Gorgol the Butcher

[Ange1e4e5]

Gorgol is an Orc war-captain in service to Morgoth under the command of Sauron. Sauron tasks him with eliminating Barahir and his band. Being a braggart, Gorgol takes Barahir's hand bearing the Ring given by Finrod but this proves to be his downfall when Beren, intent on avenging his father, kills him. Gorgol will need to do fight scenes as a henchman character.

Daniel Bernhardt has spent his career in low-budget action films and small but impactful roles in bigger action films, often as the toughest henchman. Knows karate and taekwondo. More of a tall and lean but powerful type who's good with fisticuffs.

Daniel Bernhardt

Daniel Bernhardt | Actor, Stunts, Director

Known for: Atomic Blonde, John Wick, The Matrix Reloaded

www.imdb.com

Age: 57
Height: 6'2"
Roles: Agent Johnson in The Matrix Reloaded, District 9 Tribute in Catching Fire, Kirill in John Wick, 'Bone Breaker' in Logan, Soldier in Atomic Blonde

 

[Haerangil]

Bill Burr
Age:54
Height: 5'10"
Roles: Migs Mayfield

Burr is mostly known as a stand-up comedian and radio host, but he does acting too. As Gorgol is a braggart and cynical Orc who even actually Dares to Call Sauron by his s-name i think he would be perfect for the role of a lesser Orc lieutenant with a big mouth, cunning intelligence who is backstabbingly dangerous and rather subtle threatening than physically imposing.

Edit: Chosen to play Gorgol the Butcher; desire to have him work with a voice coach due to strong and distinctive accent.

 

[Ange1e4e5]

Ray Park has spent his career playing martially proficient villains; he may be a bit shorter but he has a lot more experience with using weapons. Also has the arrogant part down pat, particularly in X-Men where most of his lines are badmouthing his fellow henchman Sabertooth after a screwup or two (Sabertooth fails a kidnapping, Toad says "Weren't you supposed to bring someone back with you?"; Sabertooth gets shot with a lightning bolt, Toad says "Quit playing around"). His look in that film always made me think of Orcs, particularly the Moria ones depicted in the Peter Jackson films.

Ray Park

Ray Park | Actor, Stunts, Additional Crew

Known for: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, X-Men, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

www.imdb.com

Age: 48
Height: 5'9"
Roles: Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the Headless Horseman in Sleepy Hollow (1999), Toad in X-Men, Snake-Eyes in the G.I. Joe duology

 

[MithLuin]

Frank Grillo

Age: 57
Height: 5' 10 1/2" (1.79 m)

Frank Grillo | Actor, Producer, Executive

Known for: The Grey, The Purge: Anarchy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier

www.imdb.com

Frank Grillo is comfortable playing a hero or a villain, but what is consistent through all of his roles is competence in fighting. He portrays characters who are well-trained, either in the military or boxing or police force, and he carries himself in a way that conveys that expertise. He's a boxing coach in Warrior, an Alaskan oil worker stranded in the wilderness in The Grey. In Operation Seawolf, he's an Allied naval commander responsible for stopping the German subs in WWII. In Boss Level, he's an ex-special agent getting hunted down by assassins. In The Purge: Anarchy, he portrays a person (ex-cop?) who prepared carefully for purge night and has what it takes to survive adverse conditions...who then throws his plans out the window to take several vulnerable/innocent people under his wing to keep them safe from murder on purge night. In The Purge: Election Year, he is head of security for a senator, doing such things as digging a bullet out of his own shoulder and knife-fighting a Nazi. And he is Brock Rumlow/Crossbones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Since we need a competent fighter to face off against Barahir for his death scene, I wanted to nominate someone who could portray a very dynamic energy, who would look like a skilled fighter in all of the nuances of his stance and walk outside of fight scenes, and someone who could bring a level of threat. We also need someone who can perform under a fairly significant costume/prosthethic, since he will be an orc.

Crossbones vs Captain America fight scene, from Captain America: Civil War

They needed someone who could put up a believable fight against Chris Evans' Steve Rogers, and he delivered. I would argue that he came across as a more physically challenging opponent than Batroc in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, who was portrayed by Georges St-Pierre, a UFC/MMA fighter they brought in specifically for a challenging fight scene.

Frank Grillo is the kind of guy who can sword fight in a project that included Michelle Yeoh. I think he'll do great killing Barahir and later being taken out by Beren. (Note: that's not Michelle Yeoh in this photo, but she was in Boss Level as well - I just like the angle of this photo better than the shots of the two of them together.)

 

[Rob Harding]

Rachel House

Rachel House | Actress, Additional Crew, Director

Known for: Moana, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Thor: Ragnarok

www.imdb.com

Age: 51
Height: 5'7"
Roles: Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Thor: Ragnarok, Boy, Moana

I really think she his ability to pull of genuinely menacing with this underlayer of snark. She can play a person who'll get the job done but also has their own feelings about the job that bubble just below the surface. Enough to show a competent warrior who also personally enjoys the role.

She's played authority figures who have this duality of hyperfocused on the role while having this underlaying of informality. I can see her being an orc who'd toy with their food, so to speak.

She is also able to play a physically imposing role and I can see, with some combat choreography, her being able to dominate in a fight sequence.

In addition, she has a fantastically memorable and engaging voice. She can bring a lot of personality to Gorgol. Gorgol has a significant role within this series but their story is contained to this season. And so has to stand out as more than a generic orc. She can bring that special something that'll make the character memorable.

 

[Ange1e4e5]

Matt Letscher

Matt Letscher | Actor, Writer, Producer

Known for: The Mask of Zorro, Her, Identity

www.imdb.com

Age: 52
Height: 6'0"
Roles: Captain Harrison Love in The Mask of Zorro, Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash in DC's Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash, Chris Stevens in 13 Hours
Letscher is probably best known as Reverse-Flash, but about 25 years ago he played a similar role to Gorgol in The Mask of Zorro, where his Captain Love is directly responsible for Antonio Banderas' Zorro entering the story by killing his brother and putting his head on display. Also a role that required a large amount of sword training.