MovieChat Forums > And the Band Played On (1993) Discussion > The casting of Bill Kraus

The casting of Bill Kraus

posted 8 years ago by ezchoice
2 replies | jump to latest

Did the director even read the book?

Bill Kraus was in his mid 30's not mid 50's. That was something you were supposed to take from this and one of the reasons Bill's story was meant to have the most impact. He started with Bill's story (more or less) and he ended the book with his death. The point was that AIDS killed bright young people in the prime of their life, long before their potential was reached. Bill Kraus was dead before his 40th birthday, the actor that played him could have been mistaken for his father. One of the worst casting decisions I've ever seen.

[–] loopdloop11 8 years ago

Not exaggerating but when I saw this movie in health class I didn't think Ian Mckellen looked old in this film to be 50.

[–] puirt-a-beul 8 years ago

There's more to casting decisions than how much like the person an actor looks. No doubt McKellen was cast, at least in part, because he was a "name" that would be familiar to the British and European audiences, and because as an actor he had the screen presence to impart authority to the role in a fairly slim-line script.

You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.