There are many wonderful books that very strangely haven’t been made into movies, and as equal parts book nerds and movie lovers, this gets us to thinking. Who would we want to play our favorite characters? In our minds, the most glaring omission from the Hollywood stable is an adaptation Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, the story of six brilliant students at a remote Vermont college who study Greek, perform Bacchic rituals, and wind up spiraling into an abyss marked by obsession, betrayal and murder. It’s an enthralling novel, to be sure, but its cinematic potential is based in its tense atmosphere, bizarre details and compelling storyline. Plus, Tartt’s characters are so wonderful and well-defined that it seems a shame not to have them represented on film. Here, we offer our humble casting suggestions.
Joseph Gordon Levitt as Richard Papen
Richard, the protagonist and normalizing foil for his strange friends, is a smart, increasingly confident boy fron humble roots in California, who lies about his past in an attempt to maintain an image of beauty and gets tangled up in Bunny’s murder with his friends. Richard muses, “Does such a thing as “the fatal flaw,” that shadowy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn’t. Now I think it does. And I think that mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.” Joseph Gordon Levitt can play delicate and unsure as easily as dark and studied, so we think he would be perfect for the range of Richard’s emotions and actions through the story. Plus we love to look at him.
Mia Wasikowska and Jamie Bell as Charles and Camilla Macaulay
“They looked very much alike, with heavy dark-blond hair and epicene faces as clear, as cheerful and gave, as a couple of Flemish angels. And perhaps most unusual in the context of Hampden – where pseudo-intellects and teenage decadents abounded, and where black clothing was de rigueur – they liked to wear pale clothes, particularly white. In this swarm of cigarettes and dark sophistication they appeared here and there like figures from an allegory, or lon-dead celebrants from some forgotten garden party… She, I thought, was very beautiful, in an unsettling, almost medieval way which would not be apparent to the casual observer.” We think these two could pass as fraternal twins. And we must say, we like the idea of a girl and boy twin pair where the girl has shorter hair than the boy. Both actors are a little unsettling in their looks, and could carry off the tortured wispy teenager quite well. Oh, Billy Elliott, all grown up and sleeping with your sister.
Olly Alexander as Francis Abernathy
“Angular and elegant, he was precariously thin, with nervous hands and a shrewd albino face and a short, fiery mop of the reddest hair I had ever seen. I thought (erroneously) that he dressed like Alfred Douglas, or the Comte de Montesquiou: beautiful starchy shirts with French cuffs; magnificent neckties; a black greatcoat that billowed behind him as he walked and made him look like a cross between a student prince and Jack the Ripper. Once, to my delight, I even saw him wearing pince-nez.” Francis is the most refined of the group, handsome, mysterious and slightly fey. We’d probably have to slap some red hair dye on him, but we think Olly’s the man for the job.
Cillian Murphy as Henry Winter
Murphy has that innate lurking evil behind his handsome face that would be perfect for the intimidating, hyper-intelligent Henry, the mastermind behind Bunny’s murder. Tartt describes Henry as “quite large, well over six feet… dark-haired, with a square jaw and coarse, pale skin. He might have been handsome had his features been less set, or his eyes, behind the glasses, less expressionless and blank. He wore dark English suits and carried an umbrella (a bizarre sight in Hampden) and he walked stiffly through the throngs and hippies and beatniks and preppies and punks with the self-conscious formality of an old ballerina, surprising in one so large as he.”
Chord Overstreet as Bunny Corcoran
“A sloppy blond boy, rosy-cheeked and gum-chewing, with a relentlessly cheery demeanor and his fists thrust deep in the pockets of his knee-sprung trousers. He wore the same jacket every day, a shapeless brown tweed that was frayed at the elbows and short in the sleeves, and his sandy hair was parted on the left, so a long forelock fell over one bespectacled eye… His voice was loud and honking, and carried in the dining halls.” Chord Overstreet is perfect for Bunny – he’s baby-faced and bright-eyed, and nearly always photographed with his mouth open.
Ian McKellen as Julian Morrow
Julian Morrow is the mysterious Classics professor, who takes no salary from the school and insists that his pupils drop all other classes and name him as their advisor. Richard notes, “His eyes were kind, frank, more gray than blue.” His eyebrows are described as “deep, mischievous”. He is their revered and honored teacher, though he’s manipulative and self-centered, and when things get rough, he pretty much disappears. Ian McKellen can easily transition from strength to weakness, from charming sincerity to cold heartlessness. Plus, doesn’t he just look like a professor?
Did we get it right? Who would you envision? Let us know in the comments!
Comments (30)
PERFECT
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Andrew Garfield as Richard. Cillian Murphy is too old to be Henry against all these young ‘uns.
I have to agree… Cillian Murphy is too old. But I mean, It’s pretty spot on. That would be a Tremendous cast!
SO spot-on!
they NEED to make this a movie!
this is awful.
