Cussler had a lot of creative differences with the motion picture industry, so the majority of his characters never got cast on screen. Sometimes when I'm reading I get an actor in mind that would be perfect for a role. What actors would be great for which characters?
Posted Jul 13, 2022, 12:55 PM UTC
I got started thinking about this because I was reading the Oregon Files novel where MacD (Marion MacDougall Lawless III) was introduced and it hit me: Lucas Black from NCIS: New Orleans. I can't unsee/unhear it now.
For Dirk and Al I think Matthew Mcconaughey and Steve Zahn did a great job. Clive said in an interview he wanted Hugh Jackman to portray Dirk Pitt and tbh if we're talking book accuracy I don't think Hugh fits Dirk AT ALL. Matthew I feel has that "attractive but intimidating" look that Clive describes Dirk having especially in earlier novels. In Pacific Vortex and Mayday! Dirk is described as not being all that handsome. It's not until later novels that Clive went full 007 dreamboat with Dirk Pitt.
For Sandecker I also like William H. Macy and he also fits that presidential type look too for when Sandecker eventually becomes the V.P.
I haven't read Oregon Files or the Isaac Bell series but my ideal casting for Numa Files would be as follows: Nathan Fillion as Kurt Austin because Nate fits the broad shouldered look and can also pull off that silver hair I think. Gal Gadot as Gamay, Paul Rudd as Hiram Yaeger, Pedro Pascal OR Michael Pena as Joe Zavala (I'm leaning towards Pena as Joe has a very funny and always joking demeanor).
Ooh.. Fillion could fit Isaac Bell too, 15 years ago. I'm only on the first Bell book, and it's different being way in the past with wagons and trains instead of submersibles and planes, but I like it so far. Bell doesn't have a ton of depth or description yet. He says what he means, has daring plans, is a bit bold with confronting baddies and ladies, expensive tastes in cuisine (where have we seen that before...)
OMG Rudd as Yaeger is perfect. I have this vision of a man I know as Yaeger, and I could see Rudd doing that. Hiram is a fav character.
Obviously not current casting, but I always imagined Dirk Pitt to look like Clint Eastwood. Issac Bell makes me think of Robert Redford in the great Gatsby.
I know McConaughey and Zahn aren't at all like the books in physical description, but I really liked Sahara and they're now the faces of those two characters for me. Macy as Sandecker was great, I thought.
When I first "met" Dirk and Summer, I couldn't picture them so I looked up some actors to cast in my head. Saoirse Ronan fits Summer for me. Maybe Joe Alwyn or Geoff Stults for Dirk? Now the Pitt family is blond in my head lol
I've just started Isaac Bell so I don't have a good concept of him yet
I agree with Matthew and Zahn. I also feel like Clive kind of forgot his original descriptions of Dirk. Like in Mayday! Dirk is described as being kind of not super attractive. It's his "opaline" eyes that attract people. Yet in an interview he said he wanted Hugh Jackman to play Dirk in Sahara and to me Hugh Jackman is the opposite of "not that attractive" lol. In later novels Clive went full on dreamboat with Dirk Pitt's description. I'm currently reading Ghost Ship from the Numa Files and Dirk appears briefly in a chapter and he is described as being almost 007 levels of handsome. So when it comes to book accurate descriptions of Dirk I think we can pretty much choose anyone we want provided they aren't Quasimodo. To me Dirk will always look like Matthew Mcconaughey and Al will always look like Steve Zahn because that's how I first saw them. I was introduced to Cussler through Sahara so those will always be my first visual. Also I think Macy does a fantastic Admiral Sandecker too.
I'd never heard that Cussler wanted Hugh Jackman for Dirk. I've never seen Sahara, but I think that would have been great. That said, McConaughey seems a good fit just on looks.
I have seen Raise the Titanic. The existing casting that works for me is Jason Robards for Admiral Sandecker. I've always liked Jason Robards and he commonly plays irascible characters like Sandecker, so I think he was well cast in that otherwise unfortunate production.
It was in a small interview I watched on YouTube. He actually didn't hate Sahara either like everyone thinks (he did LOATHE Raise the Titanic though). He just felt that production lied to him because they had him approve about 3 scripts for the film and he approved all of them then they stopped contacting him so he assumed they were gonna shoot the 3rd script. Turns out they didn't start shooting till like script rewrite 7. That's when he got mad because he felt none of his insight was utilized.
Imo I feel like Sahara is the best Cussler adaptation because it keeps MOST of the core plot from the book. The only major changes are that the virus doesn't cause cannibalism (understandable since in 2005 we had a huge zombie film craze going on and they didn't want to market Sahara as a zombie movie), the wrecked plane in the desert doesn't have a backstory in the movie but in the book it does, and a couple other minor details. Otherwise a good 70% of the novel is adapted onto the screen. I personally love Sahara and watch it at least once a month.
Are there other films besides Sahara and Raise the Titanic?
Oh also the film not doing so well ended up hurting his novel sales too so that was another reason he didn't like the movie but he liked it more than Titanic
The film not doing well was a major bummer. We could have a series of films by now and I'd love every one.
I don't get what was SO big budget about it. I thought budget was the main reason they called it a flop, not even breaking even. McConaughey and Penelope Cruz are moderately costly, but it didn't have THAT much in the way of fancy effects or crazy locations.
Oooh I would have liked Jackman too, and he fits the dark and rugged look. You're right though, I was going to go back and read the Mediterranean Caper after I find the very last one in the Pitt series, just to see how much they change. He was always rugged and tough and weathered, but he's definitely getting sexy and suave as we go lol
I read the bits where Al is described as a stocky, dark Italian brick wall, and I still see Zahn chuckling away.
Yeah I wouldn't have disliked Jackman but I feel like Matthew Mcconaughey fits Dirk Pitt way more. Especially in Pacific Vortex and Mediterranean Caper (aka Mayday!). In the earlier novels he is described as not very attractive and also being shaggy looking but with broad shoulders. When the books became popular that's when Clive kinda made him more of a 007 James Bond type and being super suave with the ladies. But in the earlier novels he wasn't that way at all. In fact in Mediterranean Caper it's said that he has to kind of play a song and dance to get a woman to sleep with him 🤣🤣🤣🤣