Batman Villains "Casting Call" (Help on an Art Project)

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Sinclair Solutions

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So, this is not really a "casting call" in the sense of I'm thinking of who would play Batman villains in a live action movie. To put it simply, I plan to draw my own interpretations of Batman villains and how I think they should look like if I was making a Batman comic.

However, whenever I draw, I like to have "face models" to help me keep proportions and everything in line. Thus, I need help choosing which "face models" fit each of Batman's most famous villains. Mostly, I'm looking to fit a certain physical description. Whether they could actually ACT the role can be debated, but I often find that it helps to really "see" the actor as the villain I'm drawing them as. To help explain what I mean, here are the one's I have chosen with certainty, though you can debate them if you wish.


1) Riddler: David Tennant (Never watched Doctor Who, but he wears a suit, tie, and glasses well, and carries himself with a sense of playfulness yet intelligence that I think really fits the Riddler.)

2) Deadshot: Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Comedian from the Watchmen movie, Morgan really carries himself like Deadshot to begin with, with similar wit and arrogance. He also has the same face, hair, and looks good with facial hair, so I think it works)

3) Hugo Strange: Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal Lecter from Hannibal; the man knows how to play a devious, callous psychologist. I can modify his looks somewhat to look more like the comic book Strange, but he will mainly remain as he looks in Hannibal, since I've never really liked Strange's Bald Abraham Lincoln look)

4) Catwoman: Rosario Dawson (Dawson is the woman who comes to mind when I think of a woman who can be both badass and feminine as Catwoman (though the two words are not exclusive, of course.))

5) The Scarecrow: Cillian Murphy (The guy nailed it in Nolan's movies, no need to change it from my perspective.)

6) Poison Ivy: Christina Hendricks (I might catch flak for this one, but Poison Ivy, to me, is one of the few characters that is SUPPOSED to be sexualized in comics, since it is a main factor of her character. As such, Hendrick's red hair and shapely body make her fill this role of beauty; however, as her role in Mad Men shows, she can be clever and whip smart.)

7) The Joker: Walton Goggins (This guy just IS the Joker; he has the long face, the big smile, the crazy laugh, the big, expressive eyes. Plus, he often plays crazy, sadistic characters, so he's really been the Joker for years.)

Of course, villains whose face is not really seen, like Hush, Bane, and Black Mask will not need face models.

Now, these are the villains I have not figured out, as well as some physical descriptions and potential candidates. Remember this doesn't need to be a big name actor, just somebody who you think could really fit this description and role.

1) The Penguin (Limited it down to either James Gandolfini of Sopranos fame or Bob Hoskins; both fit that short, pudgy, balding look that the Penguin is known for. I'm leaning towards Gandolfini given his mob leader past and the nose.)

2) Killer Moth (I'm thinking Mackenzie Crook for this one; I wanted someone really lanky and pathetic looking, someone who looks like he can just be knocked over/)

3) Maxie Zeus (Don't know why, but Danny Huston was the first person to come to mind. He has a certain grace and charm to him that I think fits Maxie. He needs to be a guy that looks regal, and can pull off a Greek look of Beard and possibly long hair.)

4) Mr. Freeze: (Mainly, I want a guy who is thin and wiry, but has a certain intelligence in his face. He also, of course, has to look good bald. First choice is Billy Cruddup, since he looked pretty great as Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen)

5) The Mad Hatter: (A short actor with large front teeth(?), everything else can be debated. I thought of either Warwick Davis or Peter Dinklage for this one, but neither really "fit".)

6) Ra's Al Ghul: (I was thinking Daniel Day Lewis; I originally wanted an actor with a Middle Eastern look to him, to show Ra's heritage and connect him with the desert motif writers often give him, but I could not find a Middle Eastern actor who had the strong features that Ra's has (the strong chin, the big eyebrows); Day Lewis fits this better, though I'm not exactly thrilled with that choice).

7) The Ventriloquist (I want someone pudgy and pathetic looking, to be frank. Toby Jones was my first choice here, and I think he works, but I'd love to hear other suggestions.)

8) Two-Face (I want an ADONIS for the Harvey side of the face, to really show the contrast between the beautiful and the ugly sides. I was thinking either Henry Cavill (who seems too young) or John Barrowman.)

9) Victor Zsasz (I have no idea what to pick for this one. A long, thin face and a wiry, yet muscled body. It's debatable of whether he should be "handsome" or not.)

Thanks guys. Any help you guys can give me would be awesome, and I think it would lead to a pretty fun debate anyways.
 

Asita

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I'm assuming that you just need to be able to find images for the characters, rather than actually needing them to be physically capable of playing the role.