This is utterly wonderful, though Cillian Murphy is too much of a pretty boy and way too small to be Henry Winter. And I hate that bee-stung mouth of his. I wish for someone with a big, square head for Henry.
Almost perfect…but Overstreet…hmm. Bunny was a big guy–overweight. Don’t know if someone with perfect abs would be right.
This makes me want to read this book so badly!
Can’t imagine why this movie has not been made!
Genius!!! Genius!!! I think through the magic of make up and wardrobe Murphy’s prettiness could be tempered and Overstreet could be made to seem like a slacker ex-jock.
Perfec-shi-own
[...] Casting Our Favorite Books: The Secret History Casting characters from beloved books is one of my favorite fantasy games, and I’ve long [...]
Glaring omission? I’m GLAD it hasn’t been adapted. Hollywood would probably ruin it.
[...] big on plot and character, but the narrator himself is mostly a cipher. I recently saw a blog post imagining the cast. I find it half brilliant. JGL as Papen? Could be, though I prefer him in stronger roles. (A [...]
Great job! I tend to agree with the other commenters about Cillian’s age but if he had a younger brother… Definitely agree about Camilla. I could see Scarlett Johanson in that role as well if she was a bit younger and maybe a bit less busty (I imagine Camilla as very waif-like.) Never thought of the the other actors for the roles but when I saw JGL and Jamie Bell, I thought “YES YES YES.”
Awesome!!! Mia Wasikowska would be the perfect Camilla. Get this movie made!! Love from Sweden
Wow, I’m blown away right now! Chord Overstreet and Ian McKellan are who I mentally pictured while reading the Bunny and Julian roles in the novel (which is extremely random considering I have never seen Glee and have only seen a few pictures of Chord in gossip magazines). James Franco would make an excellent Richard or Francis. However, JGL is a very gifted actor and could carry the role of Richard very well. I’d like to see Ryan Gosling play either Francis (my preferred role for him) or Charles. Lily Cole (she acted in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) would be perfect for the role of Camilla, in my opinion. As for Henry, I imagine someone with a big presence and imposing frame such as Arnie Hammer (The Social Network) or Jason Segel (I Love You Man and a television show, not too sure what it’s called) because of their height and deep, booming voices. Arnie Hammer’s role in The Social Network was similar to Henry’s character. Of course, they’d have to downplay his attractiveness somewhat.
I think TJ Miller would make a perfect Bunny.
I would say AWESOME choices. Two possible changes to your line-up, though: while Ian McKella would make an awesome Julian, I always envisioned Derek Jacobi as Julian. Also, I might suggest Christian Coulson as Henry. Thoughts?
I have just re-read this book and wanted to see what other people thought of it. I have looked at other casting ideas that other people have done and this is the best one but I’m not sure Bunny, Francis or Richard are right. Julian you have cast really well. Not sure about Camilla – she is so hard to cast. I did have an idea for Bunny thought….I saw him as a bit more Philip Seymor Hoffman. He does that menacing sarcastic school boy quite well. Think Scent of a woman mixed with the Talented Mister Riply. I’ll will have to put some thought to the others. So hard to get it right
This is perfect. I read the book just a few months ago and have been desperately trying to find faces for the characters. Cillian Murphy as Henry is absolutely perfect. He’s just the kind of actor who would be able to get both the seductive and strange sides of Henry.
How about Richard Attenborough as Julian. And Jonah Hill as Bunny?
Just finished this book and can’t believe it hasn’t been made into a movie yet…was thinking Saoirse Ronan or Carey Mulligan as Camilla, Andrew Garfield is good choice for Richard!
Mia Wasikowska is exactly who I recently imagined as Camilla. And age concerns aside, Benedict Cumberbatch (the modern Sherlock Holmes) would be perfect as Henry. Very similar characters, actually- tall, cerebral, with a mysterious past and a substance abuse problem. I love Ian McKellan, but somehow I always pictured Julian as being a bit more, how shall I say, round.
Wow. Am about to read this and looked up cast ideas because I like to do that… And this is so good.
Henry Cavill as Henry, though.
Thanks for this!
Ok I’m now 83 pages in and your casting has helped me immensely. Am tossing up Joseph G-L and Anton Yelchin as Richard though. And I’ve got Christopher Lloyd stuck in my head as Julian – cant think of anyone else.
Brandon Routh as Henry, Clemence Posey as Camilla (though i think Mia and Jamie are a good choice for the twins), the choice for Francis’ character is great too. I’d suggest maybe Sam Claflin for Bunny? Chord is too hard to hate.
What a great book. I read it again every few years. I like nearly all of these casting ideas.
But I have always imagined a more camp and portly Julian Morrow, and for this role I’d use Nathan Lane.
Cillian M as Henry, isnt doing it for me. But I’m struggling to find a replacement at the right age. Maybe Robert Pattison.
Oh and Zooey Deschanel could be a great Judy Poovy.
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