King Frank/The Cabby

[Ithilwen]

I've always loved the Cabby in MN. Now that MN is coming out as a film, we should give some consideration as to who will play him.

How do you picture the cabby? What age, hair color, acting skills should the actor have? And do you have anyone specific in mind?

A couple ideas I had were --

Eddie Marsan
Timothy Spall


~Riella

[Katana]

EDDIE MARSAN Good idea!

TIMOTHY SPALL HORRIBLE idea. he would be absalutely repulsive as King Frank

[puddleglum32]

i think Eddie Marsan is a great idea!

[Rilians Queen]

I am hoping that King Frank is younger than from the books illustration. I imagine him with light brown hair, blue eyes and 26 years of age.

[Shy Galadriel]

For me, I always pictured him as the cabby in the Black Beauty movie (the ninties one). Why? Because I wanted a different ending than the one he got in the movie. I wanted Beauty to be winged. But David Thewlis is far too old now: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000667/
Seriously though, I could see Frank as anybody... What I really want isn't so much a specific actor (I want a specific actor in Uncle Andrew's case), but a character who is noble and pure. I don't want a conflicted King Frank. Please.

[Lucy85]

I love David Thewlis too, but I agree, he is a little old for that part now. I honestly don't know who I picture as Frank I am thinking he would be mid to late 30s maybe. Not sure about the rest though. I'll just wait and see who they pick. Also, now that someone mentioned Timothy Spall, I'm wondering if he would make a good Uncle Andrew? Maybe...

[DamselJillPole]

I think both Helen and Frank should be in their early or mid 20's. I say this because it would be very odd for two older people that are married in a Victorian Age with no children yet. I feel like they should be newlyweds in their early to mid 20's.

[Rilians Queen]

I agree with you above me. In the Victorian Age many men and women got paired up and married very early and had children at early stages of marriage. So it would appear weird if the cabby and his wife were older then their twenties with no child.

Just for another romance sake storyline i hope they are younger so they would appeal to younger audiences.

[ChristProclamer]

I've got a few suggestions, but I'll go one at at time:

Jason Isaacs: He's a little older version of Frank than some of you are shooting for, but he's a great actor, and I don't think he'd be too expensive. I think he looks like a Frank.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2374932480/nm0005042

[fantasia]

I think both Helen and Frank should be in their early or mid 20's. I say this because it would be very odd for two older people that are married in a Victorian Age with no children yet.

I half agree with you. Helen is definitely young, she's described as young in the book. But I believe Frank is a bit older than her. Not like, a whole generation or anything like that, but maybe 10 years? The book implies that he's middle-aged or so.

As far as who to play him though, goodness, that's hard. Somebody who can definitely be plain and not eye-catching at first due to his hard work on the streets of London, but then undergoes a transformation in Narnia to a very handsome King. Somebody that comes to mind for me is Michael Fassbender. I've never seen him in anything except the Jane Eyre trailer... and he's not super handsome in that (he's not supposed to be.) And he's the right age, but he's also pretty tall. I was thinking of someone maybe a little shorter...

@Ithilwen, I like your suggestion of Eddie Marsen.

[waggawerewolf27]

I think both Helen and Frank should be in their early or mid 20's. I say this because it would be very odd for two older people that are married in a Victorian Age with no children yet. I feel like they should be newlyweds in their early to mid 20's.

Sorry, I'd say they were both about 30. Why? Because in Victorian England lower class people often had to wait that long before being able to afford to get married. Women didn't have the vote, and men had to be at least 21 before they could.

But I grant you, this is true romance. :heart

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Really? I pictured Helen and Frank as at least being in their mid-40's. I don't know where anyone gets any idea of them being significantly younger.

[fantasia]

And so, though [Polly] was filled with wonder, she was not really astonished or shocked when all of a sudden a young woman, with a kind, honest face stepped out of nowhere and stood beside her. Polly knew at once that it was the Cabby's wife...

Obviously their ages are pretty ambiguous and up to the filmmakers, it's not a huge deal if they're in their 20s or their 40s, but that's at least why I envisioned Helen as fairly young and Frank as middle-aged.

[Liberty Hoffman]

Sean Astin as The cabby!!!!!
it would be perfect!

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Hmm... thanks Fantasia_Kitty, it seems that somethings are easily missed when reading the books. Okay, I amend their ages to mid-40's (King Frank) and early to mid-20's (Queen Helen). I don't know if Sean Astin would be too recognisable to take part but I think he has the good natured face for the Cabby. He just needs to be made up to look older.

[Ithilwen]

I really like the idea of Sean Astin as the cabby. I don't think he's too young for the part. Sean Astin just turned 40 a few days ago, I believe. The only negative part of it, as far as I can see, would be the accusations that Narnia is trying to copy LOTR, which might increase if they got a LOTR actor. But that's of little consequence, IMO.


~Riella