Who would you choose for John Constantine

[Legato]

Lets say you were involved with the movie Constantine who would you choose to play the part?

I would say James Marsters(Buffy/Angel). In a few angles he does look like John.

[Dave Cote]

I would go with Jude Law.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Gotta go against you both there....

James Masters really hasn't shown enough range in his acting for John, IMO.
Though I could be wrong I've only seen him play the one character.

Jude Law I think is to swauve for the part - too good looking and upper class, he doesn't have a "street" feel to him.

I'm gonna cast my vote for Clive Owen.

[Dave Cote]

Gotta go against you both there....

James Masters really hasn't shown enough range in his acting for John, IMO.
Though I could be wrong I've only seen him play the one character.

Jude Law I think is to swauve for the part - too good looking and upper class, he doesn't have a "street" feel to him.

I'm gonna cast my vote for Clive Owen.

I like Clive Owen but I think he is to large.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

I like Clive Owen but I think he is to large.

In what sense?

[Legato]

Gotta go against you both there....

James Masters really hasn't shown enough range in his acting for John, IMO.
Though I could be wrong I've only seen him play the one character.

Jude Law I think is to swauve for the part - too good looking and upper class, he doesn't have a "street" feel to him.

I'm gonna cast my vote for Clive Owen.

James Marsters got a decent fanbase and got some good acting skills to pull it off. Also, suppose the movie makes enough money to have a sequal, he would have a much better chance of coming back for a sequal than Keanu would.

Jude Law would make a much better Satan.

[Dave Cote]

In what sense?
I never pictured Constantine as a big man. I always thought Clive Owen was pyshically imposing .I think he would make a good Chas.

[ragnarok_2012]

3 choices:

Twenty-something Constantine: Heath Ledger.

Thirty-something Constantine: Jude Law.

Forty to Fifty-Something Constantine: Sting.

[Popgun]

I always wanted Christopher Eccleston for the role, back in the day. Aside from the obvious visual and theatrical qualifications, He's also one of the few who could concievably pull off the accent of a Liverpudlian who's spent the majority of his adult life in London (Well, Mike Carey could, but...). Given that James Marsters is unable to render a convincing cockney without sounding like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, it's unlikely he'd be able to manage it.

Jude would have been ideal for The Snob.

[Predator]

I was thinking Marsters as well. He's shown he can play the British, trenchcoated, chain-smoking smart-ass very well. Seems like a pretty good choice to me.

[Siddon]

I liked Keanu, Weitz however stunk up the joint

[Ali G]

i would choose me coz i am da pimp daddy and ey be playin 'im so he get all da connie. plus each season of my show be only 7 episodes long and i need da mula

[HartyPotter]

Considering Marsters is somewhat trained as a Shakespearean actor (which is how he developed that exaggerated British accent despite being American), he's as qualified as anyone mentioned to be a good enough actor.

[niall mc cann]

At the risk of typecasting the poor guy, i thought Jason Statham would be a good choice.

He's a bit young, but he does have a streetwise/fast-talking hardman persona that's not completely unlike John.

And what were Lock, Stock... and Snatch but Hellblazer without the demonic s#!t?

Well, sort off...

[bitplayer]

What about Brad Pitt? He's an american but a pretty good actor at times.

[Alan2099]

Michael Wincott. He's got the look, the voice, pretty much everything. Plus he's a lot better actor than Keanu.

[RawShark]

Kiefer Sutherland

[dancj]

Considering Marsters is somewhat trained as a Shakespearean actor (which is how he developed that exaggerated British accent despite being American), he's as qualified as anyone mentioned to be a good enough actor.

I always thought the most important qualification was ability to act.

It's hard to say whether he can act, because I'm always so distracted by his terrible accent

[abbas.khan]

daniel radcliffe (in 30 years) :P

[WSLer]

The answer of course, is the man that Moore consciously modeled Constantine after, Mr. Gordon Summner.

End of discussion.

[Plissken]

Kiefer Sutherland

Finally! Someone got it right.

[meethraa]

Campbell Scott

[Legato]

daniel radcliffe (in 30 years) :P

Nah. Tom Felton. He's blond and he already has experience in playing a smartass type of character named Draco. He is also, IMO, a much better actor than Dan.