For Freeze, you might try Patrick Stewart in his younger days. At his core, Freeze really has to be a sympathetic villain, and I think Stewart can bring the right level of charisma to the table to play that. Barring that...shave Hugo Weaving's head and cast him as Freeze.

Ra's Al Ghul's a fun one because...well let's be honest, you could cast him as anything from a young adult to decrepit old man. I kinda find it easy to think of Khan (Star Trek) in that role, whether that Khan is Ricardo Montalbán or Benedict Cumberbatch.

Zsasz...honestly, I want to say Rhys Ifans here.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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I'd like to point out Gandolfini is a huge guy and you'd have to use one of those visual tricks Peter Jackson applied on LOTR to re-size Dwarves and Hobbits against the other races. Other than that, great cast. Also GOD YES CHRISTINA HENDRICKS AS POISON IVY.
 

Dirty Hipsters

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Honestly, I think Walter Goggins would fit Victor Zsasz better than he would the Joker.

I mean come on, look at this:




On the other hand, if you're really set for Goggins to be your Joker Paul Bettany could probably make a pretty good Zsasz.

He's got the emotionally dead/crazy look down:


And he can do the bald thing if that's the version of Zsasz you like


As far as being "handsome" is concerned, yeah, he should be handsome. Having him be a decently good looking guy brings out the scars on his face much more, and really shows how detached from society and reality he is, since most good looking people would heavily value their face while he just freely cuts all over his.
 

Sinclair Solutions

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Glongpre said:
I think all the actors in the nolan movies were fantastic.
While I have a lot of complaints about the Nolan movies, I agree that they all look like their comic counterparts, with the exception of Bane, of course. Anne Hathaway is still a little bit too "classy" to be Catwoman, in my opinion.

Johnny Novgorod said:
I'd like to point out Gandolfini is a huge guy and you'd have to use one of those visual tricks Peter Jackson applied on LOTR to re-size Dwarves and Hobbits against the other races. Other than that, great cast. Also GOD YES CHRISTINA HENDRICKS AS POISON IVY.
I had no idea he was big (thanks for that), but his face (which is what I am looking at), seems to perfectly match Ol' Oswald.

Asita said:
I'm assuming that you just need to be able to find images for the characters, rather than actually needing them to be physically capable of playing the role.

For Freeze, you might try Patrick Stewart in his younger days. At his core, Freeze really has to be a sympathetic villain, and I think Stewart can bring the right level of charisma to the table to play that. Barring that...shave Hugo Weaving's head and cast him as Freeze.

Ra's Al Ghul's a fun one because...well let's be honest, you could cast him as anything from a young adult to decrepit old man. I kinda find it easy to think of Khan (Star Trek) in that role, whether that Khan is Ricardo Montalbán or Benedict Cumberbatch.

Zsasz...honestly, I want to say Rhys Ifans here.
Exactly right about the images part. Your picks are really interesting. I love the idea of a younger Patrick Stewart as Mr. Freeze. Ricardo Montalban is another good choice, but while I love Benedict, he doesn't have the strong features I'm looking for in Ra's.

Dirty Hipsters said:
Honestly, I think Walter Goggins would fit Victor Zsasz better than he would the Joker.

I mean come on, look at this:




On the other hand, if you're really set for Goggins to be your Joker Paul Bettany could probably make a pretty good Zsasz.

He's got the emotionally dead/crazy look down:


And he can do the bald thing if that's the version of Zsasz you like


As far as being "handsome" is concerned, yeah, he should be handsome. Having him be a decently good looking guy brings out the scars on his face much more, and really shows how detached from society and reality he is, since most good looking people would heavily value their face while he just freely cuts all over his.
I love Goggins to the point where I'd put him in any "crazy, charismatic person" role, but he just looks and acts so much like the Joker it is shocking to me. He just seems more boisterous and histrionic than Zsasz is, so I feel he fits the Joker role better. However, I LOVE the idea of Bettany as Zsasz. I think he might be my choice.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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Sinclair Solutions said:
Johnny Novgorod said:
I'd like to point out Gandolfini is a huge guy and you'd have to use one of those visual tricks Peter Jackson applied on LOTR to re-size Dwarves and Hobbits against the other races. Other than that, great cast. Also GOD YES CHRISTINA HENDRICKS AS POISON IVY.
I had no idea he was big (thanks for that), but his face (which is what I am looking at), seems to perfectly match Ol' Oswald.
I think Patton Oswalt would make an interesting Penguin.

 

SadakoMoose

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You could do something REALLY daring...make Jim Carrey the Joker...
Personally, I think Carrey would make a good Corinthian if they ever did a Sandman movie, but that's just me.