Bit concerned about the cheap-out in casting for all the billion-dollar bragging by Amazon

D

Darth Crumb

The Shire
The films, and Game of Thrones for that matter, got the best actors they could, or at least a mix of well known and up and coming. This show doesn't have a single household name.

It seems like a trend with streaming services. Amazon's The Expanse or Man in the High Castle. Apple's For All Mankind. All very good sci-fi shows but a definite "who are all these people?" feeling while watching. BSG was similar, but they could anchor it around Edward James Olmos.

It doesn't mean the show won't be good, but if Amazon wants it to be 'prestige" they should hire prestige actors. HBO and Disney seem to get better than others that you need quality actors to draw people in, even if it cuts down the CGI budget.

Still hope its great and there are lots of break-out performances.
 
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One of the greatest successes of the Jackson trilogy was hiring relative unknowns (or at least not Hollywood A-listers) to play the protagonists.

It's a gamble, but is preferable (in my opinion) to seeing the same faces appear in every media product that the industry churns out these days.
 
With this type of fantasy property, it make sense to cast lots of unknowns. A lesser known actor is not necessarily a worse actor. A big chunk of the original LOTR cast was getting their big break in those films.

And in any case, given the enormous budget, I don't think Amazon is "cheaping out" in any sense that I understand the phrase. They are making an artistic choice to bring us some fresh faces who can grow into these roles.
 
Plus, we won't be pulled out of the world by suddenly recognizing a famous actor whom we're unable to dissociate from their appearance in another role.
 
I just think a few Christopher Lee or Ian McKellan-calibre actors would give some heft to the mostly unknown, fairly young cast.
 
but even someone like the guy who played Tywin Lannister. I don't even remember his name, but he's instantly recognizable and if you see him in a trailer you know you'll get a at least one great performance.
It seems like a gamble to go with all-unknowns, is all.
 
I suppose that you by "household names" mean actors who are well-known to an general audience? If that is the case, you could argue that both Peter Mullan (Ozark, Top of the Lake, Westworld, etc) and Charles Edwards (The Crown, Downton Abbey) are household names. Also, Morfydd Clark is, if not already a household name, certainly up and coming and has starred in His Dark Materials and well-known horror flicks such as Saint Maud and Crawl.

Speaking of GoT, who besides Sean Bean would you say was known to the general public at the start of the series? You could make a case for Pete Dinklage, but I'm fairly certain he mostly starred in indie movies before GoT.

The problem with recruiting bigger actors to a series like this is that most of them aren't willing to spend months away from home halfway across the globe. This might change when the production moves to the UK, which could mean that we may see some bigger European names in future seasons.

Nevertheless, I don't think the actors are the main selling point for a series of this kind. Those interested in watching it will watch it regardless, and it simply doesn't matter that much if it's Robert Aramayo or Zac Efron who plays Elrond.
 
"Recognizable" is maybe better, even if people don't know the names. And good point about Season 1 of GoT. I don't mean to crap on the actors. I hope they're great.
 
Rufus Sewell (a delight every time) was no unknown.

It's also perfectly possible that Amazon is keeping a few such faces up its sleeve; we haven't seen half the cast yet, I imagine.
 
I think a better way to look at it could be to think of all the household names Game of Thrones created rather than the ones they started with. Even Lord of the Rings (as has already been said in these replies) created far more household names than it started with. If they're well cast and well written parts, it'll all work out - maybe even so well that those names we've never heard of will become names that EVERYBODY knows. It's possible. Just ask Orlando Bloom.
 
True, they don't have big stars. But in a way that shows a confidence in the property and the filmmaking. A lot of movies have done wonderfully well with a cast of relative unknowns: Jackson had well-respected stage actors like McKellen, but they weren't exactly "bankable" stars: the only member of his cast worthy of that distinction was Liv Tyler.

The show does have some very well-respected TV actors like Aramayo and Boniadi, some up-and-coming actors (Morfydd Clark and Cruz-Cordova) and some older veterans like Peter Mullan (possibly my favourite piece of casting in the piece) and Sir Lenny Henry.

And I'm personally waiting to see what will happen when casting starts for season two: now that they're shooting in the UK, they could nab people that would have otherwise not accepted a role "down under".
 
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It’s not a trend so much as a practicality. There is so much in production, due to the explosion of original content (for streaming) and the ravages of COVID, there are production worker and talent shortages. It’s a great time to be a lesser or unknown actor looking for that big break, or someone well known returning to the craft.
 
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