier, should he chose to accept, would make a great gunslinger.

Leelee – January 31st, 2011
i’m currently reading the story for the first time (on book 5 of 7). while they mention knighthood and such, the setting is truly cowboy western american. there is no suggestion of Roland being “euro-influenced”. That’s ludicrous. Since when does being wise and experienced and “worldly”… mean you have to be “euro-influenced”?

Nicholas Cage? nope. he’s all wrong. Billy Drago? uh… no. Not crazy about Javier Bardem either. Didn’t think of Josh Brolin as Roland right off hand… but he would do justice to the part. I have envisioned a young Clint Eastwood while reading. Viggo Mortensen fit, as well.

as for anyone saying that “real” fans of the novel don’t want a movie… wasn’t the James Bond character developed from a novel? bottom line is if they fit solid actors into the right roles and they don’t butcher the storyline, we will all love it!!!

Kary – January 31st, 2011
Bardem is a great cast in my opinion (contacts can make all the difference). Leelee hit the nail on the head: Roland shouldn’t have an American accent, and he DOES have problems pronouncing words in English.

Bale was a no go from the beginning and probably not even legitimately considered by Howard or King.

Brolin is an even worse cast than Bale. Brolin does NOT have the brains or the heart to play Roland. Roy Depape maybe, but definitely not Roland.

CJ – January 31st, 2011
Seems Hollyweird will fail us yet again folks. I’ll coin it up in two short words, “Blue eyes”. The gunslinger in the books, the comics even had blue eyes. This will seriously upset the fanbase and detract vision from the books, the choice if it is real is absolutely horrible. And by no means am I judging the actor above. Cast by the books dagnamit!

Sanchun – February 1st, 2011
I am very excited about this news! Bardem could be perfect. He’s shown how good of an actor (No Country for Old Men) he is and I really think he has the right look of Roland (weathered, not too young not too old, conflicted). The blue eyes is an easy fix with contact lenses. If he kept his accent that would be intriguing as Roland is very non-American, what with his “High Speech” and the fact that he is from another freaking world.

Michael Weber – February 1st, 2011
Nic Cage as Roland? We don’t want to destroy the movie before it’s even out there; might as well pick Keanu Reeves. Javier isn’t the perfect choice for the lead, I agree, but Howard could do a lot worse. The only thing I’ve seen Javier in is ‘No Country For Old Men’, so that’s what I’m basing my opinion on. It would be a mistake to have big hollywood names cast for the main roles. Viggo is a pretty good choice, but I worry that his role as Arragorn may have type-cast him. I think that John Terry (the actor, not the soccer player) or Sharlto Copley (a bit young, but still could carry the role, I believe.).

Steve – February 1st, 2011
But my first choice, overall, is to agree with Alexander: I really don’t think that any movie adaptation of ‘The Dark Tower’ could even begin to live up to the odyssey presented throughout the seven books, spanning more than 20 years. The movie should be left to play out in the readers minds.

Steve – February 1st, 2011
It’s been rumoured that Bardem has turned down the role of Roland in order to play a bond villain. I still think Clint Eastwood could pull it off :)

Shane – February 1st, 2011
Everyone saying Bardem is not right for the role, I politly disagree, of all the names mentioned above and all others at some point in the frame for the role, Bardem is by far the most talented actor period.

Yes I like Viggo, but his acting is not at the same level as Bardem, and yes I like Bale but as Roland? no chance, I could see Bale as Eddie Dean definatly. Brolin would be my 2nd choice, but still 2nd none the less. Oh and to the Nic Cage suggestion….. im not even going to dignify that with a response lol BAD BAD! you should know better!

As to Bardems eyes? a simple cgi effect or even easier, contact lenses and bam! blue eyes, pretty much all the above comments reflect what people ‘imagine’ Roland to look like, and I say thank god directors like RH dont cast based on this, I would much rather have a good actor that didnt look perfect then have a lesser actor who looked perfect, I want a well performed movie not an attactive movie poster thanks.

Anyone not familiar with Bardem, watch ‘No Country For Old Men’ and ‘Before Night Falls’ the guy is as good as it gets!

Oh and to the person who said Stephen King does not allow changes to his charaters appearence? have you read The Shawshank Redemption, in the book Red is a ginger haired white man, last time I checked Morgan Freeman is neither red haired or White? I could be mistaken though….

Stonie104 – February 1st, 2011
Just a thought, what about aaron eckhart, always thought he may be interesting as Roland.

Yull of Eld – February 1st, 2011
Roland is not young. The books talk of his aches and pains and that Gilead fell 1000 years before. Josh Brolin, Bardem and even Viggo (even though he is a great choice) are all too young. Even when talking of Clint Eastwood, the Clint from “A Few Dollars More” is too youmg. The Clint from “Pale Rider” is more the Roland I always pictured. Like I said before I think Billy Drago would be great but Viggo, would be my second choice, even though he’s too young.

Ryan Nakhleh – February 1st, 2011
no way, they wouldn’t give us such a rubbish roland, he doesn’t have to be exceptionally famous, he just has to be able to play such a massive part. Although talking of famous viggo would be amazing. I wish.

dori – February 1st, 2011
@Ryan Nakhleh So your saying we need to find a 1000 year old actor to play Roland? no one knows Rolands age, time is not the same in his world, he isnt a crippled old man, he has arthritus yes but in a world with no real medical treatment and with a gunslingers lifestyle of violence and conflict combined with the dry acrid climate depicted in the books, its perfectly viable that he would suffer joint pain as early as 30 let alone older, Bardem is 41 and could easily have make up to add or remove 10 years to his looks.

@Dori A rubbish Roland? watch every Bardem film and every Viggo film and then make a comment, if you still think Viggo then you know nothing about acting.

If everyone stoped basing there opinion PURELY on the look of Roland, or because they like the films of their choice of actor then maybe they would see Bardem is MORE then capable of pulling off the role of Roland. Just because Bardem wasn’t in LOTR doesnt make him a bad choice, maybe try expanding your film knowledge and god forbid watch a foriegn language film! I know reading subtitles seems to be beyond most westeners but jeez give it a rest.

And for the love of god please do not bring Bardem being spanish into it, Roland does not have an american accent, King makes that almost crystal clear with his constant references to the Ka tet’s sometimes misunderstanding of each others words and phrases, with Bardems spanglish accent this could really add to that, rather then an american actor forcing a made up accent to show the differences.

With some of the ridiculous comments on here I suprised the people moaning have the mental capacity to read a complex series of books like The Dark Tower, but I guess thats the point just because you read it doesnt mean you understand it….

Stonie104 – February 2nd, 2011
Everyone please repeat after me: Clint. Eastwood. Is. Not. Going. To. Be. In. The. Dark. Tower. Movie. As. Roland.

Say it over and over until it sinks in……oh, and have most of you never heard of make up or different color contact lenses? They can do amazing things in movies. The cast will most likely be made up of “lesser known” actors with one “big name” as Roland….I love the posts where people has cast lists that include six A-listers: not gonna happen. I’m just happy there’s going to be a movie, and I’m a “true” Dark Tower fan.

imanage – February 2nd, 2011
Viggo Mortensen is PERFECT. He looks old, but I always imagined Roland as old. If anyone saw him in “The Road” they’d realize what an epic character he is able to portray. If anyone saw him in “LOTR” then they’d DEMAND him to play Roland. Aragorn and Roland are very near the same characters, except Roland has accepted his quest.

John – February 2nd, 2011
Until a few months ago, I’d never heard of this series. But, I made a deal with a co-worker of mine. I would read his series, and he would read mine (A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin - soon to be HBO’s Game of Thrones). I just finished reading book 3, The Waste Lands. I am liking the series, and while I admit I’m not even half-way through the series, and certainly not an expert, I think Bardem would make a good Roland. He is a good actor, and I think he could pull off the quiet confidence that Roland has. I’d definitely be interested in seeing the series come to the screen, big or small. However, I still think Ice and Fire is the better series. Winter is Coming.

Kevin – February 2nd, 2011
my god. stop complaining. everyone here seems to think they know better than ron howard, who has been making films forever. make your own movie version of the dark tower if you think you can do a better job. or don’t see the series if you are so against bardem. please…allow the filmakers to make the film. but don’t judge anything before even a minute of dark tower has been recorded.

chris – February 2nd, 2011
I have read these books religiously for years, hell my son is named after Roland.( middle name Deschain) Viggo is right, Javier…is not. Just because he’s popular at this moment does not make him right for the role. In my opinion age is not a factor for the role. I will be most dis-pleased if it does go to Bardem. It’s kind of funny that no one is discussing the roles of Eddie, Susannah,Jake and of course, Oy (lol). Let’s get the Viggo movement going. Thank you every Tower fan for reading this. Long days and pleasant nights.

Gunslinger9teen – February 2nd, 2011
Guys and gals. Let’s me realistic here.

I have thought that Viggo IS Roland for a very long time now. And not because of the Road and LOTR, but because of A History of Violence. He IS Roland in that movie, IMO.

Now, with that said, it’s pretty obvious that he does not want the part. If he wanted it, he’d have it. But he already gave 5 years of his life to LOTR, and this sounds like a solid 7 year project. Viggo does not like being a “star” and does not like the spotlight. To me, at least, it’s obvious that he is not interested. So let’s drop it, okay?

Now, I do not like Bale, Brollin, Cage, or anyone else mentioned so far.

Out of the remainging people mentioned, Bardem really is the best:
1. He is a great actor.
2. He can transistion from “Terminator” mode to loving and caring believably
3. He is rugged and has a strong appearance.
4. He can be both feared and loved at the same time (see “No Country”)
5. His acting style is perfect for Roland’s patient and methodical personality
6. His accent (assuming they do not find a blended accent ala LOTR) is not bad for how Roland is described in the books. Roland can not say ASPRIN and TUNA for crying out loud people. Does anyone remember the books?
So all in all, I am pleased with Bardem. And I think it is time to let Viggo go.
Brian – February 2nd, 2011
Just to set the record straight for everyone who pictured roland as clint eastwood without realising, he is actually described as clint in the book!! wastelands if i’m not mistaken. Bardem isn’t a great choice eye colour not being the only issue, but having said that not all actors who played james bond were english and that worked out just fine. i would still prefer viggo!!!

marky – February 2nd, 2011
@gunslinger9teen Dude, Bardem is popular at the moment because he is one of the best actors of his generation, Viggo has landed some great roles in some great films, but that does not make him a great actor, he is good dont get me wrong but he aint no Bardem, watch a few of Bardem’s films and then re-evaluate the situation. oh and for the supporting roles I have my preferences, Bale as eddie could work really well, thadie newton could nail sussanah, no real preference for jake as im not really up to speed on child actors at the age required for jake.

@john lol ive seen viggo in LOTR and i aint demanding anything in regard to viggo, his best performance s to date are Eastern promises and The road but he by no means ‘made’ either of those films, good screenplays and directing did that. I dont know what books you read but Aragorn and Roland are NOTHING alike, Arogorn is a reluctant hero with compasion oozing from him, Roland is the definition of dedicated and blinkered who’s only compasion is derived from his belief it will aid his quest, all these Viggo/LOTR fans make me laugh, the LOTR films were great and Viggo performed well in the role, but that does not give him first dibs on every male role in a fantasy film, there are better options and Ron Howard knows it hence why hes directing and not you.

To be honest from what I’ve read Bardem is close to locking down the role of the new 007 bad guy so you Viggo fans may get what you want if RH has to go for 2nd best, so you can keep worshiping Viggo’s feet… hell if he gets it, he will do a good job, but you wont know what you’ve missed by losing Bardem!!

stonie104 – February 2nd, 2011
@stonie104 Listen, by watch and warrant, I’m not laying a tribute to Viggo. I like his acting style. As far as Viggo getting “first dibs” on Fantasy roles, that’s BS. What’s the last fantasy role he has been in? Um…lemme think. LOTR? I do think he has the “chops” to pull off a great Roland. I’m not saying my opinion is “end all”. It’s just one, insignificant, lowly fan. All I can really put across is.. Make them good and memorable, not like 99% of Kings stories made into movies. (remember “The Langoliers”) Cry your pardon.

Gunslinger9teen – February 2nd, 2011
Let me add one thing. An observation if you please. To the fans of The Dark Tower. We have read and re-read these books for years. To us it’s been a mental movie and we have thought over and over about who fits the characters. I’m not saying that my mental version is the right one, just what I’ve produced in my head. Like I said above…Make it good and make it memorable Mr. Howard. Again, Thank you for the time.

Gunslinger9teen – February 2nd, 2011
I know I have been disappointed in the past with other casting choices for King’s movies. The Tommyknockers (TV Movie) comes to mind. Jimmy Smits just was not Gard. Same with the girl. IT was also no better (John Ritter? Harry Anderson??). I also really didn’t like the casting for The Shining (TV version). Gary Sinise was an ok Stu Redmond but that was about it. I think a younger William Baldwin would have made a good Eddie but he might be too old now. I’m not sure if any actor can do Roland justice. Maybe a really young Mel Gibson (Road Warrior) but not now. I always thought Roland was in his late 40’s, maybe 50 with just a little salt and pepper in his hair. Viggo does not feel right to me. And I don’t think I would like Javier either. I don’t think I can get past the Spanish thing. I could kind of picture Hugh Jackman but only because he is so rugged looking. I’ve always said that most of the movies based on King books have been crap except for a very small few. I hope this one delivers otherwise it will be awful. They better put some money into it. It needs to be epic like LOTR.

Lauren – February 2nd, 2011
I think that if Stephen King is involved as he is - and he wrote the books clearly - that whomever plays Roland will be exactly as King meant him to be.

Books to film can be a severe dissapointment if you have a vivid imagination and they aren’t what you had in mind - personally im just grateful King wrote the books for me to picture and hope that I find myself equally grateful to see what he brings to film.

If not - I always have the wonderful image inside my mind to go back to.

(of course in my mind Roland IS Eastwood and nothing on film will change that ;)

fan – February 3rd, 2011
@gunslinger9teen My comment about Viggo getting first dibs was in reply to the countless posts proclaiming he is perfect for the role purely based on his role in LOTR, so before calling my comments BS, read the comment in context and use the grey matter between your ears, maybe if I name my child after Roland, and chuck in the odd phrase from the books I can grow up to know better then Ron Howard too?

Knowledge of the books and a passion for them does not make anyone an authority on who to cast or how to make the film, turning the written word into a motion pictire is hard but I trust RH a lot more then even the most dedicated of fans, leave the movie making to the experts and trust that whoever is cast will do well, with RH directing and King helping I have no doubt the film will please the eye and the ear.

I agree that a lot of the movie adeptations of kings work have been poor, but the more recent ones have really shined so Im hopefull RH will do it justice, like I said by the sounds of recent news you Viggo fanboys may get exactly what you want, but simply put Bardem would make a better job of it then Viggo, disregard looks and evaluate acting talent and its obvious.

stonie104 – February 3rd, 2011
If scruffed up right, Christopher Lambert fits my image. He has the action flick background. And the voice I’m envisioning.

rabidchocobo – February 3rd, 2011
@rabibidchocobo Just a shame he cant act to save his life, christopher lambert has less emotional depth then keanu Reeves lol

stonie104 – February 3rd, 2011
NOOOOOOO!!!

Javier is a good actor . . . but, the ‘look’ and the ‘feel’ are all wrong. Viggo could have stepped right in a and instantly been accepted at Roland.

Groan!!!!!

dab – February 3rd, 2011
[QUOTE] Gunslinger9teen says: February 2, 2011 at 12:49 I have read these books religiously for years, hell my son is named after Roland.( middle name Deschain) Viggo is right, Javier…is not. Just because he’s popular at this moment does not make him right for the role. …. Let’s get the Viggo movement going. Thank you every Tower fan for reading this. Long days and pleasant nights. [/QUOTE]

Excellent IDEA! How do we start an INTERNET PETITION?

How do we contact Mr. Howard’s Casting director?

dab – February 3rd, 2011
Have you ever seen Viggo in “Hidalgo”? Excellent portral of ‘inner conflict’ and a personna who feels ‘apart’ from all others.

When I first saw “Hidalgo” I thought, “Wow, he reminds me of Roland.

It was a little bit of the look (Western garb and such) . . . but, it was more of how he presented the character. Watch Viggo in “Hidalgo” and I feel you see a glimpse of Roland.

dab – February 3rd, 2011
The more I think about it the more I think Javier could pull off Roland….shoot, better than anyone (even the mob’s choice Viggo)….go back and watch the last Anton Chigurh scene in No Country for Old Men when he’s talking with the widow….give him a dialect coach (probably King) and some pale blue contact lenses and he IS Roland…..in my not so humble opinion.

imanage – February 3rd, 2011
“There’ll be water if god wills it”

MikeOfMidWorld – February 3rd, 2011
Deeply disappointed; Javier is all wrong! He is a great actor but no dialect coach is going to help him lose the heavy accent, which will destroy his performance for me. Also, he’s way too dark to pull of pale blue contacts - it was make him look unnatural. Viggo would be outstanding, but a lesser-known actor might be even better.

Nann – February 4th, 2011
I can’t make up my mind if I like Bardem as Roland but what I’d really like to hear if he’s even considering the role. He has commented on the Bond role and thats it. No mention of Dark Tower. Hello? It’s driving me a bit nutty.

crimsonkingtph – February 4th, 2011
I still think Bardem would be a great Roland. Clink Eastwood, yes but in his Pale Rider days, he’s too old now. Roland is old and arthritic at times but not crippled. I almost wish a completely unknown actor would play Roland, that would be interesting. Whatever the case, I’m nervous about the final outcome. I absolutely love these books and I’ve never had a crystal clear vision of what Roland looks like (or any of the other characters). I almost wish that it would just remain in my imagination, just a blurry wonderful story. But of course I’ll end up watching the movies/tv series, I won’t be able to resist.

BTW, why has no one been discussing who will play Flagg?! Billy Drago would be amazing.

Michael Weber – February 4th, 2011
I too think it’s time to start talking about Flagg/Martin/Walter… My choice should it mean anything would be Kevin Spacey - one must reference “Se7en”… pure darkness.

