News surfaced this week that John Carter star and pretty boy Taylor Kitsch has been cast as the bespectacled cult leader David Koresh, who led the Branch Davidians to a fiery death during the early 1990s in Waco, Texas. Kitsch is certainly charismatic enough to pull off the role of a man who controlled dozens of people. The project got us thinking about the current trend toward stories about true crime and other famous cult leaders and the stars we would cast. Here’s a small sampling. Who would make your list?
Jim Carrey as Jim Jones
Carrey can lose himself in a role, and just look at that smile.
Russell Brand as Charles Manson
Crazy eyes for infinity.
Jonathan Banks as Marshall Applewhite
We’ve seen Banks do brooding, and we’re sure he can do bizarre.
Toni Collette as Bonnie Lu Nettles
One of the most convincing and authentic stars.
Bob Saget as Warren Jeffs
Saget is a natural as the nerdy creep.
Takeshi Kitano as Shoko Asahara
If anyone can convince us that we’re staring into the face of pure madness, it’s Beat Takeshi.
Daniel Day-Lewis as Wayne Bent aka Michael Travesser
Beardy messiah vibes.
Desmond Harrington as Carl Drew
Harrington probably had a rat tail in the ’80s.