Tombland, hunchbacks and Gerard Depardieu.

[LadyRochfordsHoickedGusset]

Have you ever visualised/based characters on a real life person or celeb in your head?

Reading Tombland atm and from the very first Shardlake novel he's been Gérard Depardieu but in Tudor England. Couldn't work out for ages why, then I remembered I studied Jean de Florette/Manon des Sources for French A-level and we watched the films after reading them. And of course he was a hunchback..

Now he's a white haired Depardieu .

Lee Scoresby from His Dark Materials is Homer Jackson from Ripper Street.ripperstreet.wikia.com/wiki/Homer_Jackson
I actually read the books before I saw the series, but I imagined Lee like that anyway and now he has settled as Homer/ Adam Rothenberg . I don’t know how I will cope to see him played by Lin-Manuel Miranda in the new TV series.

Ha! I see what you mean but I’d never made that connection.

I visualise Shardlake as a smallish man with a plain, thin face and (now) white hair. Sort of a thinner, hunchback David Warner.

Interesting!

Barak is also Eric Bana, have yet to work out the roots of this mindplay.



Ha! I see what you mean but I’d never made that connection.

I visualise Shardlake as a smallish man with a plain, thin face and (now) white hair. Sort of a thinner, hunchback David Warner.

I can't visualise Shardlake as Gerard Depardieu no matter how I try! But Barak being Eric Bana, that's completely feasible.

Sorry about double-post.

I see Barak as more like a chunkier and fatter-faced Heath Ledger.

I’m trapped into seeing the major historical figures - Henry, Norfolk, Catherine Parr, Elizabeth etc - as whichever portrait I might have seen - clothes and all, irrespective of age! I’m very unimaginative.

I see Barak as the human Shrek.

I wouldn't say that's unimaginative Kissing, those portraits stuck in your mind like like the one hunchback protagonist I've read of stuck in mine. Never did get round to the Hunchback of Notre Dame

Like

I've always seen Anton Lesser as Shardlake. Maybe because he's narrated the abridged versions on Audible, but his face kind of fits imo.

Yes I think David Warner is a great shout for Shardlake!

Jack Barak is Tom Hardy and that’s that. I wouldn’t have got through half of all those murders if he wasn’t.

Anton lesser a good call but he was Thomas More in Wolf Hall so didn’t think of him.

Matthew McFadyen I sometimes pictured in the early days, perhaps for no other reason than the name Matthew.

I see Matthew Shardlake as looking like the actor Steven Mackintosh, in his Our Mutual Friend days. But hunched.

Barak looks like Judd Nelson, circa Breakfast Club. Weird.

Satsuki - yes he was Thomas More. Loved Wolf Hall - both novel and tv adaptation. I think that seeing him as TM just added to my conviction that he is definitely also Shardlake

Wolf Hall addict also. Got to see the play at Stratford and Lydia Leonard and my namesake Lucy Briers were fantastic.

Still itching for the third instalment.

What about Tamasin? For me she's Natalie Press and will always be Natalie Press. Again don't ask me why other than I think she's a great actress.

Toby Jones has always been Shardlake for me.

Shardlake for me is Patrick Stewart. I haven't the faintest idea why. Anton Lesser could have been a runner if as PP mentioned upthread he hadn't been cast as Thomas More in Wolf Hall and thus is permanently ruled out of any other early/mid Tudor film or TV drama roles.

He was awfully good at Thomas More btw... I'd always thought TM was a bit of a hypocrite but more complicated than that... and this made me think even more about it.

I am very very glad I wasn't born in early Tudor England (or anywhere else in Europe around the same time) and didn't have to put up with the complexities of the reformation.

Although I suspect my great great grandchildren will be writing essays for whatever the equivalant is of GCSEs or A levels or Bachelors or Masters or PhDs in about a hundred years, about the social and political consequences of Brexit. Discuss in no more than 1500 words (14 marks).

Oh yes, Toby Jones would be great as Shardlake! What about Matt Smith as Nicholas? Charles Dance as Gawen Reynolds .

Barak is a young Kevin Costner.

I could definitely go with Barak as Judd Nelson. Yum.

Yes, I've always thought Toby Jones would be perfect as Shardlake.

Barack - Daniel Mays.

I always see Sharlake as Eddie Marsan with a hunch, no idea why

Barak - don't know why, always had in my head he had a darker complexion, more like The Rock, (but only physically!!)