The Reaper List series ~ Casting Call
- Russell
- Apr 29
- 11 min read
After so many messages and polite suggestions (as well as a couple less-than-polite demands), we've managed to pull together the community's suggestions as to who they could see in the roles for The Reaper List series. Russell's comments and own suggestions are below. This follows the Q&A sessions here and here. So without further ado, let's get to the summary that is sure to anger most of you!
So Russell, I expect there to be some blowback here. Are you prepared for this?
Probably not. (laugh). I think everyone had some great ideas and agree with a couple of them, in spirit. All I can offer is who I can envision as the characters, but I encourage everyone to take the story and make it their own. Before we get going, though, I want to give a bigger picture perspective on what I'd do if I were king for a day. To start, I don’t think this works as a tentpole movie release or even a few of them where each book gets its own movie. I feel they might work better as a six or eight episode seasons. I’m imagining something more akin to Netflix’s The Night Agent or the BBC series The Bodyguard. Part of that is atmospheric; I picture this as a street-level character piece rather than something with bombastic explosions and large ongoing scenes. But part of it is Shawn’s character. He’s an everyman more than some James Bond-esque presence that overwhelms every scene.
Fair points, and I would imagine that approach may have impacted who you chose in the roles, as well. Let’s start with some of the important supporting characters introduced early in the series.
Maurice Wood, Kidd’s friend and handler… and eventually his pursuing bloodhound.
Starting out with one of the hardest, I think. My image of Maurice has him like a stubby, brick wall more than anything else, and it limits good options. Winston Duke, of Black Panther fame, seems like an option, but I think he’s too imposing. Maurice imposed his presence by personality more than size. John David Washington would be a possibility. I thought he was great in Book of Eli, and he’s about the right height. But the more I see of LaRoyce Hawkins, the more I see some similarities. He’s a primary player on Chicago Fire now.
And what about Jason Anders? Reaper Project leader and scapegoat?
Oh, man. Surprisingly, I think Anders was the one character I got the most suggestions and ideas about. More even than Shawn. Much of it is pretty random, texts from friends and DMs from followers. The fact that they focus so much on him makes me wish I had. I had intended for him to be a hard-ass overseer that served more as a voice of reason than anything else. That changed for the third book… still a voice of reason but more actively involved. Regardless, I appreciate the community’s interest.
As far as someone that could step into those shoes, my original thought back during the first couple of books was someone like Jason Isaacs. A stoic presence that grounded the dialogue while also... sort of hanging over the sections of the book that were more weighty. I had a friend say the character reminded them of Sam Jaeger, recently seen in The Handmaid’s Tale. He would be a great choice. After watching him in the Jack Ryan series, John Krasinksi has the right presence.
There's also the option of a gender swap here. I'm not against it, because I think the character can be developed similarly regardless of gender. This only works for a specific actress in my mind, though. So, if Tricia Helfer won't do it, we need to stick with a male actor.
But for me, I was really taken with Stephen Moyer’s recent work in the most recent season of The Night Agent. I’ve seen him off and on through the years in various roles, but I understand most people recognize him from True Blood, a series that I never got around to seeing. Still, as The Father in The Night Agent, his presence is about what I’d envisioned for Anders.
Captain Thomas Sebastian, 20-something commander of the Marine contingent?
For Sebastian, I have really heard all manner of things from readers. His personality is pretty evident in the writing, but I was vague enough in the physical description that I’ve been told that readers picture him as looking anything from a spindly white guy to a bulky African-American. It probably makes him simultaneously the easiest and most difficult to cast.
I’ve heard Timothée Chalamet, Tom Holland, Damson Idris… Sebastian is a challenge because of his age. He’s actually the youngest of the main characters, but his personality is very strong because of his background. It requires a younger actor but one with presence enough to not be overwhelmed by the others.
Nicholas Hoult would be an option, but his stature is such that he looks the 36 years old that he is. However, Taron Egerton does NOT look the 36 years old that he is. And he is great in pretty much everything he’s in. So, the Elton John actor gets the nod. Sebastian was always sparkly.
Tobias Acklin, Former Swiss military; Becomes Kidd’s handler
Ok, look… he’s getting up in years, but this has always been Christoph Waltz for me. I’d entertain someone younger simply given the age… maybe Waltz has a son that acts. Another option is Darrell D’Silva. I really enjoyed his work in Wrath of Man, playing a tiring, frustrated hitman. Seems appropriate.