Upon Ron’s choice for Roland, you beggars need to stop chasing the crumbs under the table and start embracing the fact there is a great director that will bring massive heart to this project and the budget to back that up! Support him in this endeavour…

Tim – February 4th, 2011
Hey, as a young reader of the series i believe that the one thing that the actor playing Roland MUST have is the blue bombardiers eyes. It’s a symbol of Roland,and it cant be forgotten in the actor. If your going to choose Bardem,which i dont recommend because i agree with many others that he just doesnt seem to fit the part,give him some eye coloring contacts or maybe graphicly edit his eye color,but to leave the eyes out would be like calling Roland the Crimson King;It just doesnt work.

MarkusDeschain95 – February 4th, 2011
another thing for all you people who think Clint Eastwood will be Roland, its not happening. Yes,it would be great if he could, but he cant. Who knows, maybe they’ll have him play Steven Deschain, Rolands Father, god knows it would be perfect.

MarkusDeschain95 – February 4th, 2011
Stone104 Ok wise guy, How about we skip this BS and get to the best actor for the part.BRUCE CAMPBELL. And as far as me throwing out line from the book and naming my son after The Deschains, I value your opinion as much as I value getting herpes. So once again what about Bruce Campbell. If you take a look, he has that Roland look. Maybe he still has “the chops” to pull it off.

p.s. if you take this seriously…I am sorry for you. LOL. Have good weekend and “Long days and pleasant nights”

Gunslinger9teen – February 4th, 2011
Many of you might not agree, but for the “Randall Flagg” role, Timothy Olyphant ( wasn’t that the name of the elephants in LOTR? I apologize for rambling I am sitting here for the 12th day of nothing to do at work. I think Timothy has that dark side with a very convincing nice guy thing going on. I can’t remember what movie he was in playing a really bad guy, but he was very believable baddie. …and, please remember, it’s just a lowly humans opinion. Thank you

Gunslinger9teen – February 4th, 2011
I would actually question Viggo. I might be scared the great books might turn out to be a weird Hidalgo LOTR baby on screen if he were the choice. I fear that, but who knows. I think Javier can do a good job. Physically he is strong, rugged, and elegantly disheveled at the perfect age. He is also well experienced but not in a MILLION familiar movies (aside from No Country for Old Men). I also would not mind seeing Eddie Dean played by either: Casey Affleck, Edward Norton, or the bad guy on Count of Monte Cristo. What do you think?…

Gavin Hyer – February 4th, 2011
@gunslinger I dont understand the point of your second to last comment but im sure it made you feel better…

Your last comment though I actually agree with, off the top of my head the only 2 actors I could picture as martin/merlin/flagg/whoever are Gary Oldman and Jeremy Irons but they are both too old I think, Olyphant would fit the role well, you are right he can play both dark and charming very well, good call.

I was watching From Dusk till Dawn earlier and it got me thinkin that Harvey Kietel could pull off father callahan

stonie104 – February 4th, 2011
@stone104. Yes it did make me feel better.lol Good call on Harvey Kietel. Great actor to watch. How about Morgan Freeman as Callahan? From what I understand Frank Darabont( or the powers that be) turned “Red”, in Shawshank,from white to black. Thinking about it, in my opinion, actually sounds kind of good. Most of the other actors I have imagined for Susannah, Jake and…Ha Ha Ha, Oy, are a little old for the roles. The one thing I hope DOESN’T happen is that they cast Beyonce as Susannah.

Gunslinger9teen – February 4th, 2011
@Stonie104 I am simply pointing out that he is older. Like a “Pale Rider” Clint Eastwood. Look at the 1st edition cover of Drawing of the Three. Roland looks like he’s in his late 50’s or early 60’s. The guys that are getting mentend here for the part are more like the age I would think of Eddie Dean to be (in his 30’s). Also, don’t get me wrong I think Bardem is a great actor, but I just don’t think he makes a good Roland. King described the characters very detailed in the books and for the movies to have actors that don’t fit the descriptions would do an injustice to the story and the fans of the story. Take the recent “LOTR” movies. Would they have been as good if Peter Jackson didn’t pick actors that fit the descriptions Tolkien gave? I don’t think so. It would have taken something away from the films. I think Ron Howard is a great director, but I think he will be making a mistake if he ignores Stephen Kings descriptions of the characters when casting.

Ryan Nakhleh – February 5th, 2011
@gunslinger9teen Morgan freeman is a good choice, he never fails to impress, although I think he would make an ace John Cullem as well.

They havent actually talked about Beyonce have they?? god I hope they dont lol I reckon thadie newton would kick ass as sussanah.

@Ryan Hakleh Isee what your saying Ryan, keeping the roles close to descriptions is a good idea, but and i mean a big but (imagine j-lo if you will) slavishly keeping to the descriptions rather then picking the best actor for the role will effect the film a great deal more then wether they look a tad too young, with a pair of contacts plus a bit of make up too add age will bring Bardem to the description almost, Morgan freemam in Shawshank is a good example of this, he is almost a polar opposite to Kings description of Red yet Freeman nailed the role, I simple believe that the best actor should get the role, NOT the person who looks most like Roland.

stonie104 – February 5th, 2011
@ mustbestoned104 Peter Jackson pulled off both. There are plenty of actors out there I think Ron Howard can and should do the same. I wouldn’t care if Christopher Lambert fit the description to a tee, he shouldn’t get the part, because he is the worst actor that has ever walked the face of the planet. J-lo is also a joke. And as far as Morgan Freeman in Shawshank, he was great but, we are talking about the main character in the story not fitting the description here, not one of the other characters. Red was one of the top characters but not the main one, and lets face it, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption doesn’t have the following and momentum behind it that DT has and will have. In fact I’ll bet most of the people who saw Shawshank hadn’t read the novella or even knew Stephen King wrote it. So the comparison is unrelated. Normally I could care less who got what part in anything, but with this as well as the LOTR movies I think it was (for LOTR) and is (for the DT) important to get the right actors (looks and talent) because the books have a following and people have a passion about them. They’re not just some novella (a great one but no where near the DT series) that a great author wrote. Simple as that.

Ryan Nakhleh – February 5th, 2011
@Ryan Nakhleh

I think you ,issed the point of my J-Lo reference, so I’ll break it down I said ‘big but’ J-Lo has a big ‘Butt’ you see?? I guess wit is wasted on you mate.

You argument has several major flaws in it Ryan, the fact is that there are many different artists interpretations of Roland and Roland has been only loosely described in the books, in fact Stephen King contradicts himself, in The Wastelands I think he describes roland as a young Clint eastwood, where as in Song Of Sussanah Roland is described to look like an older Stephen king when they meet, and hell I cant see a similarity between Eastwood and King, so Im sorry but there is no DEFINATIVE look for Roland, apart from medium length dark hair, blue eyes, and stubble, which a multitude of actors can pull off with make up ect..

Oh and secondly what the hell are you talking about with LOTR, agian there are MANY artists interpretations of the characters and AGAIN only loose descriptions in the books, any number of actors could have filled the roles and looked the part especialy considering the about of make up, costume and cgi that developed the characters looks, at the time of casting a lot of fanboys moaned about Viggo (a relativly unknown actor at the time) being chosen for Aragorn yet now he is worshiped because of the role, Peter Jackson chose who he felt fit the roles and yes he stuck with a generic theme expected, but he also went outside the box on several choices, Hugo Weaving for example, elves are described as other worldly, male elves are considerd beautiful and to an extent ifeminate and asexual, Hugo weaving is many things but ifeminate he is not.

And lastly, to compare The Dark Tower series to LOTR is an exageration to say the least, I love the dark tower series but it by no means has anywhere near the following of the LOTR books, hell I know many people who were vastly dissapointed in the second half of the books and especially the ending, I am not one of these. The Dark Tower series is best described as a cult following, and is far far from mainstream.

Please Ryan think about your responses to me and take your blinkers off mate.

stonie104 – February 5th, 2011
@stonie104 Wit, LOL!!! I agreed with you on the J-Lo thing. And as far as thinking about responses, I believe you are confusing my responses with yours. You say many actors could fill the roles based on the descriptions Tolkien gave, and if you read my previous comments I said the same thing. But, the actors that were chosen did fit the descriptions that were given. Not only for individual characters but the descriptions of races. And to say the DT books don’t have a cult following equal to the LOTR books is really off. The following of the DT books will overshadow the LOTR following when they have been around for as long, in my opinon. In fact, it may already overshadow it or equal it. Last, I’m guessing you ment take my blinders off, but to me you appear to have on the blinders.

Ryan Nakhleh – February 5th, 2011
My tuppence worth is Hugh Jackman for the role of Roland, I think he’s got both the acting chops to pull it off and the look. A little young I guess but they can do wonders with make-up effects. Of course, as long as the director satys true to it, it won’t really matter who is cast.

Paulfny – February 5th, 2011
@Ryan Nakleh Im not sure how you can agree on a joke Ryan, im still pretty sure the sentiment escaped you just as I think long words or long division probably hurts your brain, but hey.

Please explain how one of a multitude of actors couldnt play the roles in LOTR please, I would be delighted to hear your logic behind it Ryan, Tolkiens descriptions in LOTR are not so exceptionally detailed that 100’s of actors with a few (and easy) wardrobe/make up changes could have looked the part, dont kid yourself.

Many actors with a bit of make up ect could fit the very loose and conflicting descriptions of Roland including bardem so stop being ridiculous, you are simply saying that Bardem doesnt match YOUR vision of Roland which is a completly different story.

You honestly think that Kings series is, or ever will be bigger then Tolkien’s???? I Love Stephen Kings work but even he would admit that although he is very talented he is no Tolkien, its like comparing John Grisham to Fyodor Dostoevsky.

I meant blinkers, im guessing its a cultural difference Ryan.

stonie104 – February 5th, 2011
Alright cats…DING! DING! DING! Seperate corners. Ha Ha> Just trying to ease the tension. Did anybody catch my thought about Bruce “Boom Stick” Campbell for Roland. Take a look at him from Army of Darkness. It could be the role of a lifetime for him. He might need to lose a little weight, but, I mean he can make that transition from Movie to TV. He’s done both. I’m not saying he’s a killer actor by any means. His face just popped into my head a few days ago.

Gunslinger19 – February 5th, 2011
You seem to be taking the stance that Tolkien is more gifted then King because he came first. King will overshadow Tolkien is history as time goes on. Most people can only name a handful of works by Tolkien and many of his works are almost unreadable with his “son of this guy and father of that guy” long winded drawn out rubbish. Where as with King there are hundreds of novels and short stories that far out shine Tolkien’s work. The Hobbit and LOTR is the only good works Tolkien created. Sorry, Tolkien was great or I should say 2 of his stories were great. BUT HE WAS NO KING. Part of being a great writer is keeping your reader interested and if you’ve read “The Children of Hurin”, that is not the case. It’s very hard to get through because of what I described above and his other works are much the same. I don’t recall ever reading a Stephen King noval or short story that was hard to get through. And you can try throwing out your BS intellegence insults out there, but that has nothing to do with it. King’s style is better and a more enjoyable read, period. And that’s the point of fiction is it not? But, I guess Ron Howard should just have Al Pacino play Roland and Meryl Streep play Susannah because they can just paint her black and throw some make-up on him, because they are the best actors out there. Dakota Fanning can play Jake all they have to do is cut her hair and throw some make-up on her. How about Morgan Freeman as Eddie Dean? And Verne Troyer as Oy? Not the best actor but he should be able to handle it. Jack Nicholson can play Eddie if Freeman won’t do it. This is your argument that the best actors should play the parts, it doesn’t matter if they fit the part? Make-up can fix it all, right?

Ryan Nakhleh – February 5th, 2011
Wow. I can’t believe so many people want to see Viggo in the role. If they cast Viggo for Roland I’ll die a little inside. PleasePLEASE don’t. I’d much rather see Bardem.

Or, if I could choose; I’d pick non-famous actors for all parts. I don’t think I’d be able to concentrate or get into the movie if they were all big Hollywood stars or people you’ve seen in dozens of other films…

linni – February 5th, 2011
Im asuming your last statements were a poor attempt at sarcasm Ryan, as I think I have made my opinions quite clear and reasonable.

I believe that, yes to an extent fitting the look of a character is important, but that it should not be the most important decision when casting, when I picture Roland in my head he does not look like exactly like Bardem I admit, but with a few simple cosmetic touches I believe he would be close enough, and I believe his acting skills puts him above the competition, its that simple Ryan.

I dont believe in my last post I gave any impression that I believe Tolkien is better because he came first, I believe Tolkien is better because he is a master story teller and his work will be appreciated long, long after we are both dead.

I have enjoyed every King novel I have read but you simply cannot put him in the same league as the likes of Tolkien, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Dickens, Steinbeck, Hemingway ect, ect.

Just as much as I love Gemmal, Feist, Grisham, Brown, and Kernick I just couldnt put them up there with the masters.

You say King is easy to read where as Tolkien is not, I admit Tolkien is not the simplist of reads but once immersed in his words you feel part of the world he created, and it is a VERY common complaint that a lot of Kings books are very hard to get into as he is well known for slow and lengthy starts, which do not engage.

Now before you come firing back at me with defensive words regarding King, please realise that your comments are your opinion, and I might say against what is considered by people a great deal more intelligent then you or I as great Litriture.

Note how I dont say ‘popular opinion’ as yes in modern time with the general public having less of an understanding of classic litriture, then yes King probably would be voted above Tolkien but in that case im betting currently J.K Rowling and Stephanie Mayer would be voted higher then King, but I think we both can agree that would be wrong.

My point is that truely great Authers are timeless, and I do not believe King with stand the test of time quite like the masters Ryan.

Oh and please no more talk about Tolkien only writing a few novels and King writing a great many, tut tut Ryan, do I really have to use the saying ‘quantity does not mean quality’

stonie104 – February 5th, 2011
King was voted the greatest writer of the century (by other writers), and I didn’t say easy to read. I said “a more enjoyable read”. And I’m not trying to downplay Tolkien, The Hobbit & LOTR are great. My wedding ring is a replica of the one ring. But, in my opinion King is the better writer, he has both quantity and quality. Rowling is another that will going the ranks of the greats. Also, I agree that talent wise Bardem is a good choice. But as I said many comments ago I think they can find someone that fits better looks wise, and should. I also am not one of the people saying Clint should play the part, if you go back I suggested Billy Drago, he has the look and he can act. He just hasn’t been given too much of a chance because of his unusual look. His eyes look empty so I think he’s been underrated for years, and is usually given the bad guy roles. My point through this whole thing is that the fans of these books (including myself) feel very strong towards this story, much like many do about LOTR. I’m not saying that Drago is the only choice, and I doubt he’ll even get the chance. But, RH should at least make an attempt to pick someone who fits the description and who is also talented. To be honest I think this whole artical may be a ploy to get the hard core fans throwing names around. There’s probably a guy that’s getting paid to read all of this stuff and make a list of names, LOL.

Ryan Nakhleh – February 5th, 2011
Im guessing he was voted greatest writer of the 21st century yes? only 11 years in, really isnt the greatest of achievements Ryan, im sure we can both agree that greatest writer in the last 11 years does not quite put him into the catorgry of best writer of all time? which Tolkien appears in the top 10 in the vast majority of polls ever taken.. king doesnt though.

Drago has close to the perfect look Ryan I agree but Bardem is by far the superior actor, in my opinion an easy choice, perfect look- good actor, close look-superb actor, Bardem every time….

But I guess we can agree to disagree Ryan.

Oh and believe me with a film with this much commercial potential, the last people the studio care about is the hardcore fans, they care about the vast majority of the worlds population who know nothing about the book, impress them with big names and big budgets and you earn more revenue, only impress the hardcore fans and you make less, its an unfortunate by product of modern hollywood, you only have to look at ‘I Am Legend’ to see what hollywood can do to great litriture…

stonie104 – February 5th, 2011
Great ‘I Am Legend’ Comment ha ha ha ha. Funny because it is true.

Gavin Hyer – February 5th, 2011
@Gavin Hyer

I think you are bang on with either Norton or Casey Affleck for the Eddie Dean part. I would definitely be interested to see what Casey did to the role…

Tim – February 5th, 2011
You two are getting ridiculous. WHO GIVES A SHIT if the roland in their head doesn’t match the one on screen? News flash: he won’t. It doesn’t matter who gets chosen to play who, it WILL NOT BE WHAT YOU IMAGINED! You know why I like Bardem and hate Viggo? Viggo is the expected choice you know exactly what your getting An aragorn/hidalgo hibrid that makes me feel like I want to vomit. Now Bardem, that’s a surprise, and I’m hella excited to see how this plays out

Don’t shoot me for this but I kinda like te idea of Ryan Renolds as Eddie. I feel like he could be badass and still pull off the funny bit idk. Honestly I just want all no name actors across the board. I feel like big names will just take away from the story.

Valeriea – February 6th, 2011
@Valariea I think the plan is that pretty much all other roles excluding Roland would be filled with ‘unknown’ actors, but they specifically wanted a tried and tested actor for Roland, which I can understand, all of the front runners could pull off the role and are to an extent a ‘safe bet’ and will bring in an audiance, which at the end of the day is the studios main concern. A cast of completly unknown actors based on a series of books which are not ‘main stream’ is a risk at the box office and If the first film does not gross enough then you can forget about the aditional 2 films and 2 series, its happened before unfortunatly.

Oh and im sorry but Ryan Reynolds just isn’t right for Eddie, yes Eddie has a large element of humour to his character but Ryan Reynolds?? if he never worked again in hollywood I would not lose any sleep.

stonie104 – February 7th, 2011
Great actor, just not how I pictured the gunslinger. Like most people I pictured a younger Clint Eastwood, basically. I was warming up to the idea of Viggo, and I’d probably still prefer him over Bardem. Either that or a lesser known actor. Still, not a bad choice. At least the guy can act! He’s a choice I could deal with. MUCH better than Brolin or Nicholas Cage or some of the other bad choices I’ve seen people mention.

