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I know we're all concerned about the casting of Eustace, but for me, the casting and character writing of Jill Pole will make or break the movie. Not only is she the main character, but she's one of the best characters in the series, and, in my opinion, more sympathetic from the audience's point of view. She also has a lot more to do than Eustace in this one, he's sort of
...mature

Of course, the casting hinges on a lot of things, the most important being when exactly the movie will begin production, but it's never to early to speculate.

Personally, I have no clue who should play Jill. The mental image in my head is pretty much just a 3-D animated version of Pauline Baynes' arwork.

Jill is my favorite character in the Chronicles. I relate to her more than any other character. I cannot wait to see who they pick to play her.

I can tell I've been out of touch with the movie industry for years though because I have no idea who they should get to play her. Every time I think of someone, I go look and... way too old.

My personal preference is that they get a fresh, new face but I'm trying to at least come up with some ideas of how I picture her.

How about Raffey Cassidy? I saw her at the beginning of Snow White and the Huntsman and thought she did quite well in her short role.

fantasia_kitty wrote:Jill is my favorite character in the Chronicles. I relate to her more than any other character. I cannot wait to see who they pick to play her.

I can tell I've been out of touch with the movie industry for years though because I have no idea who they should get to play her. Every time I think of someone, I go look and... way too old.

I feel the same way, but more because I haven't seen too many movies with kids in them for a long time...

I think the age of whoever plays Jill will hinge on whoever plays Eustace....or vice versa. Whichever gets cast first. Jill could potentially range anywhere from 10 years old to an actress as old as 17/18...maybe even 19?

It's too bad Bailee Madison is American because if she just had the accent, I think she'd make a good Jill if they decided to cast older. But I don't want them putting in people who have to fake it. We all saw what happened with Ben Barnes.

If they cast younger, I agree we should get a bit of a fresher face.

I can very much relate to Jill Pole as well, hence my username.

Since I'm now a represented actress I nominate myself for the role!


.... I'm kidding. There's no way considering I wasn't born in England and am too old for the role.


My opinion on what she should look like is still the same though. Either a dirty blonde to light brown hair, hazel/green eyes, some freckles, and slim and pretty.
Prefered age range of actress 13-17.

Here's an actress, 17, from England, her name is Ella Purnell but is so short and exactly how I envision Jill Pole especially in the eyes.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1353308672/nm3480246?ref_=nmmi_mi_all_pbl_90

1. I know few teen British actresses today. I like both Raffy Cassidy and Ella Purnell suggestions. If Bailee Madison could do a British accent, she'd be a good fit. I also thought of Lauren Etchells last night. She played Emily Mitchell in Sherwood's "Courageous." She just turned 13, has long dark hair, and is at least 5'0 by now. Problem: she's also American!

2. What does Jill look like in the book? I don't even know what to look for.

3. I want someone relatively unknown to American audiences, just like James, the Pevensies, Ben, and Will. I think acting ability and fitting a part are much more important than star quality or name recognition.

She should be a fresh face and completely unknown. I would also like her to have bangs and bright eyes.

The only description I can remember from the book is that she has curls, as she shakes them at one point while acting babyish to the giants.

And even the curls are negotiable, coracle, as I'm pretty sure Jill had her hair curled by the Giant Nurse. Lewis wasn't long on descriptions of his characters, though he does mention at some point in LB that Eustace thought Jill was 'small'.

I like Raffey Cassidy. Of course, not knowing many British actors/actresses, I thought at once of Harry Potter. Daphne de Beistegui played Lily Luna Potter in a very small role.

I also like Caitlin Blackwood (Young Amy Pond from Dr. Who).

It's been so long since I've been active on this forum that I don't know how to post pictures anymore!

ChristProclaimer - use the [img]option,%20just%20putting%20the%20link%20between%20[img]%20and[/img]. I remembered how to post links yesterday.

NarniaWeb Profiles
Titles: Jill, Pole
Age: 9 (SC), 16 (LB)
Species: Daughter of Eve
Home: England
Physical Description: Eustace describes Jill as "small" in The Last Battle
Tools: A bow and arrows
First Appearance: The Silver Chair, Ch. 1 (1953)

I think we need more information! Nine is too young for producers while scouting. I think 13-16 is a better age range. Other than that, I think anyone could look like Jill as long as she's small and thin. Isn't "pole" partly a description of her frame, i.e. skinny? I always thought of Jill as tall.

Thanks, 220Christian. Let's give this a try...

I thought the other day of Isabelle Allen. She played young Cossette in Les Miserables, and she is genuinely British, which is important to me.

She's so pretty! I can totally see her as Jill.

Yes, I dreamcast. A lot.

Jill is the most similar to me of all the characters. I am really attached. I don't mind whatever actress they pick, as long as she's blond (like the book) is really good at acting, and her character stays nicely with the book in general.

220chrisTian wrote:I think we need more information! Nine is too young for producers while scouting. I think 13-16 is a better age range. Other than that, I think anyone could look like Jill as long as she's small and thin. Isn't "pole" partly a description of her frame, i.e. skinny? I always thought of Jill as tall.

You may think of Jill as tall because she was cast as a long legged tall girl in the BBC serial. Lewis didn't give his English children names based on their physical attributes.

Someone just mentioned that Eustace described her as small.

I agree with coracle. Also in the book I don't remember the kids picking on Jill because of her surname being 'Pole' meaning lengthy, which slipped into the BBC series. I could be wrong though, it's been a while since I read the book. However I do see her as being 5'1-5'3. About Susan's height in LWW.

I just had a weird, random thought the other day. Depending on how old the girl is that's cast to play Jill, and depending on how long it takes for them to cast people in the first place, it could be that our actress wasn't even born when LWW came out in theaters. That's really crazy to think about...

DamselJillPole wrote:I agree with coracle. Also in the book I don't remember the kids picking on Jill because of her surname being 'Pole' meaning lengthy, which slipped into the BBC series. I could be wrong though, it's been a while since I read the book. However I do see her as being 5'1-5'3. About Susan's height in LWW.

The surname "Pole" needn't refer to 'lengthy', which was the BBC interpretation of the surname. Pole is a legitimate English surname, perhaps related to the De La Pole family, some of whom could have been surviving relatives of the ancient Plantagenet dynasty which died out with Richard III.

However, in WW2, there were masses of refugees from Europe, who fled to UK, from the German Advance. Among them were many Polish and other soldiers who fought bravely on the British side to defeat the Nazis. I'm afraid that, as down here, they didn't get treated any better for that reason, and so, to fit in better, they may have well anglicized their surnames, as they did here, also. I've often wondered if Jill Pole's surname was C.S.Lewis' way of including UK's guests, and if the bullying and the BBC emphasis on her surname was also a bit of xenophobia shown by childish bullies who suspected her origins.