Jeremiah, eccentric bad-guy with a bigger impact on the series than you'd think
Jeremiah carries an air about him that is dismissive of most people near him. He’s tall, lanky, and arrogantly British. Cillian Murphy, Luke Evans, and Benedict Cumberbatch have the bearing for it. Of the three, I think I’d go with Cumberbatch. He can swing between a disturbing evil and a haughty air of superiority pretty easily, I think.
Richard Mannheim, Jeran Board member with secrets
A man beaten down by where life has put him, Mannheim has quite the arc over the three books. There is a wide range of emption here, and I think we're gonna need to be selective as to who ends up playing the role. His personality changes abruptly in the third book, so we'll need someone with range. Too many actors these day just play themselves in each film. Visualizing Mannheim, I pictured someone in a business suit that just looks annoyed to be in it, but that's really only true of Kidd. He's not like that in the first two novels. I see Matthew McConaughey or Christian Bale in this role.
Garrick, British SAS trooper and frontline warrior
This hulking figure, much like Tobias, formed in my mind almost immediately when I started thinking about someone with the physical presence to do him justice. Henry Cavill. I would think others could be had for cheaper (this movie is getting expensive with these high-profile actors!), but Cavill would be perfect for Garrick. Alan Ritchson would be a viable option, as well, given the aura he projects as Jack Reacher.
Irisi Gerard, Reaper and covert agent for the bad guys
Irisi is written as an exotic, femme fatale that is more out of her element than she’d like to admit. It requires the ability to project false confidence… and then flip quickly to vulnerability mixed with a Napolean complex. Ten years ago, I pictured someone like Nazanin Boniadi. She was one of the few women that Barney dated on How I Met Your Mother that kept up with him and his antics, and she really did well in her role on Homeland. Ten years is a lot of time, and the character is supposed to be in college in Number 181. Isabel Merced could work here, but I think she’d work better for someone else (spoilers…). Zendaya has been everywhere lately and is too old for the role, but I think she was at her best in The Greatest Showman. Bring that attitude to the role, and it’s gold.
Maxwell Daly Jr. – Senator, Jeran board member, and puppetmaster
In this pie-in-the-sky notion of this being a long-running series on Netflix, the events of Kidd are a ways out. Daly only appears in the third book but has his hands in the first two. I could foresee a couple man-in-the-shadows scenes where we hear but do not see the face of Daly. This guy has main character syndrome, a car salesman’s demeanor (sorry, salesmen, but you are a stereotype), and soulless eyes. So, I’ll apologize to all the actors I’m about to list. Don’t take it personally.
A glut of people could do this justice: Liev Schreiber, Clive Owen, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo… but I’m gonna go with Jeffrey Dean Morgan. His renown skyrocketed as Negan in The Walking Dead, but you could see the persona developing back when he played the Winchesters' father in Supernatural. Gravitas and intensity. And, it’s easy for him to play someone smarmy and dislikeable.
Sophie Frey, Swiss team; IT; Mousey/timid
For Sophie, I’m imagining a petite actress that can rock a pixie cut. She’d need to convey timidity and a sense of emotional isolation… like an outsider that feels they don’t belong in the dark world in which they exist. There were a few recommendations from readers that might work: Peyton List, Maria Bakalova, Hunter Schafer. But Isabela Merced, most recently seen as Hawkgirl in the latest Superman fits the look and has proven she can project the right attitude.
Erik Bless, Swiss team; Eager new agent
Bless comes into his own a bit in the 3rd book, but he’s always written as mysterious and a bit of a black hole. I picture him being a studious, midcentury German that has a persona and bearing that would be more ‘East’ than ‘West’ during the years of the Berlin wall. Compact, slick-haired, and too eager to please to know better. Paul Mescal’s name came up again here, as did Tanner Buchanan’s (Johnny Lawrence’s son in Cobra Kai). I like Tye Sheridan here, though. He’s on the smaller side and fits the mental image. If not him, I could see Josh Hutcherson of Hunger Games and Five Nights at Freddy’s fame.
Alexis Winters, 20-something scientist; Shawn’s girlfriend
Okay, phew, now we are getting to the more contentious casting. I'll call them the three leads, even though Alexis' presence is more felt than seen in the series.
When it comes to Kidd’s love interest from Number 181, I didn’t have an actress’s image in my head as I wrote. She was an amalgam of a couple different women I’d known growing up, and I can imagination several different actors embodying the role. Ten years ago, I thought A.J. Cook (from Criminal Minds and the woefully underappreciated Out Cold) was an ideal candidate. These days, Hunter Schafer is often mentioned by readers, along with Anya Taylor-Joy (fantastic in The Gorge). Emily Tennant (Hallmark!) fits the look but might be a bit old for the character. Regardless, when I came across Annasophia Robb in some of her recent roles (and recalled how much I enjoyed her in the childhood-destroying Bridge to Terabithia), I realized she’d fit Alexis perfectly.