In response to the comments about his eye color : SERIOUSLY?? It is called contact lenses.

As far as his accent goes, he is definitely capable of toning it down or changing it, like in No Country.

I’m interested to see if he accepts this role though. Since it is such a long project, and plus he has commented before about having a problem with movie violence (despite playing in No Country)

David – February 7th, 2011
…And I’m back. Let’s try this, shall we? Who would everybody like to see in the following roles: *Roland (we’ve already had quite the discussion on this one haven’t we…Stonie and Ryan?) *Jake *Eddie *Susannah *Oy (lol)
- The Walkin’ Dude
- Father Callahan (Christopher Walken for me) I just I’d throw this out there. I really enjoy coming back to this site daily and discussing this with all the DT fans. You humans are great and I appreciate it.
Gunslinger9teen – February 7th, 2011
Nobody want’s to discuss Bruce Campbell? AH come on. It’s all in fun. No matter how much we talk about this, Mr. Howard is going to make his own decisions. It would be nice though if he wanted the opinions of “The Fans”. Gods bless ye’

Gunslinger9teen – February 7th, 2011
I just thought of a killer actor for the role of Jonas (Big coffin hunter) Lance Henriksen. That is one person who has stuck out in my brain sine I first read DT. If you don’t know who he is, just google his name and you’ll see who I’m talking about. The one movie I can think of is the one where Brian “Boz” Bosworth was a fed going undercover in a biker gang. Lance Henriksen was the leader of the gang. He was also the android in “Aliens”. Bishop.

Gunslinger9teen – February 7th, 2011
Lance Henriksen would be great as Jonas! funny you should metion Henriksen, there was actually a sculpture a few years ago of Roland I saw which was based on Lance Henriksen, he actually looked great as Roland follow the link…. http://trev-solo.deviantart.com/art/The-Gunslinger-animation-14734569

stonie104 – February 7th, 2011
Yeah, looked alot like Lance. It needed darker hair in my opinion. ( notice I’ve been adding “in my opinion” more.) I really do enjoy the banter. Breaks up my very boring work day. Here’s one. Everytime I hear the name “Rhea of Coos”, I think of the witch from Jim Henson’s “Dark Crystal” The one eyed muppet. Scragilly old bitch (Rhea, that is.)

Gunslinger9teen – February 7th, 2011
One last thing for today. I’ve been reading these comments about Roland speaking another language. It’s the” High Speech”. It is still a form of english. Just a upper class bastardized version. Kind of reminds me of Biblespeak. Again, thank you for letting me crack open the gray matter and spill it.

Gunslinger9teen – February 7th, 2011
Daniel Craig would make a great Roland. The trailer for Cowboy vs. Aliens specifically reminds me of what I would expect from Roland’s appearance.

Scott in AZ – February 7th, 2011
I don’t know what kind of budget this movie demands, but I can see Edward Norton pull off Eddie well, must be fate with the names? Susannah? Good luck casting that, I can’t picture any known actress for the role, might be better that way, the same with Jake.

Scott in AZ – February 7th, 2011
“Daniel Craig would make a great Roland. The trailer for Cowboy vs. Aliens specifically reminds me of what I would expect from Roland’s appearance.”

Pretty much this. Piercing blue eyes? Check. Weatherbeaten looks? Check. (for those that doubt, see the the aforementioned Cowboy vs. Aliens trailer) and I have no doubt he could pull it off, given some inspiration.

KJD – February 8th, 2011
The actress who I had thought for the role of Susannah was Angela Bassett. A little older now than when I first read The Drawing of the Three. Yeah, that’s a stumper. Let’s see if anyone can throw out some ideas.

Gunslinger9teen – February 8th, 2011
Thadie newton all the way

stonie104 – February 8th, 2011
@stonie104 Forgive me for not knowing the name. What movies or TV shows has she been in?

Gunslinger9teen – February 8th, 2011
Nevermind. Googled her and recognized her. Mission impossible flick.

Gunslinger9teen – February 8th, 2011
Her best roles to date were in ‘Crash’ and ‘Pursuit Of Happyness’, I can see a bit of Detta in her when she gets angry on screen, probably the best black actress in the age range needed I think, but I would be happy with a talented unknown for the majority of the supporting cast.

stonie104 – February 9th, 2011
@stonie104 I can dig that. I really don’t have anyone in particular to play Eddie and Jake. Somebody had mentioned Casey Affleck as Eddie, but, in my opinion I don’t see that. Another name that has popped up is Edward Norton. I think he’s a little old for the role. Nowadays CGI can fix all that. But I would rather have believable age appropriate actors in the roles we’ve been discussing. But I would definetly like to see Lance Henriksen play Jonas.

Gunslinger9teen – February 9th, 2011
I wouldn’t be surprised if they chose unknowns for all the main supporting roles but dropped in the odd big name cameo for the smaller roles like Jonas, Cullum ect, would spice it up a bit :)

stonie104 – February 9th, 2011
It’s going to be exciting to see how they work out the Movie/TV thing. Very interested in the concept and the finished products. By the way stonie, if I may inquire, what part of the world are you from? I reside in a suburb of Seattle. Auburn, Wa. Hope you have a decent day.

Gunslinger9teen – February 9th, 2011
I’m from sunny England, down south near London. hope your day is going good too buddy

stonie104 – February 10th, 2011
I love Javier Bardem. I loved The Dark Tower series, and Stephen King in general, but Javier Bardem is so wrong for the part. Stephen King gave a very specific description of Roland. He is supposed to look just like Clint Eastwood. For those who have read and enjoyed this series, picking an actor who is nothing like the character will ruin the movie. Javier Bardem is very hot right now. Everyone wants him in their movies. I understand that the movie-goers are the target audience, but the Gunslinger series is a classic, and I think it deserves more respect than that! Viggo Mortensen, or some other skinny blond who is a fantastic actor, should play Roland. Javier Bardem is a great actor, but he will never truly be Roland- it’s a travesty!

shelley – February 10th, 2011
Hi Shelley, I understand your opinion but actually King conflicts his description of roland throughout the books, yes he does describe him as a young clint eastwood but in a later book Eddie describes Roland as looking like an older Stephen king when they meet the auther so really there is no definative ‘look’ for roland to be honest, one thing for sure Roland is not Blonde :) although I agree Bardem could do with shedding a few pounds to play Roland, Bardem is not fat by any means but he needs to be a tad more lean and gaunt, but again losing or gaining weight for a role is very common, just talk to Christian Bale lol!

I honestly think if Bardem sheds a few pounds, pops in some blue contacts and sticks on some cowboy get up, you would be pleasently surprised how much he would fit the Role Shelley

stonie104 – February 11th, 2011
Just to discuss Bardems accent a second as well guys, I understand that esentially Roland speaks english, but the books emphasise Rolands difficulty pronoucing certain words that Eddie, Jake and Sussanah use, now I believe that Bardems accent will on screen demonstate the differences in Rolands world by essentially playing on the difference in accents, for example if you sit a english person in front of an american and they talk, although accents differ the way the words are formed and inflected are almost identical, yet when you sit an english/american person in front of say someone from China, even though the chineese individual may understand and even talk relitivly good english they still struggle with pronoucing certain things, because in there native language they form words and inflect differently, essentially forming words with different motions of the mouth and tongue, only through a great deal of practice can somone train themselves to form words the new way, hence why people with a sencond language often miss pronouce words.

So essentially what im saying is that Bardems accent and pronounciations will better display on screen the other worldly nature of Roland then someone trying to force a ‘new’ accent as such, what do ya thaink??

stonie104 – February 11th, 2011
Roland: (adult) -Tall -Blue eyes (COLD LOOK) -light brown hair -thin(athletic) -bearded -murderous voice (i mean a really impactant) what do u think?

DChaos – February 11th, 2011
Timothy Olyphant would be my pick… anyone who has seen him in Deadwood and Hitman can see the 2 blended into a kickazz Roland…

just my $.02

RaiderG – February 14th, 2011
I still think Viggo would be a better choice due to his past experience with ‘cowboy’ roles and ability to be a leader as well as humbleness. 2nd choice would be Christian Bale for his dark, moody, and physical character.

Brian A. – February 14th, 2011
Viggo or Bale would be excellent, but i really think Hugh Laurie could fit the roll. if you seen House you have seen his ability to play a dark and troubled character he already has the piercing blue eyes and has shown (as House) his ability to change his accents. either way i sure RH will do a good job.

any news who directing the tv parts?

K – February 15th, 2011
Its been over 2 weeks since the offer was made to Bardem and I have not seen any further comments online about it, so its one of 2 things I think, either Bardem has provisionally accepted and they are in negotiations as we speak OR Bardem has declined and they are looking elsewhere, as Viggo has taken on ‘Snow White & The Huntsman’ and made it clear after LOTR that he would avoid such a big project in the future I’m guess the next person on RH list is Bale, as he was rumoured to be a candidate before Bardem was offered the Role.

Although Bale wouldn’t be my personal favourite for the role I do think he can pull it off, but I suppose we all have to just sit around in anticipation untill something is confirmed…… bummer.

stonie104 – February 15th, 2011
I don’t know about Javier Bardem. He’s definately a good actor and I loved him in Watchmen. He even had the kinda southern drawl in that movie to maybe pull off a cowboy type character. I kinda always pictured Brad Pitt in my head for some reason as Roland though. He’s sorta tall and slender and he has blue eyes. Roland’s eyes are a big part of the character in the book so I think it should be a consideration for the actor who portrays him in the film. I think he could portray him well. That’s who I would go with if I was Howard.

Ace – February 15th, 2011
My bad that was Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Watchmen as the Comedian…lol. I always thought that was Javier Bardem for some reason. Go figure. Anyways I was thinkin about some of the other characters and maybe Sanaa Lathan as Susannah Dean? I liked Thandie Newton as a choice too. As for Eddie Dean I would have no idea who to cast as him.

Ace – February 15th, 2011
I also think he would be a great fit. Does anyone know what they are planning on rating this movie as? If its rated R, I don’t see how they can do a “mini series”.

Justin – February 15th, 2011
I have been checking the other sites and…HOLY BUMBLER JAKE!!! Everyone is discussing this bigtime. it’s definitely a MAJOR DEAL. This is fantastic though, Look at all you Roland fans. We’re all waiting in anticipation for who’s going to be who. It’s like frickin’ Christmas for us and I’m sure we’ll all be surprised. But hey, I’m enjoying these discussions. Let’s keep it up! I wanted to say ‘ello to stonie104 across the big pond. How’s it going stonie?

Gunslinger9teen – February 15th, 2011
You know, I kinda like the idea of Daniel Craig. I still think Bruce “Evil Dead” Campbell would of been a decent Roland…about 10 years ago, but he’s aged a little much for the role. And I know, Roland’s age is never really specified.(cool move on King’s part) To me, he really has no age.

Gunslinger9teen – February 15th, 2011
They oughtta cast Megan Fox as Susan Delgado….yum!

Ace – February 16th, 2011
@ace No, we need an actress than can act. NOT just be in the shot and stand there. In other words, someone GOOD.

Gunslinger9teen – February 16th, 2011
@Gunslinger9teen - Yeah I gotta admit she ain’t much in the acting department…lol. But Susan Delgado’s supposed to be a real piece of eye candy. I can remember after reading the Stand they came out with the mini series right after that and I was kinda dissapointed. I like this story better so I hope they do better with this adaptation.

Ace – February 16th, 2011
My main thing is that, the book obviously sounds like it should be rated R… with all the F bombs and gratuitous scenes and what not. If they do rate it R, how is that gonna be followed up in the miniseries?

Kackamo – February 16th, 2011
@Ace I think I’m one of the few who actually liked “The Stand”. Some of the actors I wasn’t to keen on. I think the guy who played Tom Cullen (m-o-o-n, that spells mentally disabled) did a decent job and I did like Gary Sinese as Stu. Didn’t like Molly Ringwald. Liked Flagg too. But once again, that’s just my opinion. I’ve heard they’re re-booting “The Stand” for theaters.

Gunslinger9teen – February 16th, 2011
I have not read every single post, but has anyone mentioned Timothy Olyphant to play Roland? For those not familiar with Olyphant, he played the sheriff in Deadwood, and is currently playing a US Marshall in Justified. Granted, Olyphant is or has become type-cast as a rugged lawman that follows has followed his own moral compass in both Deadwood and Justified, even though his moral compass may not be what society deems to be “right and wrong”.

On the other hand, I believe no matter who plays Roland, this movie adaption will never live up to the hype, and will probably be a disaster. Too much of the plot will be left of because seven highly detailed books are being condensed into 3 movies. I want to make two points to back up this argument.

First, one could compare the movie adaptions of LOTR and Harry Potter to The Dark Tower. Each of the books within LOTR and Harry Potter had their own movie (the last Harry Potter has been broken into two films due to the amount of detail). Therefore, how can a seven book series be consolidated into 3 films, and still resemble anything to the books?

Second, I believe Ron Howard is not the director for this project. He completely butchered The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. Neither movie felt smooth or complete. Granted, the screenplay could have had something to do with the choppiness of both movies, but the director or producer could have had the screenplay changed to avoid this.

KingFan – February 16th, 2011
Agreed Kingfan, it is never truelly going to live up to the books, turning novels into film is always tricky, and considering directors have struggled to keep a King short story condensed to 1 film in the past, they will lose a great deal of the little details.

Saying that I honestly think they will either win or lose this in the mini series in between the films, you think a half a dozen episodes or so per miniseries thats 6 hours of screen time! so im assuming the big action bits of the books will be covered in the films and the mini series will try to encompase the rest, I think they may be able to pull it off, but I wouldnt like to think about the knighmares the script writing team will have lol

@gunslinger9teen Im all good buddy, weather over here is finally looking a bit sunnier, how is life your side of the water? oh and regarding Bruce Cambell, I honestly love the guy, the evil dead trilogy is epic in my opinion, but as Roland…. I’m sorry I cant see it, I have yet to see Bruce play a truelly serious and deadpan role, and I just dont think he is capable enough to pull off the gunslinger, would love to see him in a lesser role though :D

stonie104 – February 17th, 2011
@ Kingfan Yes I could see Olyphant as Roland, loved him in Deadwood, have yet to see Justified but will check it out, not my first choice for the gunslinger but would be very happy with him if he was offered the role.

stonie104 – February 17th, 2011
When I first heard these movies were to be made, the first thought that popped into my head was, “Who the hell is going to play Roland?” The second was, “I’m sure glad it’s not me having to make that decision.” There are so many die-hard fans of this series that it would be impossible to please even half of them. Not only that, but Roland is written with such depth and intensity that to capture that on screen would be a near impossibility for anyone.

In a perfect world, I’d have made this 15 years ago and cast Gary Oldman as Roland (think “The Professional” era). And call me crazy, but I could almost picture Hugh Jackman or Patrick Dempsey in the role, if they had the proper acting chops; honestly, though, I don’t think either of them could pull it off. You can’t win. I think Christian Bale would be GREAT, but again, there’s the age thing to consider.

Either way, the though of Mr. Bardem in this role brought tears to my eyes, and they were not tears of joy. I respect him as an actor, but he simply doesn’t “feel” like Roland to me. He ISN’T Roland. I don’t see Viggo in the role, either; sorry, people. That casting decision would have disappointed me as much as the Javier news.

I will say, though, that after watching the trailer for Cowboys and Aliens, I’m thinking Daniel Craig could damn near get it right. A little hair dye would help.

For Eddie, I see (possibly) Cillian Murphy or Henry Cavill (if he can pull off a Brooklyn accent). I agree that Thandie Newton would make a good Susannah.

As far as Megan Fox - aside from the fact that she can’t act, she’s too old to be Susan Delgado.

Alysia – February 17th, 2011
I’ve seen everybody talk about how old Roland is. He doesn’t really have an age. He’s immortal in a way, just like the man in black said. He ages but he never really gets old. I still say Brad Pitt could pull off Roland. He was a badass cowboy in Legends Of The Fall. I think he fits the profile good too - tall, slender, blue eyes…aged. Lol!

I also agree with Kingfan. I don’t know if Ron Howard can pull off this dark western/sci-fi tale. It’ll be interesting to see if he can pull it off though.

Ace – February 17th, 2011
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned Timothy Oliphant as a choice for Roland. He ages well, he’s got that lanky, cowboy swagger. Watch him in Justified. He’s the best fit since Clint and Viggo are too old.

Nyx – February 17th, 2011
@ Nyx Yeah he’s been mentioned several times. I think he’d make a pretty good Roland too. I’d actually like to see who they would cast as Cort the teacher. He’s also one of my favorite characters. Suggestions anybody? Randy Couture? He’s got some acting experience and he’s definately a badass…lol! I dunno, if anyone’s got any thought on Cort’s character holla!

Ace – February 18th, 2011
How about a little trivia today DT fans? Without looking it up or cheating, what is Rhea of Coos last name. Winner get’s an “Atta boy” (or girl).

@stonie104 Cold here today. I’d say alot like your weather. It’s been c-c-cold for the past 3 months. I’m with you, can’t wait for Spring/Summer to roll around. I am ready for sun and WARMTH!! Talk to you soon cat.

Gunslinger9teen – February 18th, 2011
@stonie104 The Bruce thing is kind of a joke. I could see him maybe as CalvinTower or maybe one of Balazars’ men. Or just on the streets of NY, when Jake is walking to the rose or to the Demon house.

Gunslinger9teen – February 18th, 2011
@gunslinger9teen agree buddy, roll on summer!!! Bruce would be cool as the prison gaurd dude who looks after the breakers at thunderclap, cant for the life of me remember his name and the books are at home lol and Im gonna skip on your quiz, no way I know without cheating and that aint how I roll dude :D

@Ace It would be cool if they could get eastwood to play Cort, or Stephen Descain :D

stonie104 – February 18th, 2011
@stonie104 LOL. I let a couple more fans give it a try. I’ll lay down the answer before I leave for home @4:30pm Pacific standard time. I like the idea of Clint making a cameo, like King does. Let’s hope it’s not like his cameo in The Stand. Remember when he’s at the entrance to Boulder, Colorado in the snow, with. of all people, Peter Brady. lol

Gunslinger9teen – February 18th, 2011
Alright, since I’m leaving early today the answer to my trivia ? is: Rhea Dubativo. Now you know. Have a great week-end Dark Tower Fans.

