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Recasting The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption is regarded by some as the greatest movie of all time. Just about every part of it is perfectly executed, from the camera work, to the acting, to the score, to the editing, to the writing. I would be hard-pressed to find an aspect of it that is not well done.
There are some movies that when I’m channel surfing and see that it’s on, I will stop and watch it, no matter what scene it is. A few of those movies for me, off the top of my head are Good Will Hunting, Forrest Gump, and The Shawshank Redemption. Every scene demands your attention, whether it is lighthearted or heartbreaking.
This part is obvious, but it is a story of redemption. But more importantly, it’s a story about the beauty of a strong bond of friendship. There is definitely a bond between Andy, Red, Heywood, and Brooks, but the strongest bond is between Andy and Red. It is just something to behold watching them grow closer and closer, to the point where they would do anything for each other.
On top of all of this, it has one of my favorite movie quotes ever. And this quote isn’t great in the sense that it’s endlessly hilarious, like anything from Napoleon Dynamite, but great in the sense that it is true and applicable to real life:
“Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.”
Any time a movie teaches me something real about life, I appreciate it that much more (I’ll be writing more about this in my upcoming posts on Andrew Garfield).
When @mombouf from Instagram requested I write about this movie, I got excited, as it’s obviously one of my favorites. I thought it would be difficult to recast it, but I found that, except for Red, this was the easiest recast yet.
Let’s get into it!
Andy Dufresne: Leonardo DiCaprio – DiCaprio is at the point in his career where he is fairly picky about the roles he takes. But Andy Dufresne is one that he could play very well. He could bring the gentleness and unrelentingly hopeful spirit that is required of Andy and he is about the right age. He could also be someone who’s experienced the loss of his wife, as he did in Inception. The only difference is that he needs the gentleness, instead of intensity.
Red: Liam Neeson – I could not find the perfect actor for this role. Not only is Red the demanding presence and safe place for Andy, but he needs that voice that the audience will hear narrating for the entire movie. That’s how I settled on Neeson. He has a voice that is soothing (when he isn’t threatening to kill you) and good for voiceover, like in The Grey. Plus, he is Irish, which is faithful to the character of Red.
Warden Norton: Martin Sheen – Sheen can bring the dark side to the character, while maintaining an almost friendly exterior.
Heywood: Brad Pitt – Heywood is a character who really is a good guy, but he’s a criminal in prison, so he’s rough around the edges. I can totally see Pitt pulling it off.
Captain Hadley: Henry Cavill – I’m making this choice based off the trailers for Mission: Impossible: Fallout. He is physically imposing, like Hadley needs to be, and can play the tough guy who is basically an antagonist. And for as poorly written as Superman was in Justice League, he basically pulled off what I was just describing in that.
Tommy: Zac Efron – He can definitely play the “bro” kind of character who doesn’t care about anything, because that’s what most of his career has been. But I saw that he can be more personal in The Greatest Showman, which, again, wasn’t a great movie. It just showed me what I needed to see from Efron.
Brooks Hatlen: Ian Holm – There is a lack of older actors in Hollywood who can play a more frail character like Brooks. It just wouldn’t make sense to see someone like Robert De Niro or Al Pacino playing him. So I chose Holm based on how he portrayed Bilbo once he started to age in The Lord of the Rings.
Elmo Blatch: Mickey Rourke – Rourke could bring the sort of evil insanity that is Blatch shows in his short appearance in the film.
Guard: Alec Baldwin – This is the guard that walks down the line of cells to find that Andy has escaped. I kind of just want to see Baldwin walking down the aisle and yelling.
Banker: Steve Carell – This is the banker towards the very end that Andy sits with to change his identity. Carell could make a cameo and put on a friendly face for this short scene.
Let me know what you think of my recasting, or give me suggestions for other movies to recast for the next Fan Request Friday on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!