Wolf Hall fans! So, Thomas Cromwell is to be played by...

[IndridCold]

Mark Rylance.

I must admit that I hadn't thought of him in the part, but I'm a great admirer of his work and I think he'll be good.

Many apologies for DM link - I couldn't find it reported in any other papers.

[Roseformeplease]

Loved him in RIII at the Globe in the summer. Good choice.

[hackmum]

Oh, fantastic. He'll be brilliant.

[highlandcoo]

I've been lucky enough to see Mark Rylance in Jerusalem, La Bete and Twelfth Night - would crawl over hot coals to see him in anything!

He will be brilliant.

[lainiekazan]

I must admit I saw Russell Crowe in my mind's eye when reading the book.

[Thurlow]

Oh. I wanted James Frain Also I pictured Cromwell as stockier. But I've heard Rylance is an amazing actor so I'm sure he'll be great.

(I'm trying to be calm about this and save my ire for when they cast anyone other than David Tennant or Matthew MacFadyen as Jonathan Strange...)

[whimsicalname]

Thank goodness it's not Tom Cruise. He's ruined Jack Reacher for me. «realises she's lowered tone»

[Gracelo]

Oooh, are there plans to film Jonathan Strange? How exciting, that will require some interesting casting decisions.

I'm ok with Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell. That role needs a very good actor and it sounds MR is up to it.

[carlajean]

I thought (and wished) Russell Crowd as well

[5Foot5]

Oh I didn't even know it was being made in to a film!

I just finished "Bring Up the Bodies" yesterday. I spent most of yesterday absolutely hooked and couldn't put it down.

Anyone know who wil be Henry VIII?

[Thurlow]

Yes, Gracelo, BBC and BBC America are doing it together. I've heard Ben Wishaw mentioned, which might work. Though how the hell you film the footnotes...?! The last thing I heard a year or two ago was that they were thinking of making a film/series called something like 'The Lords of English Magic' so that it wasn't a straight adaptation of Strange. Maybe they'll have to do that.

[Gracelo]

I would like Ben Wishaw as JS Thurlow but then I think Ben Wishaw is fabulous no matter what he is in. I could picture Harry Lloyd as JS well. There are so many roles to get right though, Norrell, the Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair, Stephen Black, Vinculus, Childermass, Drawlight, Lascelles, Lady Pole, Arabella, Flora...Rebecca Hall would make a good Lady Pole, I think.
I have no idea how they are going to write a script for this. It seems impossible to do justice to all the bits of it, doesn't it?

I find it a lot easier to put together a dream cast list for Wolf Hall/Bring up the Bodies than for Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, maybe because there have been so many versions of Tudor history already (besides the actual historical figures) whereas Jonathan Strange so far only exists in the readers' imagination.

[Thurlow]

I pictured David Tennant when I read it, but that was back when it was first published and probably pre-Doctor Who, so he was younger and had less baggage than he does now. Harry Lloyd, I could kind of see that. As long as it's not Eddie Redmayne just for the red hair! He's not loopy enough, and JS needs to be loopy.

I saw Ian Holm as Norrell from the very first sentence. Looking online that seems to be common!

[fiftyval]

Going back to 'Wolf Hall/Bringing Up the Bodies' , I could imagine someone like Simon Russell Beale playing Henry VIII rather well.

[Gracelo]

Yes, JS needs to be loopy. I think David Tennant would have worked well 10 years ago. JS needs to be quite young. Eddie Redmayne wouldn't work.
Ian Holm would be good as Norrell.

Would Simon Russell Beale not be a little too old to play Henry?

[TunipTheVegedude]

I want to know who's going to be the Duke of Norfolk. I'm fascinated by Norfolk (not in a romantic way you understand.)

[Gracelo]

I always picture the Duke of Norfolk as Christopher Ecclestone as in Elizabeth.
I saw James McAvoy suggested for Ralph Sadler somewhere and I really like that sugegstion.

[TunipTheVegedude]

The Norfolk Ecclestone plays is a different one - he's the 4th duke, grandson of the 3rd who is the Wolf Hall one.
Having said that, he could probably do the 3rd Duke quite well too! He was a very different character. Ecclestone is too young but could play old quite convincingly.

[Gracelo]

Oh no, I mixed up my Norfolks.
So, this Norfolk was about 20 years older than Henry. I agree that makes Eccelstone too young, sadly.

[TunipTheVegedude]

Yes.

But Ecclestone is gaunt and does 'grim' very well.

[Gracelo]

Grim, and barely concealed rage, which makes him so good in Elizabeth.

[TunipTheVegedude]

Yes, exactly, and Mantel writes the character as jovial on top of those qualities, which I would love to see Ecclestone do.

[Gerrof]

Mark rylance as Cromwell is great. He is a wonderful actor.

Ecclestone as the gaunt and scrawny Norfolk would be great as well.

God knows who would be best for Catherine and Anne. I always think that they are terribly cast, play up to the cliches. Hopefully they will give a little more thought to it.

I hope they will do the books justice, they are so wonderfully brilliant and beautiful, I am still pissed off that I have read them both and don't have them to look forward to. They are the best novels I have read I'm ages.

[Gracelo]

Yes, Tunip all her character have so many aspects to their personality, none is a caricature.
Anne will be so difficult to cast. She is almost as crucial as Cromwell to get right. I just can't think of a suitable actress.

[SherbetVodka]

Oh. I'm quite disappointed about this as he just doesn't look the part, even if he is a fantastic actor. Cromwell is meant to be physically imposing and Mark Rylance is of quite slight build. I can see him as Monseigneur, Anne Boleyn's dad but not as Cromwell :(

[Gerrof]

Everyone who has played Anne I can think of (in grim productions admittedly) really overdo the arch and the femme fatale pouting.