[stealthwise]

All of these are better picks than what we ended up with... *sigh*

[pixel8]

Keanu so obviously NOT that I didn't even bother watching it till it came up on tv last week. Rubbish... great effects!

At the time I thought Daniel Craig, but that was before Bond.

Flirted with the idea of Ewan McGregor - no! too safe... and NOT Sting, he's just too limited as an actor... Bowie even - when he was younger and thinner.

Then realised my perfect* John Constantine - Robert Carlyle!

Why?

Because my idea of John Constantine is the bloke you find yourself sitting next to in the pub, charming, funny, intelligent, troubled, obviously on the edge of the criminal underworld. Great to have a few pints with but you don't want to get TOO close because he's DANGEROUS! You could wind up dead or worse...

Robert Carlyle. I first notice him as 'Albie' in "Cracker" (1994) - a decent, sensitive human being driven over the edge to become a psychokiller - and an actor making you understand why! Unforgettable.

Think of his two most famous roles: as 'Gaz' in "The Full Monty" and 'Begbie' in "Trainspotting". Gaz could be your best mate and Begbie you wouldn't cross (if you'd got any sense) be you a demon from the lowest level of Hell...

John Constantine!

OK so he's Glasgow not Liverpool and his hair's not quite the right shade of... Keanu?

Sometimes I send myself to sleep with a version of "Constantine" that I think even Alan Moore would approve of!


(*Christopher Eccleston would be a good second choice! (I'm british - had you noticed?))

[stealthwise]

Carlyle was brilliant in Ravenous as well. Hell, I'd go for that.

[Joey Deadcat]

Don't know why but I've always envisioned David Thewlis as Constantine. Maybe it's 'cause of his role as Johnny in Naked.

[Porcelain]

Carlyle would rock. Skinny Daniel Craig would do really well in it, it's just whether the audience can get Bond out of their mind, which is unfortunately doutbfull - I still can't watch anything with SMG in it without expecting her to kick stuff.

Love Marsters to bits, but the first time I saw him on Buffy I cringed for half an hour straight. The accent was awfull, must have become desensitised to it over time. It would just be cruel to subject the world to an hour a half of it.
I always wanted Christopher Eccleston for the role, back in the day. Aside from the obvious visual and theatrical qualifications, He's also one of the few who could concievably pull off the accent of a Liverpudlian who's spent the majority of his adult life in London (Well, Mike Carey could, but...).
I don't think he'd be able to pull off the darkness or desolation properly and still make the audience empathise with him though. Wincott's not a bad suggestion either, but he's soo good at being completely bad, don't know if he can get the audience to buy into him being the protagonist.

Life on Mars boy might work (John Simm), he's got that everyman look, could have been to hell and back but still a sparkle in his eye when needed.
http://www.mymeanmagpie.com/images/2007/Life_On_Mars.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/faces/john_simm.shtml
Did momentarily think of that guy from Hustle, he looks the part, but he's been bloody awfull in anything outside of it. Shame Danny Dyer can't do anything but cheeky cockney bad boy too and Sean Pertwee's getting on a bit (can you tell I have a weakness for cheeky gits?). :D

Yep, in lieu of Daniel Craig: Robert Carlyle or John Simm.

[Bellis]

I've always wondered who'd be able to play Constantine as written in the comics in live action, but I've always come up with nothing until now.

Porcelain, I think John Simm would be perfect as Constantine. I couldn't imagine anyone that has been previously mentioned in this thread in the role, but I really think that's practically pitch-perfect casting. I could totally buy him in the trenchcoat and doing Constantine's cool cigarette lighting pose, not to mention the smirk and the attitude. And he had (has?) a rock band, too. Perfect!

[FanboyStranger]

I know I'm going to get slagged, but Paddy Considine is my perfect middle-aged Constantine. Plays the world-weary but can still fuck-shit-up! part perfectly. Not exactly great at being larger-than-life, but I'm not sure he's ever had the chance.

He's also my perfect Cassidy, so what the eff do I know?