Gunslinger9teen – February 18th, 2011
I racked my brain for 30 minutes tryin to remember Rhea of the Coos last name lol. Couldn’t remember it for shit.

Ace – February 18th, 2011
@stonie104 Eastwood’s too old to be a brawler. The guy’s gotta be like 70 years old. I remember seein him on episodes of Rawhide and that was a black and white tv show.

Ace – February 18th, 2011
Damn lol. I just looked up his age. Clint Eastwood is 80 years old! 80! I knew he was old but I didn’t think he was that old. But he did look pretty old in Gran Torino I guess.

Ace – February 18th, 2011
I like Bardem as Roland. I think he would be great and I prefer him to Viggo, but my first choice would have been Daniel day Lewis.

junin – February 19th, 2011
I am excited and scared at the same time. It could be a great film or cliff notes disaster. I would love to see Vigo in the role but I love Bardem’s portrayal of Anton Chigurh and I think he could do Roland some justice.

I can’t wait to see the Big Coffin Hunters or Oy. I always pictured a young Ray Liotta as Eddie, well I hope more casting news follows fast on the heals of this announcement.

Santiago – February 19th, 2011
@Junin I didnt even consider Day Lewis but yeah, he would be great, one of the best character actors alive, he completely submerses himself in the role and he has aged pretty well, so could pull off the look to be honest, very good call junin.

@Ace I always pictured Cort being in his sixties and I still think Eastwood can pull off sixty with a touch of make up, but mayhap your right, by the time they get to filming Corts parts 2-3 years I would guess then yeah maybe too long in the tooth lol

stonie104 – February 20th, 2011
Since Clint is too old to play Roland, i’m all for Viggo. He was the first that came to my mind. Seen him in Apaloosa? He can definitely do the tough, rugged cowboy. And he’s definitely not too old. I’ve always pictured Roland as kind of older & weather beaten anyway.

Junkster – February 20th, 2011
Yeah, I got my first edition of the gunslinger at a hotel gift shop back in 1988 or 89. It was the first paperback edition, I think. Back then I couldn’t picture anyone other than Eastwood as Roland, but as the years went by and Eastwood got too old for the part, the actor that popped into my head most often was Daniel Day Lewis. I actually think he is better for the role than even Eastwood. Here are two reasons why.
1. Daniel Day Lewis is a better actor. I don’t mean to say that Eastwood is not a good actor. I think he is a great actor, but I believe that Daniel day Lewis is the best male actor alive today.
2. One cannot have Clint Eastwood play Roland in the movie because he actually appears in the story as himself. I believe it was in The Drawing of the Three where Jake is standing in front of a movie poster for A Fist Full of Dollars, (or was it The Good The Bad And The Ugly) and he is struck by the similarity between Roland and the guy on the poster. King goes on and writes that the actor on the movie poster doesn’t look exactly like Roland, but the eyes are the same. I always loved that scene, and I hope Howard puts it in the movie. I also love the scene where the cop has a heart track while watching The Terminator because it reminds him of his encounter with Roland years before. This brings me to the reason why I prefer day Lewis to Bardem. The reason why the cop is reminded of Roland when he sees the terminator is because of the relentless yet graceful way the man moves. This is actually true of both Eastwood and Schwarzenegger. Both of them where exceptional physical specimens in their youths. Daniel day Lewis also possesses this quality. Combine that with his superior acting and well, I rest my case.
junin – February 21st, 2011
Couldn’t agree more Junin, Day Lewis pretty much eats, sleeps, lives the characters he potrays.

Day Lewis is the only good thing in Gangs Of New York, and he was incredible in There Will Be Blood, and jeez just check out IMDB, you may not love every movie he has stared in, but you cannot dispute that he is one of the best actors who ever lived.

The more I think of it the more I like him for the role, If Bardem turns it down Ron Howard NEEDS to make a call to Day Lewis’s agent.

I also agree with Junin regarding Eastwood, I love the guy but he isn’t of the same acting caliber as Day Lewis, I honestly think Eastwood has done his best work behind the camara, I respect his directing in Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, and Unforgiven a great deal more then his acting in the last 2 and his previous roles.

stonie104 – February 21st, 2011
This may have already been pointed out but why oh why do they not cast unknowns?? It seems fitting that they should. And that the same cast do the mini series as well. It doesn’t bode well to have different actors playing the same characters in the film and mini series. Plus Roland having blue eyes, I think, is important. Next thing you know, Susannah will be white with legs.

Roo – February 21st, 2011
@Roo All actors taken on for the films will be playing the same roles in 1 of the 2 miniseries, the other mini series will focus on Roland and his friends in their youth which will require younger actors for the roles.

Ron Howard expressed his interest in using unknowns for pretty much all the roles except Roland, he feels a more proven actor is needed for the role of the Gunslinger, the other reason that he didn’t say is purely down to money, a big name in the role of Roland will bring in audiences that are maybe not familiar with the books and will increase revenue.

Oh and yes, yes, yes we all believe Roland should have blue eyes, its a given, but again I’ll say it for the 100th time………… TINTED CONTACT LENSES :)

stonie104 – February 21st, 2011
@Junin I think Bardem has the same physical presence as the others you mention, in No Country For Old Men Bardem displays a very physical presence, a graceful and almost casual look to the violence he inflicts, very reminicent of Rolands Character, but yeah Day Lewis has it as well :)

stonie104 – February 21st, 2011
Ok Javier is a great actor, but definately not right for this role. What happened to approaching Thomas Jane for this? I envisioned him in this role for sure! Cage (YUCK!),

April Diss – February 21st, 2011
Why is Thomas Jane a better choice then Bardem? Jane isnt half the actor bardem is period, im guessing your one of the many on here who are basing the decision on the look rather then acting skills…. all you’ll end up with is a visually adequate film with little or no substance.

There are VERY few actors alive who could portray the complexity of Rolands character and Thomas jane is most definatly not one of them….

stonie104 – February 21st, 2011
Okay, so I’m now buying into the Daniel Day Lewis thing. The man has such layers in his acting, it’s not even funny. I can completely see him doing justice to the complexities and intricacies that embody Roland Deschain. Check him out over at iMDB. Visually, well, he’s got it. Bardem is stockier, for sure, but I never saw Roland in my mind’s eye as a brutish/athletic type; moreso, he is a scrawnier, deceptively physical being. Keep in mind the mantra of being true to his aim and seeing the face of his father, etc. that has been ingrained into his soul since childhood whenever he engages in violence with those sandalwood guns. Yes, Bardem can surely pull of that “violent”, imposing vibe (a la No Country for Old Men), but only physically. Malevolence shines through, to his credit. But, to me, Roland is more than that. His violent deeds run much deeper than the mere act of committing them - his soul, his third eye of sorts, his heart, all of that, is involved. His whole “ka” is into it, and there is a calculated reason for everything combined with his instincts. Tough blend of qualities to try to portray onscreen. Now, imagine Bardem vs. Day Lewis. I’ve been ruminating about this, and I have to say that I feel like the comparison is like trying to choose a fighting superhero underwater whereby your choices are either Batman or Aquaman. Day Lewis gets the nod. If I were Ron Howard, I’d get on the phone.

Just my $0.02 of course, and I thought I’d add to the discussion during this lull period.

Check out the screen stills of Daniel Day Lewis, esp. this one (imagine in Roland’s getup): http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2517143040/nm0000358

Now, amazingly, here’s both Day Lewis and Bardem in the same shot at the Academy Awards. I’ll go with the guy on the left, even though I think Bardem has the chops and can, indeed, pull off most of Roland’s essence; but Day Lewis seems more of a perfect fit, imo. http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4188182016/nm0000358

Maestro208 – February 21st, 2011
Very well laid out points Maestro208, I agree with everything you say, I still think Bardam has the ability to pull off all aspects of Roland he just hasn’t be given the opportunity to do it on screen yet, he either plays bad guys or good guys, where as Roland really transends good and evil, he is good in the sense he believes in justice ect but he is bad in the sense that if given a choice between the dark tower and well anything else, 9 out of 10 times he chooses the tower regardless of the consequences.

A big part of me wants Bardem to get the role as I feel given the chance he will excel, Day Lewis is a safer bet in essence but Bardem needs opportunities like this to grow as an actor.

stonie104 – February 22nd, 2011
Fair enough, stonie. It’s fun to speculate, and, to Bardem’s credit, I can see more mass appeal because he’s more recognizable to general audiences, but I’m sticking with him as my #2 choice behind my #1 choice in Day Lewis (for the aforementioned reasons upthread). I’ve heard that Day Lewis only comes out of his cave for exceptional roles/scripts that are to his liking, so he’s probably a longshot, anyway… but I think he’d be a perfect fit if Ron Howard could somehow plant a seed of interest for his agent. Versatility is key, and the look, the eyes, the accent (Bardem’s challenge) are all secondary, but Day Lewis still has a full house. Can’t believe I didn’t think of him earlier! If Bardem signs off on this, I’d love to see how his accent is incorporated into the tale. Personally, I think that’s a good thing because Roland doesn’t speak standard “American” or “British” English, anyway. Lots of healthy wiggle room there.

But, then again… Day Lewis pulling off some interesting twist of Gilead’s High Speech inspires confidence, as well. But, I digress….

Maestro208 – February 22nd, 2011
Javier Bardem, no way. How about Liam Neeson….. he’s tall and slender, like Roland. And here is a wild concept…… he can ACT!!!

AXXE – February 22nd, 2011
Jake Gyllenhaal as Eddie >> http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0350453/

Rutina Wesley as Susannah >> http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2179180/

Gattlin Griffith as Jake (maybe) >> http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1072959/

AXXE – February 22nd, 2011
Javier Bardem is 6’0” and Viggo Mortensen is 5’11” unless the rest of the cast are a bunch of short people niether of these two are right in my book. They are both great actors (I know less of Javier Bardem), but they are physically NOT Roland. I mean come on anyone remember the phrase “Ole Tall, Dark, and Ugly”!!! Liam Neeson is 6’4” with a lanky frame, an outstanding actor and in my humble oppinion the perfect fit.

Christian Bale not a chance… too young and too short.

AXXE – February 22nd, 2011
I agree with the Daniel Day-Lewis as Roland casting idea. He’s a pretty good fuckin actor and I think he could portray him well. As for Liam Neeson…no way. Maybe Steven Deschain. But they might not even show Steven Deschain anyways, or a lot of characters for that matter, seein as they plan on squishin all these books together to try and make a trilogy.

Ace – February 22nd, 2011
A trilogy AND 2 mini series :) those 2 mini series will make a big difference if done well, in fact the first mini series st in between the 1st and 2nd film is set almost entirely during Rolands youth so Im pretty Stephen Descain will crop up somewhere ;)

stonie104 – February 23rd, 2011
I have read all of the books, I could never picture anyone else but Clint for the role. Alas, I have to agree that he is much too old now for the role. I am not sure I agree with Mr. Howard’s choice, but hopefully, he knows what he is doing. After reading the posts, I have to agree that Daniel Day Lewis would be an excellent choice.

lisaspups – February 23rd, 2011
@ALL FANS I have had this casting discussion with , at least, 15 different fans and the consensus is Put trust in RH, SK, and the casting directors. Because when it really comes down to it , we ALL want them (movies and series) to live up to some pretty tough standards and critics(the fans). Let’s keep the fingers crossed and squeeze the leprechaun for good luck. Hey stonie

Gunslinger9teen – February 23rd, 2011
couldnt of said it better myself Gunslinger9teen, its in RH and SK hands now, lets let them roll with it and keep our fingers crossed :D

stonie104 – February 23rd, 2011
Agreed, folks. I’d be fine enough with Javier Bardem to not cringe, and hope that he sucks us into the world and psyche of the Roland that we’ve all come to love. Daniel Day Lewis would appear to be the easiest near-perfect fit, so I’m still wishing for that casting decision from left field, but at the end of the day, RH and SK’s decisions to do this the right way are paramount to this either flopping, becoming a “meh” showing that audiences get tired of quickly, or surprising the loyal fans into huge smiles along with drawing 3 (successfully entertaining movies). Streamlining with the t.v. mini-series is going to be very important, as well, and don’t forget about the audio/soundtrack/score. That was something that LOST totally nailed and it was truly unique to the show. I hope for the same from RH’s crew.

Fingers officially crossed

Maestro208 – February 23rd, 2011
Long days and pleasant nights to all fans new and seasoned-Gunslinger9teen

Gunslinger9teen – February 23rd, 2011
I don’t like this choice, personally. But my personal choice would never happen anyway. (I would love to see Michael Biehn play the role.) He’s a little older, sure: but so was Roland!

Viggo Mortenson would also be a great choice though. He had the perfect balance between scary-looking and handsome that was described in the books.

Stillborne – February 23rd, 2011
Michael Biehn has had some great roles in some awesome films, Terminator and Aliens to name just 2….. but is he a good enough actor to play such a complex character as Roland…. sorry no way.

Again Viggo just isn’t good enough compared to the competition, and the balance between scary looking and handsome could just as easily be applied to both Bardem and Day Lewis, more so in fact then Mortenson.

stonie104 – February 24th, 2011
Bruce Campbell for Cort!

With that out of the way, I agree that Michael Biehn would make an excellent choice, but this discussion could go on forever.

So I have an idea: can we play “Trite Hollywood Casting Game?” The purpose, essentially, is to choose the big-name actors who seem to get cast in things left and right and would be completely out of place in their respective roles. It’s fun!

I’ll start:

Roland: Bruce Willis Eddie: Robert Pattinson Susannah: Jada Pinkett Smith (I REALLY don’t like her) Jake: don’t know my kid actors well enough Walter: Colin Farrell

And…that’s all I’ve got for the moment.

Actually, are any of you familiar with a young actor by the name of Sterling Knight? I think he’d make a great young Roland (W&G) if they end up going with someone other than Bardem.

Alysia – February 24th, 2011
First of all, I am thrilled this series is finally being made for the big and small screen. I know some folks are claiming real King fans won’t want to see it but the fact is I am a huge fan of cinema and I don’t look for the same things in a movie adaptation that I do in the books. I love Lord of the Rings but its PJ’s vision of Middle Earth.. if I want Tolkien’s then I’ll read the damn books. Same goes for TDT.

King has a good history with Hollywood, and his original screenplays and short stories have had great success. If he is not worried about the adaptation then neither am I. If you are looking for a totally faithful adaptation then you are a fool - film and books are two totally different mediums and the best you can hope for is the spirit of the story and characters - I think Howard is more then capable of delivering this. I think Howard is perfect to take the wheel for this series - he is experienced, a great director and has done some really awesome movies. I get the feeling he wants a big project and there are few bigger then TDT.

Roland was ALWAYS going to be hard to cast, his age changes through the series, and although his action sequences might be something Viggo is capable of now this project is going to be at least five years… maybe ten. Viggo is already in his mid fifties, will he still be capable of what is required of Roland in ten years time? I think he may be capable but I am not sure if he would want to commit to another long project or taint the character of Roland with that of Aragorn. Getting someone who people are less familiar with but who is as experienced and artistic and a great actor like Viggo is the best thing for this series.

Why people are worried about Bardem’s eye colour (HELLO LENSES!) or his accent is beyond me… have you seen No Country for Old Men? I didn’t even know he was Spanish until recently. I love this scene btw - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhXJcfczNIc

For me a great choice for Flagg would be Ben Foster. See his performance in 3:10 to Yuma. :D

Loki – February 26th, 2011
Bruce willis? rober pattinson? colin farrel?? XDDDD WTF!!!!!

CEASAR – February 26th, 2011
I just can’t see this guy playing Roland, he’s just not right for the part. I agree with others that it should be someone less known. Viggo would be able to pull it off, but he’s still Aragorn in most peoples eyes. I’d like to see Mads Mikkelsen http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0586568/ play Roland, if anyone has seen him in King Arthur they’d know he has the presence needed. I keep thinking about how Roland almost never smiles and the way it lights him up and changes him, Mads is like that. He’s got hazel eyes, but that can be fix with contacts. It’s all about the presence and Bardem just doesn’t have Rolands.

On a side not, I think Christian Bale (think American Psycho, naked with a chainsaw = naked bun fight?) would make a good Eddie, and I’ve ALWAYS seen Jada Pinkett Smith (think Demon Knight) as Susannah.

Jessy G – February 26th, 2011
Another side note (since I just saw the comment), Daniel Day Lewis would not be a good Roland, but he would make a great Eldred Jonas. I also agree that Jake Gyllenhaal as Eddie could be good too.

Jessy G – February 26th, 2011
I’ll watch no matter who they cast but here are my thoughts (or those of others that I like :))

Roland - Timothy Olyphant Eddie - Casey Affleck Susannah - Thandie Newton Jake - the boy from The Road Walter - Christoph Waltz from Inglourious Basterds Cort - Mickey Rourke Eldred Jonas - Christopher Walken

Kevin M – February 26th, 2011
Here is my opinion, everyone seems to be throwing there hat into the ring so why not me!!
Nicholas Cage- Really? We dont someone with the same expression on their face throughout the entire movie. Hugh Laurie- not even going to touch that one. Bruce Campbell- Not right for anything in this series. Viggo- Not bad at all, I think he may have to much acting past though, so we would associate him with too many other roles Willis- Again, not terrible, but I dont think he has the voice, yeah he can yell, but you need some one that can command with a sofly spoken word, not just a screaming yetti.

Now I think Javier Bardem could work very well, when I first heard the name, my initial reaction was, “Who?” I still havent seen No Country though. And I really believe everyone is selling him short, underestimating him that is. I believe he will have no problem hiding his accent and after watching some youtube clips of him, I believe he has the vocal capacity to pull it off. Everyone is freaking out about the eyes, well in my opinion NO ONE has the eyes to pull it off. The only thing I can think of on this planet that does is an Alaskan Husky. You see them, and its like they are staring directly into your very existence as a human, right into your soul. And the only way you can achieve with anyone is contacts. So please relax people.

