Casting suggestions for Puddleglum

[coracle]

Cool! Then that would keep Bill Nighey available for Uncle Andrew in MN.
(There are several seriously good British actors who need to be snapped up for the rest of the Narnia films!)

[waggawerewolf27]

Would anyone consider Geoffrey Rush? He certainly has the right sort of hair, at any rate. And the sort of sense of humour to do Mr Percival (a lovely, gorgeous pelican) in a remake of Storm Boy.

[SearchlightRG]

Hope this isn’t considered thread necromancy...I doubt Aslan would approve...

I recently listened to the Silver Chair audiobook, and the way Puddleglum was read called James Nesbit to mind. He played Bofur in The Hobbit trilogy, but I think the makeup job and alternate costume for Puddleglum would help to disassociate the two.

[Anfinwen]

Since Doug Jones was in the award winning "The Shape of Water", I wonder if he is more likely or less likely to land a role in Narnia. He's set to be in a movie that is in pre-production, but I suppose that could be worked around.

[The Rose-Tree Dryad]

^I like the idea of Doug Jones as Puddleglum. I haven't seen much of his work, but I've been following him on Twitter since he tweeted about being interested in the role back in 2016. He just seems like a very friendly and genuine person and he describes himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Christian from the Midwest... I think those traits could make him better suited to play Puddleglum than other actors who might take a darker, more cynical approach. Of course he's not British, but I don't think that's the end of the world.

[Eustace]

I assume we are talking about Doug Jones the actor and not the senator. I was confused when the senator came up first when I typed Doug Jones in Google.

I don't think Puddleglum has to be British, so the fact that he is American does not bother me. I also find it really cool that he wanted to do the part.

Now, I was looking through actors the other day and I thought that Stephen Merchant would be a good fit for the look of Puddleglum to me.

[narnia fan 7]

I'm not completely sure I'd want Doug Jones to play Puddleglum. He's great at playing creatures with heavy make-up and stuff like that, if your looking for someone to physically play Puddleglum and have him look like described in the book Jones is probably the best choice. However I'm not sold on his acting ability, that's not too say he's a bad actor, but I think they could probably find with someone better.

I think it's more important that they find a great actor for Puddleglum rather than having him look as exactly like described in the book, of course those two things aren't mutually exclusive.

[Col Klink]

I don't think many other people are going to cotton to this suggestion, since the actor isn't English or gangly, but I think Tony Shalhoub would be great for Puddleglum. He has a talent for delivering ridiculous dialogue with a perfectly straight face, a kind of comedy which shows up a lot in the Narnia books but hasn't been in the movies much. One of his most famous roles (relatively speaking) was in Monk (my favorite show) where he played a character was both comedic and dramatic. That's perfect for Puddleglum.

[Artorius Pendragon]

I would definitely go with Mark Rylance. One of the best older Brittish actors, imo

[Cleander]

I am more in favor of an older actor, which makes me more in favor of someone like James Cromwell. Even though he's American he can do British accents really well ( Like in Babe). He's 78 right now, but he's still acting! And he's got that long face and deep, husky voice that remind me of Tom Baker's Puddleglum in the BBC series. But he's an outspoken Vegan, so I'm not sure how he'd react to eel stew.

[JFG II]

I’m late to the gathering, as usual...
Casting suggestions for Puddleglum;
Now that Narnia is at Netflix, I reccomend a recent Netflix alumni:
PATRICK BREEN for Puddleglum.
[He plays Larry-Your-Waiter from ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’.]
He’s a 59 year old American actor who’s thin-faced, dead-pan in line-delivery, and delivers a surprisingly charming performance in such a dour supporting character as Larry-Your-Waiter.
Neither depressed-looking nor cheerful-looking, I really dug his portrayal of such a strange, anxious character in ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’. And he works well with child actors, I think.
I think he’d make a great Puddleglum.

http://m.zimbio.com/photos/Patrick+Breen

https://www.fandango.com/people/patrick-breen-76358

[PrinceRillianIX]

How about Gustaf Skarsgård?

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/74/97/d9/7497d90c9b100f4820f3b7f8eb1dab09.jpg

[JFG II]

I really don’t know who could play him. Still...

If Puddleglum lives in a Wigwam, shouldn’t he be played by an actor of American Indian descent? That’s not assuming the producers on The Silver Chair wish to change his home so as not to confuse or offend viewers. It’s a lot less offensive to have a Native actor next to a wigwam than it is to have Tom Baker next to a wigwam like in the BBC adaptation. Otherwise, just cast a Brit and he could just live in a shanty.

Just saying.

[Cleander]

If Puddleglum lives in a Wigwam, shouldn’t he be played by an actor of American Indian descent? That’s not assuming the producers on The Silver Chair wish to change his home so as not to confuse or offend viewers. It’s a lot less offensive to have a Native actor next to a wigwam than it is to have Tom Baker next to a wigwam like in the BBC adaptation. Otherwise, just cast a Brit and he could just live in a shanty.

Just saying.

I guess I don't really get why that would be offensive. It's just borrowing a design from other cultures. Other aspects of the Marshwiggles remind me of the fen communities in coastal Britain or the people of the Hebrides. (Also, I seem to recall reading somewhere that some people living by the coasts of ancient Scotland lived in dwellings that resemble a wigwam on a raised platform. Maybe that's what Lewis was thinking of?... though your guess is really as good as mine. )
If the wigwam thing turns into an issue, they could just not have anyone actually come out and SAY it's a wigwam. After all, it's just a conical building made of animal skins, reed poles, thatch, etc. Primitive, but not exclusively Native American.

[coracle]

The word wigwam was borrowed from North America; English has borrowed a huge number of words from other countries, including names of types of dwellings.

Back on topic!!

There are plenty of tall, thin people about, but to get that gloomy long-faced look will require someone special. I wouldn't like to see his face altered by CGI as his role is major and he has so many lines that will mean close-up shots.
This suggests an older actor whose face is somewhat saggier around the mouth. He needs to look tall and thin but can be doubled for size comparison shots or longer ones. The agency I am with has a good number of extra-tall people on its books.