Of course, having designed the books to be turned into a tv series (well, I did, right from the outset and if not a tv series then some other form of episodic televised joy), I get to play the casting game.
George. I have not run across the actor who could play George. Andrew Scott is fairly close to him in body type, shape and sizewise, but he’s not quite eastern European looking enough. Think a more hooked nose and higher cheekbones.
Kima. Kima would mostly be a voiced character. Some skinny young thing who’s a dancer could play her on the rare occasions (mostly in the first book) that she’s bipedal.
Michel. Ditto, alas. If he ever settles on an appearance he could be played by a Big Scary Bald Black Dude, since that’s the human form he likes best, kinda.
Raven. Unknown Canadian actor. She’s fat, so it would be a plum role for a qualified lassie. (No older than 25).
Jesse. Unknown actor from anywhere, since his physical qualifications are going to be tough. (Jesse is big, tall, dirty blond, pumps iron and does not take steroids). Jesse’s the same age as Raven, give or take three months.
Grandmother. Sue Sparlin. After seeing my friend in Lost in Yonkers, playing the evil old grandmother, I went, yup, that’s her (both for the performance and for her grip on the accent). I know for a fact that she would be deliciously narcissistic and crunchily fun, and she would be able to portray confusion and dismay with more than enough style. Photo credit her daughter Aura McKay.
Avtar, Winnie and the Tornado: All unknown actors. Avtar is subcontinent extraction (and furry), Winnie is Chinese and Caucasian, and the Tornado is (obvs) a loud and interesting blend. Vancouver is a town full of marriages and liaisons between every ethnicity on earth, so I thought it would be good to show one.
Brendan: Just about any competent actor in his 30’s could manage Brendan, but a 9/10ths scale model of Chris Pratt with the gut back on and some acne pitting would do the job.
Ruby, either Michelle Thrush or Columpa Bobb.
Gwen the publicist. Maggie Gyllenhall. Hands down.
Farah Jalali. Well of COURSE I WANT ARCHIE PANJABI but I think Rekha Sharma (who played the assistant in BSG and is a local) would do better than well. Actually now I think of it she’d be awesome.
892 words yesterday .4 hours. 319 words today so far.
I went downstairs, Jeff’s watching F1, and I say “Monaco?” because I like guessing which track it is before I sit down, and I was right. First, you look for the palm trees…. then you look at the architecture.