Now with my opinion of Roland out of the way, here is my bit on everyone else.

Jake- Justin Bieber, just cause I want to watch him die several times/different ways. ok kidding everyone, keep that punk as far away as these movies as possible. I think Preston Bailey could do it well, and that is the truth.

Eddie Dean- Several come to mind, Norton, Ryan Reynolds, NOT JAKE GYLENHAAL he is such a box office drag.

Susannah- This is one that I have had problems with, I dont want Halle Berry, or Brandi, or Beyonce, My first thought was, I wish Michele Rodriguez was black.

Susan Delgado- Sophia Myles

Well, I am tired and my wife is telling me to go to sleep, so I will leave off there for now, and oh my this has gotten quite long, my apologies.

Thegreatdalmooty – February 28th, 2011
ok so I will be honest, I did not know Sophia Myles was that old, they made her look young for tristan and isolde, but now I dont know. I know that we usually associate this actress with stupid teeny bopper stuff, but she may be able to pull it off, but how about Hayden Pannettire?

Thegreatdalmooty – February 28th, 2011
Daniel Day Lewis as Roland? Too old? I’m not sold on the idea, just kicking it around so don’t be too harsh in judgment haha.

thecoltrain – February 28th, 2011
What about Carl Urban or Zachary Quinto in the film? I’m not sure who they would play, but both very good up and coming actors. As far as quality of acting, I think Quinto has it, but as far as “the look” of Roland, Urban is superior.

thecoltrain – February 28th, 2011
I’ll take a stab at “Trite Hollywood Casting Game”:

Roland - John Malkovich Eddie - Topher Grace Susannah - Halle Barry Jake - the guy who plays Harry Potter (He’s had ten years of playin a teenager, he might as well keep playin one…lol) Flagg (the ageless stranger) - Christian Bale

Ace – February 28th, 2011
Ace, you rock. Thanks for playing along. Topher grace as Eddie is a SPECTACULAR choice (for the game).

And Harry Potter as Jake would be splendid….in that Hollywood sorta way.

Alysia – March 1st, 2011
To the people saying Roland isn’t Latino, Hispanic, whatever. How the hell do you know?? All we really truly know is blue eyes, and anyone can have any colour of eyes. I approve strongly of the choice of Bardem: intense, not too well known. Viggo is awesome, and the right age, not at ALL too old as was suggested. However, he’s already an icon as Aragorn…it would be irritating for a lot of people to watch him in another epic this way. Not to mention, he has a nasty habit of letting his voice go high and nasal (really pay attention in LOTR), and it’s just not a Roland thing. He’d have to pay as much attention to his voice as Bardem would his accent. Oh, and….the person who said John Malkovich for Roland. With all due respect….you’re a moron.

Mel – March 1st, 2011
Mel: I fully agree. Loved LOTR, but Strider/Aragorn was always more the stoic type with a medium to deeper timbre to his voice in my mind. A rough, weary, battle-tested tracker of sorts. That higher, nasal voice always got to me, but, overall, that was a superb performance and he did it justice by the end of the trilogy. To far too many, Viggo IS Aragorn, and that = mind confusion for a majority of Ron Howard’s audience, imo. Bardem can pull it off, and he deserves the chance to show us all what he’s got as be becomes Roland. I am not worried at all, but all of this depends on whether or not he will sign on for the long haul here. Day Lewis is still my #1 pick. Too old? HARDLY! How old is Roland? Day Lewis has not only the look, the subtleties of his own personal character that lend themselves very favorable to the character of Roland, but also the ACTING CHOPS to nail this. He would be an immediate impact onscreen with nary a complaint from DT fans. All in my humble opinion, of course, but I rest my case there. Topher as Eddie? He’s my college buddy’s high school friend, so, personally, I have a hard time seeing that unfold, but I can see where you’re coming from with that recommendation. I like Casey Affleck for the part, but I think Eddie is probably the most fun to find an “unknown” for. Don’t you think whomever plays Eddie, and does him well, would find an instant boost in his career? :) Javier Bardem… let’s give him a chance if this rumor is for real.

(I LOVE the idea of Mickey Rourke as Cort! He’s still sort of an under-the-radar B-list guy, right?)

Maestro208 – March 2nd, 2011
Maestro: Daniel Day Lewis is interesting, and has the heart to do it, but I’m not sure why..the idea just makes me giggle. I’m not sure he can pull off that almost-bereft-entirely-of-humour thing that Roland’s got going on. I find Day Lewis to have a sneaky and playful sense of humour that is always kind of there. It might come across as contrived for him to be so stoic. BUT that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t go for it as a challenge! And he can ‘cut loose’ in the rare moments when Roland makes a joke, I guess :P
Eddie is a tough one for me as well. Unlike many other characters, I don’t picture someone I’ve already seen standing in his place while reading. Ben Barnes is nearly perfect, but too old now. http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1773048320/nm1602660. I guess today if I HAD to choose, it’d be Alex here http://www.imdb.com/media/rm765901312/nm1641117. But MAN would we have to get him dirty. Hair longer, get some major stubble and dirt ground into that boy :P He’s the right age and has the range, and can take it from pretty boy to rugged mess.
If only Luke Benward http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0972851/ wasn’t too old now, he’d have been an incredible Jake! (Another tough one for me now…haven’t seen alot of 11 year olds up to it recently. And should be cast at 10 to be honest, so he can last as young in the part.)

Mel – March 2nd, 2011
Ok just read online that producer Brian Grazer commented on Bardems negotiations…..

“He’s locked in psychologically,” Grazer said. “He really wants to do it, so we’re absolutely rooting for him to do it.”

This is by no means a confirmed acceptance but I’m just glad it is progressing.

@Mel I agree completly, but just to say that your comment regarding the individual who said John Malcovich as Roland being a moron was a tad moronic, as ACE was selecting a list of people that Hollywood seem to cast in a lot of films irrespective of thier suitability for the role in question, just a game Mel.

stonie104 – March 2nd, 2011
@maestro208 Im not realy sure what Rourke is any more, he has recently had some A-list roles but I think to me he will always be the B-movie, crazy motherf@cker I know and love, I could definatly see him as Cort or even Jonas.

stonie104 – March 2nd, 2011
Hahaha! EXACTLY, stonie!

Also, this could really catapult a relative unknown if he takes on Eddie’s character and does well with him.

Maestro208 – March 2nd, 2011
You who I think would be cool for Henry dean? Adrock from the Beast Boys. I think it be funny if he could pull it off.

junin – March 3rd, 2011
“True fans don’t want to see it on film”? Really? I should think a true fan would want to get the name out to as many people who haven’t been exposed as possible. It’s an industry fact that sales go up when the film comes out. The film makes people want to read the book to see the differences. And in 99% of the cases the new reader will come out saying the books are better anyway. Its a win win.

And for the record, I wanted Hugh Laurie. But Javier Bardem is fine with me. I had nerd rage at the thought of Christian Bale. He’s just too young. Viggo might have been all right, but he’s not tall enough.

Gamma – March 3rd, 2011
Please anyone but him. I would much rather see Timothy Olyphant, Mark Harmon, or even Brad Pitt. This guys just does not look like Roland to me. His build is much to big. Oh if only Clint Eastwood were younger.

Tanya – March 3rd, 2011
@Stonie: I must have missed that whole ACE thing! If that’s the case, then I apologize for the moron comment. There’s so much content here :P And I’m GLAD; I’m excited to see people getting stoked. Maybe my friends will actually read these books now; so many don’t like SK (blasphemy), but this story isn’t what people think of when they think of typical SK! I think it is ICONIC SK, meaning a deeply psychological and symbolic story, but those who don’t read all of his work don’t actually seem to understand his writing. That presence is there even in the ‘shallower’ stories..you know, the meal ticket ones :P In this, what seems to be his magnum opus, he gets to showcase his true genius, and I want the world to be exposed to it, in any form! @Gamma: Hugh Laurie is so damn awesome, but I cannot see him as Roland. The whole time I’d be like “dude, House is so SERIOUS today.” Yet another reason why I support Bardem; I consider him a better chameleon for this part, and again…less well known. Maybe after this part he’ll have the same problem as Viggo :P But what a way to earn it!

Mel – March 3rd, 2011
@ Mel - Yeah, that’s the problem: Hugh and Viggo already “are” the living embodiment of the House and Aragorn characters. Just ask, well… anyone! Too tough to differentiate and clean the mental slate of association because those two characters are now iconic to the masses. Great term, “chameleon” - that’s what we need for Roland’s character. So… imo, Christian Bale is out, as are Viggo and Hugh. That leaves Bardem (front-runner in contract talks), Day Lewis (pipe dream at the moment), and [unknown], who could suprise, much like the cast of LOST did to everyone for several years….

Maestro208 – March 3rd, 2011
I will give this guy the benifit of the doubt. If SK signs off on him then why not. As for the other names being kicked around her, some are just stupid .. Nick Cage? … really now? As for the other characters, Sam Elliot has to be Eldrid, and I like some of the cast from The Losers for the roles, Jeffery Dean Morgan as Roland, Zoe Saldana as Susanna and Chris Evans as Eddie. Just my two cents.

Shaggy Dogg – March 3rd, 2011
I’d like to see Clive Owen as Roland (Sin City, Shoot ‘Em Up). I don’t think he smiled once during either of those movies, so we know he could handle that aspect. She may be getting a little too old for the part, but Vivica A. Fox would be a great Susannah (well a great Detta Walker at the very least). Ian McShane for the Man in Black/Walter, or maybe for Eldred Jonas and I love the suggestion of Casey Affleck for Eddie.

The Walkin' Dude – March 4th, 2011
The gunslinger should not look like a thick faced, Spanish NFL offensive lineman. The books have described him as tall, lean, and as thin hipped as a teenage boy. Get a noname actor with chops rather than some of the names they have tossed out there. Ron, don’t f*** this up.

jt wrongmeat – March 4th, 2011
I have read the Dark Tower series dozens of times. As someone else pointed out, Roland is not hispanic. He is described as tall, thin, gangly, and old. I think the best person to play him would be an aged Timothy Olyphant. I think he fit the part perfectly. Javier Bardem is overall too big for the part. But I am thrilled beyond words that the books will finally become movies. I really hope they make it into 7 mini series and not try to cram all the book into a couple of movies.

Kathy – March 4th, 2011
I agree with raiderg that Timothy Olyphant would play Roland well. However, I also agree that RH and SK have a lot more knowledge and experience in this field and will pick whomever they feel is right for the role.

I’m just pleased that the books are finally being made into film and hope that the do make it more than 3

rosered78 – March 5th, 2011
Pease no not Javier Bardem as Roland.

Cast him as anybody but NOT Roland.

Honestly Javier Bardem would be a great Walter. We now he does Evil well.

Dingo

Dingo – March 5th, 2011
Just got sucked into reading everyone’s comments (kudos to everybody) and couldn’t believe it took so long for Daniel Day Lewis to get mentioned. I also think that Hugh Laurie has a great look for the part, but know nothing of his talent as an actor. Someone early on mentioned Sharlto Copley, and that intrigued me as well. Please disregard his role in “The A-Team” and watch him in “District 9” - great actor with a south african accent that could be altered into something great for the role. I guess I’ll belabor the point about Roland fitting a particular stereotypical nationality. I always felt that Mejas had a very Spanish feel, but was far from Gilead - so I never pictured Roland as spanish. That doesn’t mean that Bardem isn’t capable of pulling it off.

As for the others - while he’s not what I pictured reading the books, I think Edward James Olmos would be perfect for Cort. He can play a tough guy with the best of them, and the word “weathered” doesn’t even begin to do his look justice.
Christopher Walken or maybe Hugo Weaving as Walter; although I think Timothy Olyphant would also be great here, as well as a possibility for Roland. I think Jake’s the hardest, with Eddie a close second, but I’ll weigh in with any revelations once I have a chance to think a little more.

Eastwood has to be Steven Deschain if his character makes the movies. I think two characters that haven’t been mentioned, but could be a lot of fun to cast are Cuthbert and Alain - any ideas?

kmann – March 6th, 2011
Meh, not how I imagined Roland would look but certainly not the worst choice. I reckon Bale would have been ok with a change of voice & less glam.

However there is only one person who in my mind would ever be Roland: Clint Eastwood.

Joseph – March 6th, 2011
I read about half the comments here, and the only thing i can say is that for me, Roland was always pictured as this: He has deep blue bombardier eyes, he is thin and rough, his hands are telling stories just by looking at them. He has the vision of an eagle, the patience of a lion waiting for it’s prey. I read all books several times, and the only two men to fit the character are my Dad and…Ed Harris! I could easily put about the same description for both of them. Please, Ron Howard! Think about that! And everybody, please lose the Clint Eastwood idea. I agree he would be a great Roland…20 years ago! I also think Javier Bardem is a good actor, i don’t know what, but something’s missing…not enough authenticity maybe. When i see the person who’ll play Roland, i want the world around to turn in sepia, i want to hear an old piano, i want to smell the dry odor of the desert sand around me, i want to hear nothing but the wind and the leather boots on the cracky old thirsty ground….and Javier Bardem is NOT bringing any of that emotion to me. He is a great actor, but he is not Roland to me. Anyway, this is just an opinion. There will always be somebody who don’t agree with the choice. It’s normal, we’re all different human beeings. My only true wish is that the story stay intact. Que vos nuits soient longues et vos journées agréables. Morgane

Morgane – March 7th, 2011
Welcome to this board, kmann. I agree about Daniel Day Lewis, although I’m cool with having confidence in Bardem, as well, but you know that already. Alain and Cuthbert? How about Joshua Jackson for Alain (currently of Fringe)? I can see him with “the touch”, and he has that baby face to play the younger character.

Maestro208 – March 7th, 2011
OK, I know that this topic has been all but beaten to a pulp . . .

But, I’d like to ad an alternate thought. The SOUND of Roland. For those of you who’ve LISTENED to the unabridged Audio book versions (and, ahem, not the versions by King’s favorite voice Frank Mueller . . . but, the versions read by George Guidall) I really Really REALLY like the voice that George Guidall gave Roland. It SOUNDS perfect!

dab

dab – March 8th, 2011
hello to everyone. @stonie and @gunslinger9teen. Specially. I’m certainly a new reader of the book, like many other probably, I start to read it at the ending of 2009, and I’m still captivated reading it (slowly but continuesly) and in the 4th book so far. So I’m not a fervient-dogmatic fan still. But discusing it with my exgilrfriend who introduced me to the BT series (who,by the way, is a fan to the bone), got me thinking a few ideas. What do you think of these ideas I’ve been pulling of so far?: Roland - kevin bacon. Has the looks, the experience in acting, probably the time since I haven’t seen him in a role lately. Altough I also like Bardem. Eddie dean- jake gyllenhal (has acting skills, can do the yunkie part well and the sarcastic-ironic humor weel). Susanah- I’m between thandie newton and zoe saldana. Really open to anyone that can pull the detta walker in herself – like a samuel jackson-chick “listen’ Motherf**r– and still act reserved and politely the second later. Jake- not sure though The Man in Black/Walter- Christopher Walken Steve Deschain-Keith Carradine (like in Deadwood) The Crimson King - Clint Eastwood. Probably the bad guy, but what a bad guy indeed, and still the recognition for him in the movie.

Well that’s all so far. Hope you all fans of the Black Tower around the world are going well. Let’s continue reading good books, new and old ones from diverse authors from diverse countries. Fraternaly Ra.fenix84 from Mexico.

Ra.Fenix – March 8th, 2011
PS: I thank I got a good translate edition of the book, ‘cause it has made me value and understand it more. And also, don’t fight because the LOTR saga, it is good on it’s own, just like the BT, each one made in his own period of time. Remember the LOTR saga together with the movies of sergio leone serves an inspiration for Mr.King BT (in my edition he says it in the introduction). Without them BT probly wouldn’t be the same. And also, that the actors of LOTR movies didn’t have that much resemblance since everyone of them ended wearing contact lenses and wigs and some, even prosthetics on the face.

Ra.Fenix – March 8th, 2011
Javier Bardem, really?! Why not just cast a Russian to play James Bond? An old American West Cowboy is the last thing that comes to mind when I look at freaking Javier Bardem. Good actor in his own right but come on folks let’s not kid ourselves.

If Javier is Ron Howard’s first and most favored choice to play Roland then allow me to quote our dear Gunslinger shortly after he lost the two main fingers of his right hand in book 2 Drawing of the 3. “I see serious problems ahead” for these DT movies/TV series.

David – March 9th, 2011
I agree, Roland is not spanish! Javier is a great acter, but I dont think he is the answer to Roland. Viggo all the way! I wish Clint Eastwood were younger, because he would be PERFECT!

Brandi – March 9th, 2011
I accept the apology…I was merely playin a game of….what was it called? “Trite Hollywood Casting”. I think this series of movies will be great. Ron Howard’s a great director and has been in the business for longer than I’ve been alive so I think he’ll do good concerning the book fans as well as movie fans. As a recent fan of the books I must say I can’t wait til the movies come out. The books will always be better than the movies but its fun to get a vizualization of the characters and see what a seasoned movie maker like Ron Howard will make onscreen. Oh yeah John Malkavich as Roland, ya’ll like that? Lmao!!! Nobody would be more worse for the part. I do like the idea somebody said of Zoe Saldana being cast as Susannah though. I think she would be perfect. Think of the snarling alien she played on Avatar then imagine her as Detta Walker tryin to kill them on the beach in Drawing of the Three. And she is very beautiful. She would be perfect. Ron if your readin this blog…please cast Zoe Saldana as Susannah and make me a happy person. Anyways peace until next time gunslinger fans.

Ace – March 9th, 2011
James Franco FOR: Eddie Dean

AXIOMA – March 9th, 2011
Hile, I am re-reading Wolves of the Calla for the 23rd time…and I just came to realize that Clint Eastwood would make a GREAT Pere Callahan. I think it would work out pretty good. Maybe a little old, but can definitely seem him as the Padre.

