MovieChat Forums > Brideshead Revisited (1982) Discussion > The 'Real' Sebastian - Alistair Graham

The 'Real' Sebastian - Alistair Graham

posted 8 years ago by poetcomic1
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The real prototype of Waugh's 'Sebastian' was his close friend Alistari Graham:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/08/14/article-1206555-060FD0F8000005DC-773_148x214.jpg

The resemblance is not far off at all.

[–] AllieMDA 8 years ago

The real prototype of Waugh's 'Sebastian'....The resemblance is not far off at all.

WRONG. You are speaking of this guy's resemblance to Anthony Andrews, not "Waugh's Sebastian".
This may resemble the Sebastian of the miniseries....but we can't know exactly what Waugh envisioned as he wrote. There's no decent physical description at all, in the novel.
This is the point at which mixing up Waugh's novel with the Granada miniseries, two distinct works of art, is so easily done.

[–] poetcomic1 8 years ago

The resemblance was fortuitous. The REAL Graham seemed a good fit for the Sebastian of the novel (which I have read) and Tony Andrews just might have been chosen because of his resemblance to the original prototype.

[–] AllieMDA 8 years ago

Tony Andrews just might have been chosen because of his resemblance to the original prototype.

That would be really interesting because they originally cast Jeremy Irons to play Sebastian, and Andrews was cast as Charles.
Hmm. Did Jeremy Irons secretly get together with Anthony Andrews and decide to swap roles and then lie about the reasoning behind this change?
Sorry. This is just silly. The photo itself with the nugget of Waugh info is interesting and worth a post, so I'll thank you for providing that.

[–] poetcomic1 8 years ago

Jeremy Irons as Sebastian is SO wrong and vice-versa for TOny as Charles.

[–] AllieMDA 8 years ago

Jeremy Irons as Sebastian is SO wrong and vice-versa for TOny as Charles.

Agree, it absolutely seems that way. For one thing, Irons had the voice for the narration. It worked out well, as a great production - fortuitous is a good word for several last-minute changes involved... But the resemblance point is moot. It's not "Waugh's Sebastian".