Questionable Casting


I'm currently reading the book and from all the actors I've seen, they look NOTHING like the characters Tolstoy so vividly described. Disappointing, to say the least.

Probably the best of all the actors is Malcolm McDowell for the volatile and socially tactless Prince Bolkonsky. Other than that, it looks to me like the screenwriters read cliff notes rather than the novel, casting any actor they wanted or who was available, and not taking the time to appreciate how each characters' physical appearance suits the shape and development of their personality. Tolstoy took the time to describe every detail of his characters--lovingly and painstakingly as one can tell; it's upsetting that this fact is ignored.

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I'm very happy about the choice of Scali Delpeyrat as Napoléon... ;-)

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Yes, he really looks just like he should. I'm really dissapointed in Igor Kostolevsky though. He is neither as young nor as handsome as Tsar Alexander is supposed to be!

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Alessio Boni doesn't look like (physically) Prince Andrej, but I think he will be perfect to play this role...

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true! i saw him and i was like "he's the czar? no way!!"
As for Andreij Bolchonskij i gotta say i wasnt happy they made him be played by Alessio Boni who doesnt look like a russian at all. but then i admit i changed my mind, he's acting is very good and it suits the role perfectly. i'm seriously liking him, besides he looks kinda like Jonathan Rhys-Mayers which i imagined to play Grigorij A. Pechorin in A Hero of our Times by Lermontov.
the only thing i find akward is his voice. he's italian so he's using his real voice and i seriously dont like it.
other than that, i have to admit i havent read the book yet so i cant compare it. i'm liking it so far anyway, even though i just saw the 1st episode :))

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Toby Stephens was perfect as Tsar Alexander in 'Napoleon' (2002).

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I've just seen a promotion video on a computer and I must say that I'm with you on this one all the way. The actors are totally physically unsuitable for the roles. A BLOND Natasha ? I don't like Chantal Poesy in that role at all ! Her acting appears quite uninspiring and banal---and why is she always wearing that baggy clothing ?

Alessio Boni seems quite good, though, even though he doesn't have the chiseled features of Andrei Bolkonsky.

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I also think that Valntina Cervi is a little too beautiful to play Marja Bolkonsky (as I posted on her boards), but lately I realized she's just SO right for the role

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I think that one of the weakest characters is Natasha played by Poesy. I am really disappointed. She does an unbelievably awful job. Sometimes, her moods are so unbelievable and her acting is so below par that I want to smack her into character, literally. I mean, her delivery of lines is criminal. I cannot believe that the director allowed this to be acceptable.

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