@stonie104 Hey Stonie, how’s life across the water for you. Not to bad here on the Pacific Northwest. By the way Stonie…didn’t we decide this already?

Gunslinger9teen – March 10th, 2011
if this guy doesn’t do it they should get sawyer from lost, He’d be good

mike – March 10th, 2011
Ok, found myself with an unexpectedly free afternoon and just reread The Gunslinger. I always thought that Roland’s age was very unclear as many have pointed out, however there seems to be fairly straightforward math in this early part of the story.
1. Gilead fell 10 years after Roland and Cuthbert turned in Hax and watched him hang. Roland’s age isn’t known yet at that point.
2. Roland’s coming of age was 3 years after the Hax incident, and he was 14 at that time. So, Gilead fell when he was about 21.
3. He left Gilead after the fall to chase down the Man in Black. That chase took 12 years, so he was roughly 33 when he caught up.
4. He awoke from their ‘palaver’ 10 years older. That puts him at about 43 years old at the start of “The Drawing of the Three.”
I certainly never pictured the gunslinger from the first book as being in his ealy 30’s, mainly because he seems to have so much past. I know this isn’t important, but I think it’s interesting that we all seem to picture him being older that his years (assuming that I didn’t miss something to add to his age). He clearly seems older in the other books, and I think that will be the Roland that gets cast for the movies.
kmann – March 10th, 2011
@Kmann Nice deduction of Roland’s age. Pretty cool. Not to change the subject, but I received an e-mail telling me about The Dark Tower 4.5. It tells the story of the Ka-tet after the Emerald castle and before coming into Calla Bryn Sturgis. Can’t wait for that. We’ll talk to all you DT fans soon. It’s Friday too. C:(>

Gunslinger9teen – March 11th, 2011
Yeah the new book set to be released next year, The Wind Through The Keyhole. It will be interesting to see if they include this+ the comic spin-offs in the films/TV series. Ha anyone thought of Bill Compton, of True Blood fame as Roland. He is a little young true but he has the seriousness and the look however with a strained humour side to him. I would like to see Bardem as Roland though although it’s all very confusing at the mo with all the speculations. I definatly think Gary Oldman for the character of Walter/Flagg/Marten or maybe in a Dr Parnassusesque (Tim Burton film) way have 3 different actors playing him to show how they were all the same man yet at different times playing different roles in the Dark Tower universe. The Crimson King would be difficult to cast, i honestly have no clue, and Mordred? a kid out of the adams family lol?

Zak of The Eld – March 11th, 2011
With all the talk about who will play Roland, we have forgotten the most important role, The Dark Tower itself. My first choice is Keanu Reeves. Just look at his performance in the Matrix series, in the sunglasses and the black robe, he totally reminded me of the Dark Tower. Watching the Lord of the Rings, I could’ve sworn Gandalf was sitting on top of Keanu’s head at one point. My second choice would be David Duchovny of X-files fame. But I don’t think The Dark Tower is made of wood.

Slow Mutant – March 12th, 2011
Viggo all the way! His long lanky limbs dancing the comalla. The way, like in A History of Violence, he can be so remote. In the movie particularly, I can feel Roland’s conflicted internal headspace. Dye his hair brown, put a faded chambray shirt on him, and no one else would suit the large revolvers with the ironwood grips better than he.

RMoon – March 12th, 2011
Ya know the more that I hear that Viggo Mortensen should play Roland, the more I dislike the idea of him playin Roland. He did carry the Lord of the Rings trilogy well as a leader of their quest and I think he’s a great actor but I don’t think that Roland and Aragorn are all that similiar. Well maybe thats too strong. They’re kind of alike but I guess its just that Roland’s kind of an obsessed killer and Aragorn’s kind of a noble knight and heir to be king. And the way that I’m comparing them and the way that many would argue against me is the reason that I wouldn’t want him to play Roland. There would be too much association between to the two characters. Besides Viggo’s already got him a badass trilogy…why not give someone else a shot to be our hero?

Ace – March 13th, 2011
exactly Ace exactly, if Viggo was Roland, there would always be the comparison for whoever watches it between Roland and Aragorn. Whilst i love The Dark Tower, because LOTR is so mainstream there will be plenty then that jus criticise DT as a LOTR rip off if Viggo got the role.

Zak of The Eld – March 13th, 2011
Whatever happened to a “lean” Roland? Roland’s character must be cast as it was written, and that is as a tall, lean, muscular man. Javier Bardem is not a lean individual, he is a broad individual. His acting is great, and he has great potential for this character, but that dosn’t mean there isn’t someone better. I believe it would be best if we take into account both the appearence and the skill of the actor meant to play this crucial role. The series is being brought to the big screen for the enjoyment of those who haven’t read the books as well as for the adoring fans of the series. This film must be made as accuratly as possible in order to convey the same story to the movie viewer as the book did to the reader. I’d feel much more comfortable with a protagonist who didn’t look as if he starred the villan in a James Bond film. Though I don’t know if Viggo would be the perfect fit, Bardem is definatly not. Hopefully someone will offer up a better option that will satisfy all, but until that day, I cast my vote Viggo.

JDWB – March 14th, 2011
Javier Bardem. Worst casting ever.

Rhyan W – March 15th, 2011
I’ve noticed quite a few people who disapprove of Bardem because he is too short, or not thin enough, or (this is the stupidest one) Roland is not a Spaniard. Folks please don’t take this the wrong way, but that just doesn’t make sense.

First let’s address the height issue.
How tall is Roland? Can anyone tall me his exact height? No, because SK never comes right out and writes Roland is this many feet or cm tall. He just describes Roland as being tall and thin. Of course after crossing “the apotheosis of all deserts” and eating nothing but scraps of old beef jerky anyone would be thin. In fact, by the fifth book the whole Katet would be thin. As far as height is concerned, I always pictured Roland to be about 6 feet 2 inches tall.

Height is relative. I live in the US I’m about 5foot10. Anything between 5-10 and 6 feet is average height to me. So 6-2 would seem like a good height for Roland. In the last book Roland meets the daughter, or granddaughter of that guy Moses who was in charge of the Tet Corporation. She’s described as being tall also, in fact she was taller than Roland. Now for a woman 6-3 or 6-4 is very tall. There are women in the WNBA that are that tall. So for me Roland is 6-2 and about 175 to 170 pounds.

Is Bardem 6 foot 2? No. does he weigh 170 lb.? No, but so what. The Vampire Lestat is 6 feet tall. This is written in the novels. He is also described as having a short narrow nose, blue gray eyes, blond hair, and full sensuous lips. If the director based his decision on that, he would have picked Brad Pitt to play Lestat in the movie, but he didn’t. Instead he chose Tom Cruise who is about 5 foot 7, has brown hair, and green eyes. Yet somehow they made him look tall, blond, and gave him blue eyes. How did they do it? Oh yeah It’s called the magic of Hollywood. Look, if 50cent can lose 40 pounds in order to play an ex-jock with cancer, than Bardem can lose 20 pounds for this movie, and like many other folk already pointed out, they can give him blue contacts.

So that covers the height and weight issue. So what about the whole Roland is not a Spaniard thing? Well, that’s true, but what is Roland? Is he Chinese? No. Is he European? No. Is he Indian? No. how about black, is he black? No. Is he American? Guess what, he’s not American.

Roland is from another world folks. The idea that he looks and talks like an American cowboy from the Wild West is wrong. He is never described that way in the books. People just picture him like that because they associate him with Clint Eastwood. Roland is closer to a knight than a cowboy. I would say he is more like one of the Knights of the Round Table, chasing the mystical Holy Grail. Except that he has guns instead of a sword. My point is that when choosing an actor for the role, the film makers have to choose based on acting talent, and whether or not he actor can capture the essence of the character.

junin – March 15th, 2011
Well said junin, couldnt of said it better myself

stonie104 – March 15th, 2011
Not happy with this choice. I’m sure the guy is a fine actor, but he isn’t anywhere near how I pictured the gunslinger.

Mutilatedlips – March 15th, 2011
The glaring truth is that no actor today is equal to a young Clint Eastwood, in looks, intensity or presence in all his cowboy movies. In the novels, there are colored pictures of the characters, and one of them shows Roland looking almost exactly like Timothy Dalton, ex-James Bond. He is a bit old now, but has the looks, height and intensity. A quiet brooding danger.

Slow Mutant – March 16th, 2011
I think Roland looks different in every single illustration in the books lol. All of the artists had their own version of him. So who can be the judge of exactly what he looks like? If Ron Howard casts Javier Bardem than thats it. Thats what he looks like.

Ace – March 16th, 2011
If Javier gets the role and does badass ya’lls gonna be eatin your words…lol!

Ace – March 16th, 2011
Ok, so reading all these posts, I read that some say that TRUE Dark Tower fans will not watch this movie. Excuse me! I am a TRUE Dark Tower fan. I have read these books countless times. Roland’s age is never given and Javier Bardem would be good for this role. He just needs to wear contacts. If you don’t think that he will be good for this role and he ends up getting cast, then don’t watch the movie. I am not sure how true to the books this movie will be since they are condensing them all into 3 movies, but I will watch them regardless because I simply can never get enough of anything that has to do with the Dark Tower, including the books, short stories, and comic books. They all add to the mystique and love for Roland. I also agree with one of the writers who stated that Roland has been on his journey many times, over and over again, and will do so until he gets the journey just right!

Luulia – March 16th, 2011
I may’ve missed this in previous posts, but has anyone suggested Daniel Craig as Roland? Take a look at - http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1799063296/nm0185819 if you’re having trouble visualizing it.

Scattervision – March 16th, 2011
Exaclty righ Ace, every artist be it official or unnoficial has portrayed Roland differently, even SK himself has contradicted descriptions in the books, with some prep, wardrobe, and make up Bardem will be close enough in look to pass as roland, and simply put he is more then capable skill wise.

@slowmutant Ok my next comments will probably get some backlash but hey, Clint Eastwood is talented, no denying it but he is by no means a master of his craft, his directing is much superior then his acting in my opinion, simply put, even if Eastwood was younger I just wouldnt cast him as Roland, he is just too rigid and dare I say it…. bland, he just is not skilled enough to pull off the complexity that the role of Roland will require, sorry but I think if you all look deep down in your hearts you know im right ;)

Dont get me started on Timothy Dalton….

stonie104 – March 16th, 2011
Personally i agree with Daniel Craig idea, he certainly has the eyes for it, the age and if he grew his hair a bit I can kind of see it looks-wise. However 1st of all whilst I know Roland isn’t American and his actual accent isn’t specified I just cannot see him with as broad a British accent as Daniel Craig has. Secondly, we already have the problem with Bardem possibly not being able to do the film with time conflictions from the Bond villain role, if that’s the case how in hell will Bond himself be able to manage it? I’d be interested in how they manage to pull of Oy, if they end up using a real animal i’ll be annoyed as we all know there isn’t really one animal that looks like a Bumbler in our world. I hope however with some impressive CGI that Oy comes across well because he is an integral part of the Ka-tet. I know some brush him off as just a side character but his and Jake’s relationship is very strong and the emotion conveyed through Oy when Jake dies is very powerful. I hope for the majority that the roles are played by non-famous characters as if the film is stuffed with hollywood moviestars I fear their conflicting personalities will ruin the film

@Luulia- I completely agree, this film will reveal a whole other side to the Dark Tower we have never seen before. I understand your worries over it being condensed however remember we halso get 2 TV series and on average a TV series has about 15 episodes so whats that? about 12 hours of footage per series.

Also I was thinking about the character of Dandelo, I think as a small yet important role, as it is one of the final tests it needs an accomplished actor. I’m thinking Christopher Walken to achieve the off-balanced humour with his sinister threat.

Zak of The Eld – March 16th, 2011
@stonie104 Roland IS bland if you think about it. And rigid…emphasized by his growing arthritis. And what’s the deal with twirling his fingers all the time? That’s the most animated he’s got until his commala come come dance. Which was so out of character I thought he must’ve been chewing on that special weed grass.

Slow Mutant – March 17th, 2011
I dont agree slow mutant, Rolands subtleties and nuances will require a greater skill then Eastwood posseses im afraid, Bardem is capable its just down to ability im afraid, some of the greatest characters in cinema have not been larger then life, they have been subtle and brilliant, conveying more in a sentance then some have in an entire film.

The dance was Rolands way of winning the crowd over is all, he achieved more with the dance then any number of speeches, the dance was a tool for Roland, just like the people in his life, a tool to achieving his quest.

stonie104 – March 17th, 2011
exactly @stonie, roland is able to convey a thousand thoughts and feelings into a few simple sentences and gestures. That is what makes his character so complex, the fact that he has so much experience and knowledge and wisdom yet he CHOOSES to be more subtle. He is tired after all these years and would prefer to be more chilled unless necessary

Zak of The Eld – March 17th, 2011
@junin “So what about the whole Roland is not a Spaniard thing? Well, that’s true, but what is Roland? Is he Chinese? No. Is he European? No. Is he Indian? No. how about black, is he black? No. Is he American? Guess what, he’s not American.

Roland is from another world folks. The idea that he looks and talks like an American cowboy from the Wild West is wrong. He is never described that way in the books. People just picture him like that because they associate him with Clint Eastwood. Roland is closer to a knight than a cowboy. I would say he is more like one of the Knights of the Round Table, chasing the mystical Holy Grail. Except that he has guns instead of a sword. My point is that when choosing an actor for the role, the film makers have to choose based on acting talent, and whether or not he actor can capture the essence of the character.”

Please don’t take this as a personal attack . . . but, apparantly you’re not quite as versed with this series a many here. The reason why so many of us are caught up with the idea of Roland NOT being a Spaniard and instead looking like Clint Eastwood in “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”: First (and most importantly): Stephen King himself (the creator of Roland) has said that he designed Roland SPECIFICALLY with Eastwood’s “Man With No Name” in mind. Eastwood’s character was NOT spanish. No one is suggesting that Mr. Eastwood play the part . . . but, for SO LONG, that is the character that has been mentally associated with Roland. Casting Bardem (who is an excellent actor) as Roland is analogous to casting Antonio Banderas to play the part of John F. Kennedy! Could Banderas play the part of Kennedy? Sure, he’s a gifted actor. But, would he FIT as the character . . . uh, NO.

dab

dab – March 18th, 2011
@dab I hat to piss on your bonfire mate, but Stephen King himself is working alongside Ron Howard in casting and Bardem is their first pick, how bout we all accept the fact that its Bardem and stop whinging about it, jeeez I’ve known kids give up tantrums quicker then some on this page.

All the Bardem haters out there go rent No Country For Old Men and Goya’s Ghosts and realise the guy can SERIOUSLY act, and let him run with the role, just quit moaning for the love of god….

Oh and dab stop with the analogys it doesnt compare and you know it, King said he based the character of Roland on Eastwoods role in The good the bad and the ugly, by character he means attitude/persona ect, he mentions in one of the books that Roland resembles eastwood mainly with the eyes, and like I’ve said before King contradicts himself over the span of the books in regard to what Roland looks like. so compare that with a known and REAL figure in history like JFK is ridiculous mate.

All you so called big bad fans who are getting sooooo annoyed with the choice of Bardem, aint fans of litriture at all, this is the written word and the skill to turn those words into a meaningfull and convincing performance on screen will require a GREAT deal of skill, Bardem has it, a few other do as well but hell…. embrace bardem while you can, because if he turns the role down and they cast some talentless hack who LOOKS more like what YOU think Roland should look like and ruins the performance you will regret it, and I will laugh my ass off at you chumps who haven’t got a clue, who are too slavishly attached to YOUR impression of what looks right and have no understanding of what is required to make Roland come to life on the screen!……

apologies for the rant, and to dab, it was more of a release at the continual one line responses as to Bardem being shit, then your obviously thought out response, please dont take it personally I needed to get that out my system lol

stonie104 – March 18th, 2011
yeah stonie…..tell them mutha fuckers!….lol!

Ace – March 18th, 2011
haha go stonie!

Zak of The Eld – March 19th, 2011
i agree that bardem is great actor and would probably would be able to pull it off. as far as accent being a problem, since when is it that foreign actors cant do american accent. mel gibson and russel crowe to name just a couple have done american characters for years with absolutely no problem.
Viggo is the obvious first choice. but after watching preview to cowboys and aliens i must say daniel craig could be a great option.

