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Unknowns: More powerful than locomotives
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Lessons 3: Be young (like Daniel Radcliffe)
No one cares if a child actor’s resume doesn’t match up to his adult costars. Being young and unknown is almost expected, and sometimes preferable. When casting an iconic child’s role like Harry Potter, the film’s director specifically wanted a fresh face, not a child actor who was already iconic in and of himself. He found the perfect young man in England’s Daniel Radcliffe. Radcliffe was a good choice, not only because he was a good match for the role physically, but because anyone better known would have been ludicrous.
Child stars simply carry more baggage than your average actor. We’ll always know that Haley Joel Osment sees dead people, just like we’ll always know that Macaulay Culkin was left home alone. Dakota Fanning may be irrepressible, precocious beyond her years, and flat out adorable, but it doesn’t mean we’re going to cast her in the Hilary Duff story.
Lesson 4: Be the lesser evil (a la Hayden Christensen)
When casting rumors for “Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones” began to leak, nerds all over the World Wide Web started wringing their hands, flooding their bulletin boards, and writing George Lucas more letters than usual. Why? The talk was that Leonardo DiCaprio was slated to be cast as the adolescent Anakin Sywalker. Everyone who knew an ewok from Ewan McGregor knew that Leo was all wrong. That boyish fop of blonde hair? That slight build? No one would ever believe the voice of James Earl Jones sprang forth from that body. Nobody. This stood to ruin the franchise more than a dozen Jar Jar Binks.
When Hayden Christensen, an unknown TV actor from Vancouver, was announced as the final choice for the role, it hushed the outcry, even if it stirred up additional curiosity. After mixed reviews from critics, it still remains to be seen if Hayden’s career will take off. All I know is that in his final moments, when he writhed next to a pool of lava, all severed limbs and twisted soul, I thought: “this kid is going somewhere”.
Lesson 5: Have backup
Finally, even Brandon Routh wasn’t cast without a bit of padding. And not in his costume, either. Unlike some superheroes with a history of prosthetic nipples, Superman is 100 percent as nature made him.
The star power in “Superman Returns” is Kevin Spacey as Lex Luther and, to a lesser extent, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. A big name or two helps warm audiences up to an unknown lead. It’s smart and good insurance.
At the very least, it ensures a broader audience, lest the theatres be filled with only “One Life to Live” enthusiasts and diehard fans of “Party at Kitty and Stud’s.”
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