[Immortal]

Tom Jane (former Punisher)

[BeastieRunner]

Somebody who's not a BLOODY AMERICAN!

[dupersuper]

All of these are better picks than what we ended up with... *sigh*

I'm just glad he didn't try to affect the accent...

[SoulOnIce]

What about Ewan McGregor?

[J. Robb]

We're years too late now, but if they insisted on having an American play Constantine, I'd pick Denis Leary.

[HouseSolo]

Keanu Reeves... wait... having some major deja vu here...

[Jay D. Author]

For me, for the past couple of years, it's been a toss up between Tim Roth and (I'll feel bad about not remembering his name after I hit send) the guy who plays the lead in the television show House.

[dancj]

We're years too late now, but if they insisted on having an American play Constantine, I'd pick Denis Leary.
I'd have gone with David Caruso - or maybe even Keifer Sutherland - if he had to be American.

I suspect though that the point was less that they wanted an American and more that they wanted Keanu Reeves

[DarrickPatrick]

Kiefer Sutherland

That's what I think too - the Kiefer from the Lost Boys time period.

[JohnShil]

Alan Moore says he met John Constantine at least twice. He should track him down and write the movie.

[TomGun13]

What about Tim Roth?

[Super Villains INC>]

I always thought Paul Bettany had the potential to do it.....

[rick]

Sting, even old, would seem the obvious choice.

[Cich_Sod]

Mickey Rourke in 'Angel Heart' looked like John Constantine:)

[mgs]

In the past I've ranted abotu Keanu being John, but to be fair, I just saw the movie this weekend on FX and it was pretty good. I think someone like Sting has the look, but Keanu worked out pretty good. I just wonder where the next movie will take him, storywise.

[dancj]

I think I read that there won't be a sequel.

[Libaax]

In the past I've ranted abotu Keanu being John, but to be fair, I just saw the movie this weekend on FX and it was pretty good. I think someone like Sting has the look, but Keanu worked out pretty good. I just wonder where the next movie will take him, storywise.

Have you ever read the comic?


Dont care about the look but he didnt get anything esle right. Even though they tried to make him dark,mysterious he only became emo like...

But Keanu cant act goody goody, how can he be the biggest bastard brit ever .....

[mgs]

Have you ever read the comic?


Dont care about the look but he didnt get anything esle right. Even though they tried to make him dark,mysterious he only became emo like...

But Keanu cant act goody goody, how can he be the biggest bastard brit ever .....

Yeah, I've read a few issues. And I know his characterization and whatnot were not exactly on target, but as far as a movie goes, I found it to be not that bad. Constantine is not a character that I feel strongly about though so...

[Libaax]

Yeah, I've read a few issues. And I know his characterization and whatnot were not exactly on target, but as far as a movie goes, I found it to be not that bad. Constantine is not a character that I feel strongly about though so...


You wont see who JC after a couple issues. Specially the first run of his series wasnt so good and not about him.

It was more epesodic stories about hippies,ley lines or what not.


Movie visually wasnt bad but it didnt have a story or a good hero.

Peter Stormare as the devil was the highlight.

[mgs]

Peter Stormare as the devil was the highlight.

I have to agree. That part was very cool, I enjoyed that whole last scene with Gabriel and all. Having a Satan more in control (even though he was duped) than the whimpy devil from Ghost Rider was the better choice.

[botch]

Constantine was a great movie. It was well directed, enjoyable, tight, great dialogue and Keanu was just one of cinemas toughest badasses.

problem is it wasn't a good Hellblazer movie, definately only in name, but a great movie in it's own right. I mean Keanu was too badass as Constantine, John's usually sly and fearful, but Keanu's was way too tough.

It was a better film that wasn't like it's source than say Batman 89 was to Batman Comics.

[Libaax]

Keanu's way too tough to be JC hehe......

I thought he was way too wimpy to be John Constantine.

No matter how much he smoked and tried to look cool, he wasnt the JC like that in the comics treated the devil like he was just another wanker.


You are right though, if it wasnt named Constantine, it would just another alright almost lame Keanu movie. The trouble is its named Constantine and ruins mainstream's people view of one of the coolest guys in comics.