Nate – March 20th, 2011
“Please don’t take this as a personal attack . . . but, apparantly you’re not quite as versed with this series a many here. The reason why so many of us are caught up with the idea of Roland NOT being a Spaniard and instead looking like Clint Eastwood in “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”: First (and most importantly): Stephen King himself (the creator of Roland) has said that he designed Roland SPECIFICALLY with Eastwood’s “Man With No Name” in mind. Eastwood’s character was NOT spanish. No one is suggesting that Mr. Eastwood play the part . . . but, for SO LONG, that is the character that has been mentally associated with Roland. Casting Bardem (who is an excellent actor) as Roland is analogous to casting Antonio Banderas to play the part of John F. Kennedy! Could Banderas play the part of Kennedy? Sure, he’s a gifted actor. But, would he FIT as the character . . . uh, NO”

@ Dab
Your post does such a good job of proving my point, (that you’re all too concerned with what you think Roland should look like, and that he should look like Clint Eeastwood) I feel it’s almost unnecessary to respond, but since you say I’m not as well versed on the DT series as the other folk here, I feel inclined to do so. I couldn’t help but notice that you are very well versed on the Dark Tower Wikipedia; (your comment on “the man with no name” is almost word for word what is written in the DT Wiki) how well versed you are on the actual novels, I have no idea. I have all the DT novels, and I have read them all several times. I have two versions of The Gunslinger. I have the original paperback copy I bought in the 80s, and I also have the new revised version from 2003 which I think is better than the original. I don’t remember SK writing anything about basing Roland’s look or accent on “the man with no name”. I’m looking at the revised version as I write this and on the forward it says that Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, mainly The Good The Bad and The Ugly were a big influence on the DT series. He also credits The Lord of The Rings and Tolkien as inspiration along with a bunch of other stuff. The original version credits Browning’s epic poem and Ring Around the Sun by Clifford Simak as his main inspirations. Here’s a fun bit of trivia for you, which I happen to know because (I’m not only “well versed on the DT series”) but I also happen to be a movie buff. Leone’s The Good The Bad and The Ugly was adapted from Akira Kurosawa’s movie, Yojimbo, and the character of the man with no name was based on Toshiro Mifune’s Character in that film. So by your logic Roland should actually look and talk like a Japanese Samurai. Here’s another bit of fun trivia. Leon originally wanted Charles Bronson to play the man with no Name, ( Bronson played the role of Harmonica in Once Upon a Time in the West) so maybe Roland should look like the guy from Death Wish. My point is that no one knows exactly what Roland looks or sounds like. To say that He looks Like Eastwood because that is the actor who played the lead role in some movie which influenced the writer is wrong. Sk himself is not sure what the character looks like. That’s why he contradicts himself in later novels. And by the way, your example about Antonio Banderas playing JFK is retarded. JFK was a real life person. He was American. Roland is a fictional character from a world that does not exist. He speaks a language similar to English, but not English. That language also doesn’t exist. Banderas is not a gifted actor. He isn’t even a good actor. At best one could say he is competent. He isn’t anywhere near the caliber of actor that Bardem is. Here is some more interesting information. All that thee and thow old English crap one of the so called “well versed fans” was talking about earlier is not the High Speech. That is actually the way the Manni speak. In the High Speech the Vowels are pronounced the way they are in Spanish. There are many influences from the Spanish language in the High Speech, and the Ka (destiny or fate) Ka-Tet (those bound by Fate) are from Egyptian origin. Go figure. One of the techniques King uses is vague descriptions of what the Characters look like. He does this on purpose to leave room for the reader’s imagination. It is a good technique, which is one of the things that make him such a good writer. On the other hand he is very specific about how his characters talk, act, and think, which is why they are so complex and lifelike, Roland being one of the most complex of all his characters. That is why it is so important that the actor who plays Roland is able to convey that complexity, but in a subtle manner. What the actor looks like is not as important as his ability to capture the essence of Roland. As long as he can look tall, thin , gruff, and Intense, the details don’t matter. The DT series is not as mainstream as some of King’s other stuff, but I’m pretty sure that all the books were best sellers. That means that there were millions of copies sold all over the world and millions of readers, which means there are just as many versions of Roland out there. There is no actor in all the world that will satisfy the masses. That is the advantage which books have over film. The best we can hope for is someone that comes close to what we see in our minds when we read the novels. Here is one final thought. “Most of what writers write about their work is ill-formed bullshit. That is why you have never seen a book entitled One Hundred Great Introductions of Western Civilization or Best Loved Forwards of the American People.” That is a direct quote from the forward of the revised version of The Gunslinger. SK himself is telling you not to pay too close attention to what he says about the novels, but rather pay attention to what the novels say instead.

junin – March 21st, 2011
Well said, junin. If Bardem signs on then let’s roll.

I always envisioned an Hispanic flair to the whole environment and culture of a lot of SK’s world/Mid-World, especially in Wolves of the Calla, personally, so a little of that ethnic flavor would be a nice touch, regardless of what happens with casting here. I even pronounce “Calla” as “Caya” in my head when reading that name due to Spanish pronunciation rules, and it didn’t come from my own ideas or experiences (I’m not Hispanic). Something in that book made that logical connection, whether SK intended it or not, and there you go. Again, different strokes for different folks, but Bardem’s acting chops are priority #1, and the rest is up to the audience assimilating their preconceived ideas, images, and notions into Ron Howard and crew’s presentation of SK’s world onscreen. I’m excited!

Maestro208 – March 21st, 2011
Lol Junin, loved your post, especially about Banderas… very true!!

I always pictured Mid-world with a US/Mexican border town feel to it, dont know why but it just felt right, and to be honest with the heavy New York feel of the rest of the Ka-tet I think Bardems look and voice will portray the difference of their cultures/worlds better on screen then simply a change of wardrobe.

I would like to point out again that I, and I guess Junin and the other pro bardem people, do think that their are other actors out there capable of portraying Roland but I am just saying that I am happy with SK and RH choice in Bardem, out of the 3 contenders orginally discussed in casting (Bardem, Mortensen and Bale) I think Bardem is the most capable of bringing Rolend to life on screen.

stonie104 – March 21st, 2011
Jared Padalecki as Eddie.

Doy?! – March 22nd, 2011
I always pictured Mejis as kind of a mexican town for some reason. The way Mejis sounds like Mexico and the workers there at the shorehouse. I can’t remember if they spoke spanish but it seemed like they spoke some other language. Another thing I always wonderd is what exactly the high speech sounds like when its spoken. Does it sound like a whole other language or is it just an accent or somethin? Theres a lot of cool things I can’t wait to see what they look like in the movies. One of them is the little fire that the man in black builds for the palaver in The Gunslinger. Another is the weapons of the wolves…the little harry potter “sneetch” and the laser swords. I think that these movies are gonna be one of the greatest series of movies in film history.

Ace – March 22nd, 2011
Personally, I understand Ace what you mean by Mejis. However for the look of it, I have pictured it looking like an English mountaneous town, something like Dover. Ive always pictured this when Susanah riding her horse that time and Rolan follows. However, I imagine Mejos being populated by Hispanic people. But we have to realise, Roland’s journey is vast and so the areas may change in accent and region.

I would be interested to see the portrayal of the Slow Mutants, the scene in Dandelo’s cottage and maybe how they incorporate the scenes in New York.

Zak of The Eld – March 24th, 2011
I’m just now reading this series due to finding out about this whole ‘movie’ and ‘tv series’ thing; got me a tad bit excited. And so far, it’s pretty damn good! Although, I have tried reading the series once in high school (I am now at the age of 20) and I couldn’t stand it! Perhaps I only felt confused - now my brain feels completely open to this series and makes even more sense to me and it’s awesome…. Please no one judge that harshly, if anyone considers on doing that anyhow (lol).

The only thing I will say on here is: They better do justice on ‘The Dark Tower’ series! That is all….

Christine – March 25th, 2011
timothy olyphant. He is the new eastwood. No debate

Nate – March 26th, 2011
@Nate Although I feel that Olyphant is a talented actor I do think debate is appropriate, he isn’t anywhere near as talented as bardem….

stonie104 – March 26th, 2011
I dunno, Nate. I just can’t see a Ryan Seacrest lookalike playing our beloved Roland. Perhaps Cuthbert. You know, as a supporting role somewhere along the line of this series. But not Roland. If one thing is true, it’s that we need a STRONG actor to play Roland’s part. Got to agree with stonie on this one, man. And, hey - I’m still all about Daniel Day Lewis for the part, but Bardem is a tremendous actor, too, so I support that potential decision as well.

Maestro208 – March 27th, 2011
I like all of the above said actors and I think they could all play Roland well. They all could put a different spin on him.Thats the cool thing about movies is you put a face to the character…and like somebody said before Roland is so bland. I think he’s so bland that almost any talented actor could portray him. Think about the James Bond movies. Theres been a dozen actors portray him and he’s always cool and badass lol. I just wish they’d hurry up and tell us who’s gonna play him already and quit makin us suffer and guess…lol!

Ace – March 27th, 2011
@Ace Are you seriously saying all the actors to portray Bond have made him cool and badass?! there have been some damn right atrocious portrayals of Bond lol I am not a massive fan of the bond series to be honest, a bit too tongue in cheek for me, Daniel Craig being a breath of fresh air for the series in my opinion!

Roland is far from bland, his character growth throughout the series will require a great deal of talent, that simply put only a mere handfull of currently living actors have the ability to portray, Bardem and Day Lewis being 2 of them, You are right that any actor can put their own spin of the character but will it be a top spin? or a tail spin into oblivion lol

stonie104 – March 28th, 2011
Noooooo. I can’t understand his English with his strong accent. Please Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo….. wails in agony

Cheryl – March 28th, 2011
to risk repeating an earlier comment, a huge fan of the books, you shouldn’t want them to be made into a movie, or 3 movies and some tv seasons, or 7 movies, or 10 movies or ANY FILM/TV ADAPTATION. but why avid fan? simple, half the book is written in thought, in detail, not in action and dialogue. films wont do it justice, and the books are ssssooooooo gooooodddddd. but, since it is happening, and i loved the books, imma see the movies, that said, Bardem has the acting talent to be a stone cold killer with piercing eyes and a soul painted black (and later allowing emotion to show) but…. but…. he’s of Spanish decent. what happened to the blue eyed wild west character we’ve (i’ve) come to associate with Roland? (Bardem, if you accept the role, and for some reason read these comments, get some blue contacts, that is all.)

my first thought was Viggo Mortenson, honestly, but the last thing i saw him in was LOTR so id watch the movies thinking “where the frick is frodo??”

Ethan(avid fan) – March 29th, 2011
So Ethan, everybody shouldn’t want these movies to be made, because they likely won’t satisfy your standards for a good book to movie translation? Gee, I think I’ll just go ahead and keep wanting these movies anyway. I’ve seen plenty of excellent books turned into crappy movies. But never once has a crappy movie adaptation diminished the quality of the books in any way; quite the opposite in fact.

The Walkin' Dude – March 29th, 2011
Just a thought. After watching Haven I think that Eric Balfour (who plays Duke) could play Roland well or maybe even Eddie.

Whoever is cast I for one will be watching these films

rosered78 – March 29th, 2011
A friend and I were talking, and believe even though he is older the role would have to be giving to Clint Eastwood. Stephen King was probably thinking of Mr. Eastwood when describing Roland.

Marc Cote – March 29th, 2011
@cheryl Get your ears cleaned out, Bardem’s English is excellent and perfectly understandable sighs at ur stupidity

stonie104 – March 30th, 2011
About the idea that movie adaptations never do a book any justice…I wonder if Mr. King’s Wolves of the Calla is a sly metaphor for what Hollywood does to his books. The creators in the series of novels are writers, and what are the offsprings (the children) of the writers but their stories. Then Hollywood (basically a machine with people wearing masks ie the Wolves) take the stories, remove their souls and return a product that is a ugly deformed thing that lacks any resemblance to the original story. They are “roont”.

Slow Mutant – March 30th, 2011
I know this will sound weird but I always thought that Dennis Quaid would make a perfect Roland. He’s older and has the whole rugged thing going on. Plus he’s still in amazing shape for a guy his age. He’s got that grizzled voice and he’s “accessible”. You could root for Dennis Quaid. Not so much for Bardem.

robj – April 1st, 2011
Swear to god, if ONE more person says Roland shouldn’t look Spanish…. Says who??? This fella may need to shed a few pounds for that lean look Roland is supposed to have, but the ONLY thing we know is that he isn’t black, via Detta’s comments. He’s described as having hair black as a raven when younger (probably salt & pepper now) and blue eyes. ANY race can have blue eyes! I’ve seen people of ALL colours with blue eyes. And do you REALLY not remember the town of Mejis, and how very Spanish it was..and NOT that far of a journey from Gilead? WHO says Roland can’t have Spanish characteristics? The only thing we should be concerned about with Bardem is his accent, and I’m sure he can adjust it.

Mel – April 1st, 2011
Wow, I sure hope this is not true. One word: Fail!

Have they even read the series? What, is he going to wear contacts and lose his accent? Give me a break. Hollywood, strikes again.

Mike – April 2nd, 2011
True enough Mel, that’s what I was thinking with Mejis, however not all of All-world should be spanishy. The distance between Gilead and Discordia for example is huge, are we to believe it is all spanish? No. What I would like to see is slight regional variations, different sort of scenery/clothing/accents etc. That’d be pretty cool if done effectively

Zak of The Eld – April 2nd, 2011
Re: Eye Color.

Sorry, but I can’t see how Bardem having brown eyes is a dealbreaker. First, two words: Color contacts. Second, remember the howl of protest from fans when blue-eyed Daniel Radcliffe was cast to play green-eyed Harry Potter? Sure enough, Harry Potter has blue eyes in the movie, and I’m pretty sure everyone got over it within about four seconds of laying eyes on Hogwarts.

Little Jimmy – April 3rd, 2011
I see no actor today as being perfectly fit to play Roland–Bardem and Viggo included. BUT, had this project gone underway some 12-15 years earlier, I really think Lance Henriksen would have handled the job quite admirably. He would have had almost everything going for him: the craggy face, the commanding voice (can you imagine him saying, “You have forgotten the face of your father!” ? Priceless.), and his natural on-screen demeanor would have been so right IMHO. The only hole that he’d have is that he’s just a bit on the short side, although I’m sure good camera angling would’ve been able to fix that… But for today though, I suppose Viggo would be the next best choice for the role.

rs – April 4th, 2011
Dennis Quaid has always been my number one pick for Roland, but I’m afraid he’s getting a bit on the old side.

My new favorite is Jon Hamm, of Mad Men fame. I’m actually surprised I haven’t seen him mentioned.

Carrollastrophe – April 5th, 2011
Another interesting point is how they portray the 1st line in the series, “the man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed”. Will they have a narrative bit saying that in the intro, or will it be like text on the screen? Maybe the voice of Jake narrating the introductory scene would be cool :), any thoughts?

Zak of The Eld – April 5th, 2011
You cannot have a spanish actor play Roland Deschaine. You may as well make Sussana a white chick. Do not mess this up Cunningham. True tower fans would rather not see this film made than see it f***d up. Do not forget the face of your father and dont cast a Mexican to play Roland!!!!!

Matthew M. Spena – April 5th, 2011
I should add since I look like a racist (which I pretty much am) that Roland is the twinner of Stephen King who is in fact a caucasian. Do your homework Opie

Matthew M. Spena – April 5th, 2011
I don’t see why they can’t get Eastwood to do the part, check out Jeff Bridges in Tron Legacy.

Yoann – April 6th, 2011
@Matthew M. Spena As your a self proclaimed racist, I really dont have to respond to your comments Matthew, your a retard, oh and by the way Bardem was born in Las Palmas, Spain not Mexico you stupid bigot, do YOUR homework dipshit.

stonie104 – April 7th, 2011
Oh and by the way the word caucasion, is a term used to describe people from europe and northern america, so traditionally has been used to describe people from spain regardless of skin tone, its only racist fools like you Matthew that have coined the term to reflect white people only.

stonie104 – April 7th, 2011
I would have went with Kurt Russell for roland. He is around the right age and even looks like roland but since they aren’t going with Kurt at least they went with someone who can act!

joe1943 – April 7th, 2011
haha I cant believe about mathew, get it right, for one “true tower” fans wouldnt care about whether Roland was American, Spanish, whatever, just if he was a good enough actor to play the role, and as Stonie pointed out, get your facts right, he’s spanish not Mexican. Yet another stereotypical biggoted American letting the team down.

Zak of The Eld – April 8th, 2011
I AM SO EXCITED!!! I HAVE WAITED SO LONG!!! But please…. I cannot picture anyone as Walter, but, Javier Bardem! I wold love to see Roland played by Tom Hardy! Saw him as Heathcliff /Wuthering Heights/ PBS a few yrs ago. It was the most amazing performance I have ever seen. Played the character as this Scary, Evil, Hardcore, man, that for some reason you couldnt help but Love him! That is Roland PERFECTLY!! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/wutheringheights/index.html

He has since gone on to co-star with Leo Dicaprio in Inception

Hale Berry - Odetta/Susannah Edward Norton- Eddie Dean

Thats my dream cast!!!!

Currently reading aloud, these books that I cherish, with my family. They are enjoying them as much as I did. I cant wait to see it on film!

20+YearsWaiting!!! – April 8th, 2011
Gotta have faith in RH. Ka will be his Directer. Unknown actors would be best suited for all parts{unlikely]. The guy who pulled off Hitman and currently blowing me away in Justified, yeah, you know his name=Gunslinger! Hell, I’m missing fingers on my gun hand, why not? Roland is ageless, Bieber as Jake?hahahahahahahahahhahah

r his bel

whiskeybill – April 8th, 2011
Roland should be played by Sam Worthington from Terminator Salvation… I feel he fits Roland’s aura best down to the bombadier’s eyes…

Joe G. – April 9th, 2011
Hey i’ve been thinking. I know it’s pretty unlikely but what about Russell Crowe as Roland? Sounds pretty out there but I was watching him in 3:10 to Yuma the other day and he was actually pretty good as the like gunslinger type!

Zak of The Eld – April 9th, 2011
Why is it that so many here prefer such young actors (i.e. Bale, Olyphant, Hardy, Worthington(??), etc.) to play Roland? The sense that I get from reading the books is that he’s got the demeanor/maturity of man who’s at least in his upper 40’s.

rs – April 10th, 2011
rs I understand that in the majority of the books Roland is an older man. If you look at Tom Hardy in Wuthering Heights, he passes quite easily for a 40+ yr old man. Also in the books there is much time with Roland as a young man. Hardy could be both.

20+YearsWaiting!!! – April 10th, 2011
I think this is kind of disappointing I was looking forward maybe Timothy Olyphant or Vigo Mortensen but we’ll see bowfins turns out. I just hope this turns out good cause I loved the books except for maybe the end. Come on redo the end please.

Bill – April 14th, 2011
Have you seen Justified or the part in Rango as the Clint Eastwood voice that is why I want Olyphant he’s a damn good actor.

Bill – April 14th, 2011
Oh yeah and Vigo Mortensen and Olyphant are near their 40s

Bill – April 14th, 2011
Hell yeah I don’t know who said Sam Elliot but he’d be awesome as one of the old cowboys that real good shot or Roland’s trainer but he has to be in this movie!!!!

Bill – April 14th, 2011
Each little piece of news brings us closer and closer to actually having this movie made!

I think this guy fits Roland. He can always wear contacts.

Elizabeth Kaylene – April 17th, 2011
James Caviezel would be great as Roland! King refers to Roland’s blue eyes throughout the entire series…so YES how he looks is an issue. Viggo would also be a good choice. Though I’m a fan of Bardem’s work…I just don’t see him as Roland.

