TIMBERWOLF started out as a screenplay that I converted into a novel. Starting in screenplay mode helped me find ways to bring bold concepts to the page as vividly as possible. I worked hard at giving each character a distinct voice, and as I got to know them, a funny thing happened. I began to "cast" my characters with real actors in my head. I tried to avoid it initially, but eventually, I leaned into it, and it has become a part of my process.
| BTW - Timberwolf was recognized as a TaleFlick Top Pick for page-to-screen adaption. Check that out! |
If Timberwolf ever is adapted to a TV show (a movie wouldn't be enough), this is my dream cast. Yes, some of these folks have won Oscars and Golden Globes, but I did say dream cast, so - just go with it. I'll do several posts over the next few weeks that will include the whole "cast." Here are the first two characters.
Amy Ryan as Dr. Thea Tier
Dr. Tier is Timberwolf's handler and the head of the Department of Peace Enforcement. She's in charge of an agency designed to tear down the military-industrial establishment, which has been churning for over a hundred years. Her expertise entails dirty tricks, disinformation, maneuvering behind the scenes, and dispatching people like Timberwolf when matters need to get more "hands-on." Her role brings her into conflict with the existing power structure, so her anonymity is critical. She's on the knife edge of good and evil and is pragmatic and calculating. She is dangerously creative and usually has a "great, bad idea" up her sleeve.
Dr. Tier could be a by-the-numbers antagonist but it was important for me that she also comes across as a human being. She is a combat medic by training. Beyond her job, Dr. Tier has a daughter and she is forced to worry about people exposing her identity. She suffers from a stress-related substance abuse problem, which can be used against her by her enemies.
In my head, she's played by the Oscar-nominated Amy Ryan. Amy has played parts both dramatic (Gone Baby Gone, Birdman) and comedic (The Office) and has always struck me as an actor with a lot going on behind her performance. She could bring out Dr. Tier's many faults and formidable strengths.
Hannibal Buress as Captain Arnar Mallis
Arnar Mallis is the leader of a crew of stream pirates. They are "unlicensed borders," who have stolen a ship called Krakatoa which has the thought-to-be-impossible capability to board other ships within a sub-light stream. How they got the ship, who made it, and how it works is another story I want to tell someday! Arnar and his crew are hired by an unknown patron to break Timberwolf off of the A.C. flagship Challenger before he can be executed.
Arnar is highly personable, motivated by profit, and has a habit of stumbling into lucrative opportunities. He cares deeply about his crew's safety, but his stubborn focus on making a payday can result in disaster. When I first started writing this character, I thought of him as the "Big Lebowski" in space, but then he became more self-motivated and colorful. I wanted someone who could express low-key irony but wasn't one-note. I love how Hannibal Burress observes things in both his acting and comedy. He has a sort of wide-eye detachment but also slices to the core with a razor wit. Arnar has a lot to process as a character, as at first he is just hired to do a job, but that snowballs into being part of a cause. I think Hannibal would crush it!
Stay tuned for more casting!
Do you have any ideas for these or other characters? Put them in the comments!
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