Jana Christen, Mid 20s; Swiss; Tall; Dark hair with strokes of red
Jana is a strong and independent figure, one with more awareness and presence than even she gives herself credit. She’s 5’10”, with long hair and a temper. An actress needs to be able to hold her own in a room full of people that know more than her and do it with flare.
The problem I came up with here was the age. I had a half dozen good candidates, and I imagine they could play the part with elan. But I was hoping to keep the main characters closer to their written ages. Rachel Skarsten, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and particularly Deborah Ann Woll fit the image I had in my head. Amanda Righetti would be ideal, and I modeled much of the scenes with her in the role. If we’re gonna blow up the age-pairing between her and Shawn (and, let’s be honest, she doesn’t look the 42 years old that she is), she’s my choice.
If we are aiming younger, which probably should be Plan A, Sophie Turner or Saoirse Ronan would be fine choices. I’d give the edge to Sophie, though. The images I’ve seen coming out of the Tomb Raider shoot are impressive. Though Jana isn’t near the aggressor like Lara Croft (the lead for the Tomb Raider series), the look (minus the thigh holsters) is pretty close.
Still, watch Amanda Righetti in Love at the Shore (Hallmark!) or late seasons of The Mentalist, and you’ll get the idea of where I was going when I created Jana. Just picture her with double Dutch braids.
Shawn Kidd, 29-31; Engineer with… skills; 6’1” with scruffy dark hair and blue eyes
Oof. This is gonna be rough. I’ve heard almost everything here, and the fact that the Reaper List series has been around for ten years has resulted in a wide range of actors. People tell me names that I’ve never even heard of, and that’s more of a commentary on my recent watching habits than anything else. Finding an actor in his late twenties that fits the mold is difficult, but I freely admit that may be due to the tight hold I keep on the character. No one will ever be perfect, as far as I’m concerned. Even ten years ago, the actor that I settled on was too old. Now, even more so. Jensen Ackles has the look and sarcastic personality to pull it off, but he’s nearing 50. Sorry, Supernatural fans, I know that is jarring. Even going with the Plan B ‘older’ casting, I can’t use him in good conscience. Hell, even Glen Powell is nearing 40. The added complexity is the eyes, Shawn’s defining feature. Do we CGI in blue eyes? Add awkward contacts? I’ll leave that to Michael Mann to figure out (oh, did I not say that he’d be directing?).
For the Plan B, older crowd, several options came to mind. Austin Stowell (Whiplash, Bridge of Spies, can rock a good beard and pull off the eyes) would be an admirable choice. He’s not immediately recognizable to most viewers and could chew up a scene. Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Eternals, the thoroughly overlooked on this side of the pond Bodyguard) would be great… right jawline and hair but a bit on the short side. Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick) has the boyish looks, even at his age. I really enjoyed his performance in The Gorge, also. The relationship his character shared with Anya Taylor-Joy's is similar to what I’d see for Shawn and Jana. For the ‘elder plan,’ I opt for him.
For younger actors, I struggled. Tom Holland is a hot commodity, but he’s already 30. And, I think his life as Spider-Man makes him so attached to that character as to make him a non-starter for Shawn. Others… well, the prototypical actor in their twenties right now has a distinctive look that doesn’t directly translate to Kidd. They are actors, of course. But, current trends in young Hollywood run counter to Shawn’s look, physique, and personality. Jacob Elordi (Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein) is an option, but I think his height (6’5”) might be an issue. Still, I think the narrative could be easily adapted to account for it. Others are worth mentioning, such as Andrew Burnap (Snow White) and Tanner Buchanan (previously mentioned for Erik Bless). But I decided to go a little bit off the beaten path here, picturing Sophie Turner running through the Pittsburgh tunnels with… Patrick Schwarzenegger. He might need to bulk up a bit (ironically), but his work on Gen V and The White Lotus show he can pull off the dramatic moments required.
So, there you have it for the primary players.
Patrick Schwarzenegger’s Shawn Kidd sprinting away from a Swiss Chalet with Alexis, played by Annasophia Robb… followed by a race across Chicago with a red-haired Sophie Turner as Jana.
Or Miles Teller, stalking through a Texas forest with AJ Cook as Alexis… before becoming a mountain recluse inevitably brought back into the world of espionage by a chance meeting with Amanda Righetti’s Jana.
What about you?
Who did you picture in each role as you read through the series?
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