Michelle – April 17th, 2011
absurd that this is being made. books should be left alone for 20 years for the legacy and mystique to develop - sk really should know better.

jason – April 19th, 2011
@Jason The Gunslinger will be well over 30 years old before any of this is released, and the next 3 books will likely be at or near 20 years old before the first in this production series hits the screen. I think there is adequate mystique and legacy (whatever those terms may mean), and the pending films/series will only bring more people into contact with the story.

kmann – April 19th, 2011
Have ya’ll forgotten that Cort is actually kind of fat? King describes him with a hell of a potbelly, bow-legged, etc. Which makes me think of Michael Chiklis for the role of Cort, but, of course, Chiklis himself would have to GAIN weight for the role. I like Javier Bardem as Roland, Thandie Newton I believe she IS a contender for the role of Susannah Dean. As for Eddie… I’d prefer a lesser-known actor than say, Edward Norton. I’m not saying Norton couldn’t pull it off, I’d just prefer much lesser-known actors around Bardem as our beloved Roland. Little known tid-bit: One actress up for the role of Susannah is WHITE! How blasphemous would that be?

DTJunkie – April 20th, 2011
And what’s this I see posted about Sam Worthington as a fan’s choice to play Roland? Sam Worthington? The guy from James Cameron’s Avatar? Gimme a break, you must have been chewing the devil-grass, lol!

DTJunkie – April 20th, 2011
I think all of you have forgotten a part like how will play the young Roland in the wizard and glass and Jake chambers. maybe seeing how Roland And jake are so close they should be the same its just idea.

the kid – April 21st, 2011
Okay, first of all I have read all of the books about 13 times. So if your skeptic on my ideas Trust me I’m a true fan. If they don’t Get this movie/ series perfect I will cry. However most of you have to understand in order to undertake a huge project like this they can’t always please the true fans. they have to seek out other viewers. Otherwise the fills will not generate enough revenue to make it worth there while. (movies are not just made for the viewer they are made to make the guys on top big money. ) Now with there choice on actors I feel that they must find a mix between what fans want and what people who have never read the books are familiar with. Truly it does not matter If they chose a Spanish actor. People are saying well “ His eye’s are not blue” C’mon we live in the 21st century THEY CAN MAKE THEM BLUE…. We also have to remember that what matters with the Actor of our gunslinger, he must make the viewers think at first that he lacks emotion gruff and heartless but in reality he is humble wise and loving . To be completely honest no matter the cast not everyone will be happy because we all have different imaginations. Remember WE build the gunslinger and his followers in our minds as well with the help of our writer King.

Carson – April 27th, 2011
If you haven’t seen No Country For Old Men, then I suggest you go see it before you make a decision about casting Javier Bardem. In that movie alone, he brought a strange and eerie creepiness to the movie without the need of too much dialogue. I can easily see him filling the shoes of Roland and look forward to these movies and miniseries.

Simon Kane – April 28th, 2011
you need an older actor to play Roland, like Sam Elliott, because he has basicly lived for millennia and is depicted with grey-flecked hair and often a wise demeinor

JR – May 8th, 2011
I think Timothy Olyphant would be a perfect choice for Roland. He has exceeded my expectations playing a deputy US Marshall on Justified.

Eric – May 15th, 2011
If I had to chose an actor aside from Clint Eastwood to play Roland, it would be Christopher Eccelston. If you overlook the english accent, his portrayal of Doctor Who was dead on as Roland. Last of his kind….and he has the eyes……. just a thought

jutta hollis – June 1st, 2011
I would have to agree with JR, I think that Sam Elliott would be a great Roland.

LONG DAYS AND PLEASANT NIGHTS TO ALL!!

CuthbertAllgood – June 6th, 2011
i thin bill demott from wwe should play old cort

rick – June 7th, 2011
Roland would definately have an American accent. The High Speech is described as being close to english. And The bald eagle was the sigul on Gilead’s Banner. (Dark Tower 2) Also Mid-World has many simalar and many of the same customs and proverbs.

Dory Kelley – June 12th, 2011
Roland is a road worn battle made gunslinger this guy is a pretty boy made to look the part I personally don’t think he has the attitude or the demeanor to play such important role of rolling in 1 of the best series is ever to come out, all tho if done right the actor would make no difference the movie will make itself but that would require a little better of team behind movie and thay dont leave anything out either way personally I will be the first 1 in line to watch this movie.

canyon – June 22nd, 2011
i think roland deschain should be played by a seasoned actor like nicolas cage, liam neeson or sam elliot. please remember roland has blue eyes. please don’t mess it up.

susannah – June 24th, 2011
dubativo, rhea of coos

susannah – June 24th, 2011
mark walberg for eddie dean. a new up and coming young actor for jake and lets remember jake is only 12 to 14 thanks you. he’s not suppose to be a sex symbol. jada smith for susannah.

susannah – June 24th, 2011
The eyes can be fixed by contact lenses, then that problem is solved.

Stina – July 1st, 2011
I think that with the right contacts Javier would be an awesome Roland. Another good choice would be Daniel Craig

Jackie – July 12th, 2011
I think this is a travesty! Apparently, Stephen King, is in agreement with this choice. But if you’ve read the books, you know that Javier is NOT representative of Roland at all. Many of Stephen King’s movies are just plain WRONG as compared to the books. I’ve always wondered why. Now I think I’m starting to understand. I mean Roland Deschain of Gilead is NOT hispanic. He has “bombardier blue eyes” (as written in the book) and DOES NOT speak with a spanish accent. He is compared to Clint Eastwood in the book itself! Now you tell me, what does Javier and Clint have in common??? I’m not saying Clint Eastwood would be a good choice either (he’s too old), but why make a comparison in the book to give the readers an idea of what he looks like, THEN, cast someone completely different in every way? This is why I wish they WOULD NOT make a movie adaptation of the Dark Tower Series. It will be a flop!

misty – July 24th, 2011
If Daniel Craig could pull off the accent, he would be perfect.

Chris – July 26th, 2011
Bardem is perfect! Roland is described in one of the books, by that Jewish woman from New York who helps him, as looking like a cross between a Quaker and a Native American (which fits, because in the books there are references to an extinct people who parallell NA’s and the line of Eld are from northern Mid-World). JB is also one of the best actors of our time and did excellent work in the contemporary western “No Country For Old Men”. Perfect choice!

Andreas – August 23rd, 2011
Piercing blue eyes. Okay I would go for Bradley Cooper. Such blue eyes, a rugged ageless kind of look. Is he 20, is he 40?

Diana – August 26th, 2011
@ everyone that thinks he won’t work because he is hispanic..

He is a professional actor, regardless of ethnicity, their job is to portray the CHARACTER. I’m sure he can easily use an american or english (roland is not american) accent to play the role. Relax.

OH and. There are these amazing things called contact lenses… they have hundreds of different color schemes. Especially blue. The eye color issues can be solved.

mhurd – October 23rd, 2011
Nicholas Cage?? lol. What about Ben Stiller? He has blue eyes! Have you seen Zoolander?, blue steel look!. Those are really piercing blue eyes!. I think Bardem is a great choice. But you all must know that no actor will be as good as the one you carved on your mind while you were reading those wonderful books. Get over it.

Nineteen Bullets – October 25th, 2011
he has’nt blue eyes..

serap akel – October 29th, 2011
he actually is really close to the image i had when reading the series…. minus the blue eyes and the weather beaten face and tattered clothes

shemdroid – December 11th, 2011
Mr Bardem as Roland??!! NO NO NO NO!!!! OMG NO!!

Shade64 – December 13th, 2011
I have read and re-read the series over and over for years. While I respect everyone’s opinion, we have to keep a few things in mind. 1.Scheduling conflicts. This is going to be at the very least a 5 year project. The same actor that is cast for the movies must also play the t.v. series. That means MAJOR commitment. 2.The actors that are cast must be able to pull off this epic story together. This isn’t just about Roland, but about his Ka-Tet. So the actors must have some chemistry in order to work together for this length of time. 3.This is obviously going to be a multi-million dollar project. So I’m pretty sure they want to get it right the first time. Having someone cast, to begin production, and shooting, only to find out it was a mistake would be devastating. Also as a side note, someone in decent health, since we can’t have our leads leaving in the middle of production due to health reasons.
1. And most importantly, the cast has to be what Mr. King has envisioned. Living up to his standards, portraying what he meant to convey when writing this amazing story.
With all that being said, my opinion is that Timothy Olyphant should have been offered the role ages ago. I imagined him in the re-read(after Clint Eastwood) even before his role in Justified. I always thought he was an amazing versatile actor, and his current role as Raylin definitely suits Roland’s character as the inner conflict type. He also fits the age bracket, and is an established, acclaimed talent, along with the look and feel of Roland. I can only imagine they didn’t consider him due to his current commitments, or that he turned down an offer.
Erin – February 26th, 2012
I saw Daniel Craig in Cowboys vs. Aliens and couldn’t stop thinking how PERFECT he would be as Roland. I think it is a devastating mistake casting Bardem in this roll.

SewKnotty – March 2nd, 2012
Never once did I picture someone like Bardem to play the gunslinger, not at all. You might as well bring in Arnold Schwarzenegger … or insert your random favorite actor here. Some of the opposing points on Bardem. 1) Does he look fast? He looks like a giant and giants move like molasses. 2) blue eyes, not there 3) accent, wtf not even close. Maybe Howard didn’t read the books or only heard part of the audio books while he was driving to the grocery store. There is zero resemblance between Bardem and Roland.

Daniel Craig also terrible, he is huge and has a hard face. The books emphasized that The Gunslinger did not look like a killer. Here are some of my pics for The Gunslinger… 1) Andrew Lincoln - the walking dead 2) clint eastwood, CGI the hell out of him 3) Gerard Butler 4) Guy Pierce As far as I’m concerned Andrew Lincoln IS Roland. If they ended the series The Walking Dead with them coming across the Dark Tower that would be fine by me.

Did a chick dodda chock

deedoo – April 3rd, 2012
Why has no one suggested Sean Bean?!?!?!?

Jacob – April 18th, 2012
Please stop saying Viggo… Andrew Lincoln would play this role well if he could master silence in the TV series…which is what it would have to be a TV series. Roland only spoke when he needed to and spent a good amount of time in his head. Right now in the walking dead Andrews character Rick is a badass but capturing Roland’s sickening wisdom and suppressed emotions that have been there for thousands of times and more…(without giving too much away)..could be a real challenge, maybe he can do it… but there is other people out there as well who could possibly take on the role.

Javier Bardem…Maybe hes smart and gruff looking enough but its not his face i want to be looking at through the whole thing, hes 6ft but i feel he should stand a could inches taller…he could definitely play Neil diamond..if there ever was a Neil diamond movie (i like Neil) anyway…but even if it is him whatever ill watch it.

I’m looking for a few actors and faces that i think could pull off “The Man With No Name”. so ill be around.

oh and i’m a true fan, this should not be filmed:) read the book first and if you don’t you’re taking the easy out way by watching it. Than finally youve watched it all and you feel you can talk to your friends who have read it about it like you worked for the story or did something to earn the ending, well that just not enough. READ IT!!

Eddie,Roland,Susannah,Jake – April 20th, 2012
If they are going with dark and dangerous, I think Antonio Banderas would rock the part.

Lisaspups – May 3rd, 2012
He is a good actor but not for the roll of Roland Deschain. Please trust me when I say that Josh Duhamel will make a great Roland Deschain. His Ka-tet Rutina Wesley as Susannah and Ryan Kwanten as Eddie Dean. Trust me

fredyd45 – May 27th, 2012
Come on did you guys see American Horror Story? Dylan McDermott has the age, the eyes, the look and the intensity. What do you think?

Brett – May 29th, 2012
This is not right. Roland is not hispanic. Pick someone that is right for the part. The right actor to play Roland is essential to get fans of the series on board, and from what I have read there is too much opposition to Javier Bardem. I think he’s a good actor, but not right for this part.

Nick – June 8th, 2012
Timothy Olyphant - Gunslinger! If you have watched justified then you can see him doing this role perfectly. As for age, this tale spreads across most of Roland’s life. I wouldnt think you would want some one doing the first movie that looks aged to the character is in the last movie. 3 movies will cover anywhere from 6 to 10 yrs. in the making. One of the big things for me is Roland’s rail thin lankiness. Josh Brolan could pull it off, except for the age, which could be fixed with makeup. Viggo Mortensen would be a good choice too. Something else to consider, the age of the actor will have an effect on the actors projected vitality, with which Roland radiates. Seems to me you would do better by having a younger actor to do the role.

chris – June 19th, 2012
As an after thought, Eric Skarsgard if you couldnt get Timothy Olyphant.

chris – June 20th, 2012
One last thought…Sting for Flagg. Sting for the win!!!…lol

chris – June 20th, 2012
Javier Bardem, I believe, is an excellent choice for the role of Roland Deschain. He has a rugged look and some age, but not to full. The blue eyes could be taken care of by using contact lenses. He’s a very strong actor. I feel that he could pull the character off and make it believable.

ghostwood – June 30th, 2012
i agree .i would also add that the role will be shaped through real core chemistry between bardem and the actors chosen to round out the ka-tet

d.b. lee – July 11th, 2012
Josh Holloway might be better.

Milan – July 16th, 2012
Javier Bardem can play any character–he is fantastic. He would make a wonderful Roland. If Bardem turns it down, I hope Viggo will take it (he kind of has the Eastwood look.) This could be an epic movie series, like Lord of the Rings, and it should have a Big Name actor. Bardem is my FIRST choice.

jennifer lodde – July 22nd, 2012
He doesnt look right for the part at all

lee – October 1st, 2012
Josh Brolin without question !

Ron – October 4th, 2012
most people reject bardem with bases entirely shallow, if you had seen “no country for old men”, you understand why King wants him as Roland, Anton Chigurh-the character played by Bardem- is Roland’s and The man with no name’s evil twin,

Fernando – October 14th, 2012
Obviously Roland was created with Clint Eastwood in mind. I think that Bardem is fine for this movie (at least better than Russel Crowe) But I think the best actor for this role, today, is Daniel Day Lewis.

ezequiel – November 7th, 2012
Not only for his physical resemblance (fibrous, tall, prominent face bones) but also for his AMAZING acting skills

ezequiel – November 7th, 2012
I personally have always pictured Clint Eastwood as the Gunslinger.

Leann – November 20th, 2012
As soon as I saw Lucas Bryant as Nathan Wuornos on SyFy’s “Haven” (coincidentally based loosely on Stephen King’s “Colorado Kid”), I thought - The Gunslinger! To me, with his tall, slim build, craggy facial features, and piercing blue eyes, he’d be perfect as Roland Deschain. He might be considered a little too good-looking (not a problem in my view), or a little young (he’s 34, but his features make him look a little older and there’s always makeup). He’s not a big name actor, but I love him on “Haven”.

Heidi – December 2nd, 2012
I think that he is a great actor sure, but he is not Roland by a long shot…the look of him is all wrong! I am not sure how they would make The Dark Tower books into movies but I do know that this guy would kill the part of Roland for me. Really the only actor I can think of that reminds me totally of Roland is Dylan McDermott. McDermott looks exactly like Roland is illustrated in all the books.

Shawn Nacona – December 11th, 2012
I believe Javier is the best choice. When I look at him he is the Gunslinger. Russell Crowe would be a bad choice. He doesn’t have the presence to play this part.

Karen – December 24th, 2012
I feel like no matter what they do or who they choose it can never meet my expectations as the books were among my all time favorites, and I am an avid reader. That being said, I will watch it no matter what they do or choose, how could I not. When the Wind through the Keyhole was released I got it on day one. Basically King had the imagination to write the books, and I think his imagination is a great thing indeed. So with him having a hand in the production and RH behind the wheel this could very well be a great movie. If it leads more people to read the books that is a good thing. They should be required reading haha. I love them all.

nick – January 3rd, 2013
1. Michael Fassbender as Roland,
2. Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Eddie,
3. Zoe Saldana as Susannah,
4. Javier Bardem as Randall Flagg,
5. Tom Wlaschiha-game of thrones assasin as the man in black (1st book, the sorcerer)
cistar – March 25th, 2013
Oh my god! I want to Daniel Craig as Roland Deschain! No Javier Bardem!! puffff!!! HE IS SO TERRIBLE…!!!!!!!!! :-( ROLAND D.: DANIEL CRAIG RANDALL FLAGG: TOM HIDDLESTON SUSANNAH: ZOE SALDANA EDDY: CHRIS EVANS JAKE: ¿?

Noemi – May 13th, 2013
DANIEL CRAIIIIIGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!! COME ON!!!!

Noemi – May 13th, 2013
I’m a big fan of the X-files and I was watching the other day an interview to the cast of the serie, and when ROBERT PATRICK came in I thught Roland!. I don’t know how I haven’t(and anyone else) thought about it before. He is perfect for the rol. He is tall, big, blue eyes, strong tabacco-smoker voice, he looks like a gunslinger(a little like clint eastwood). He is 52 years old now, the right age for Roland because he doesn’t look old but wise, and he is an amazing actor, with more experience than Mortensen, Jackman, Bardem, etc. Now I can’t think of anyone else for the rol, he is Roland. I didn’t actually want this amazing book turning into a movie, but with Robert as the gunslinger it sounds amazing. I would like to know please what you all think about it

Ezequiel – May 14th, 2013
I have no problem with the idea of Javier Bardem playing the part of Roland. And brown eyes can be made blue with contacts easily. Also two actors I would personally like to see play Roland are Liam Neeson or Daniel Craig. But in all honesty I just want to see the epic story come to life, and come to life to the degree that Lord Of The Rings was. As long as whom ever is chosen for the role of Roland can breathe life into the character I myself will be made happy.

EstaticVibes – June 8th, 2013
Check out Scott Eastwood. He would be the perfect fit for this role. He’s got the look his dad had in the spaghetti western days. Stop looking for big name actors as it is the unkowns that will make this movie work.

Wayn English – May 2nd, 2014