Nerdanel

I agree with Nicholas, I support Turner as much as I support the others. I posted pics of Chastain because she was a favourite candidate for people a year ago. She should be mentioned.

As for the age casting... I have said at least a couple of times that I don't want to split roles on more than one actor or actress. That's still my point of view. If however we need a teenager - not young adult - we run into trouble if that actor of actress is going to play a mature adult with full power and gravitas as well. That was the reason I scouted an actor for Fëanor; there was a long discussion in the episode threads on his younger years and it seemed that none of the older actors we'd discussed would fit as a Fëanor of that age. But the scripts aren't written and we will have to wait until later on - maybe we don't do casting for the younger Fëanor.
As for Nerdanel, she hasn't entered the story yet - that'll be on Friday. So we're discussing her this week.

MithLuin I knew you were joking... I just had to comment... You know, the idea of elves in pigtails in Tolkien seems...well, I don't know...alien. :)
 
Of these four I think Bonnie Wright might be the best fit.

I'm kind of surprised no one has mentioned 'You know nothin', Fëanor' here, but perhaps that actress doesn't fit this role. At least she got the correct hair. But yes, I can see Bonnie Wright play this role and give the warmth needed for this character.
 
Oh I was going to say my favourites were Ange's two suggestions or maybe Chastain... but I haven't seen all of them act and we haven't spoken about Nerdanel's character yet...
 
First, can I just say that I love the fact that MithLuin was able, within a very short time, produce examples of Feanorian fanart from three different artists? :D

I confess I'm torn with Nerdanel's casting. I don't really have a firm mental picture of her, and I have NO idea how we're going to portray her in the series.

Sophie Turner, I like, but I'm hesitant on the completely pedantic ground that she's one of the best-known faces of another high fantasy series. She's also young, so I'm wondering how it would appear if we cast a more mature Feanor.

Bonnie Wright, I also like. She's young, maybe too young if we go with my favorite Richard Armitage as Feanor, but I think we could make an apparent age difference work, especially if we make her noticeably wiser than he is (didn't the execs talk earlier this season about making Vana more clear-sighted about the elves than Orome, and her casted actress is very young).

Rosalind Halstead might be my favorite so far. She has a mature, no-nonsense look in those images that Ange posted that I really love. She's also quite beautiful. This might be disgustingly shallow, but since Feanor has to be a hottie of the highest order, we need to make Nerdanel someone the audience will say "Oh, I get it" about why she appeals to him. And since TV is a visual media... part of that is going to have to be her physically complimenting him.

And I can't put my finger on it, but Jessica Chastain looks all wrong to me. I don't know how to explain it, other than I would put her headshots in the "possible human character" pile rather than elf.

** all this is based purely on the images provided. I have never seen Halstead and Chastain act, and I never got into GoT or saw X-Men Apocalypse. I've seen all the HP movies, of course, but it's not like they ever really gave Ginny anything to do in those films.
 
I was familiar with those images long before this thread existed, so it was just a matter of hunting down my favorite Nerdanel portraits, not starting from scratch ;). But glad you appreciated the diversion!

I realize that in a casting thread, we need real live actors, not just fanart. But I thought since the question of 'apparent age' came up, I should use the artwork as a guide of what looks believable for 'ever-young adult elf who, oh yeah, is the mother of 7 children who will be full-grown before this season ends.' It is a challenge, to say the least!

I think that Jenny Dolfen's look is the most youthful, Ivanneth's has a gravitas that speaks of sadness and wisdom, and Kasiopeia's is my favorite - because it shows her and Fëanor as a joyful couple, out adventuring, and as parents (that's young Maedhros and Maglor with them).

I haven't made a choice of actress yet. I don't want someone too young, but mostly because I want an actress who can hold her own against our Fëanor, and we're going to cast someone with a lot of charisma and force of presence for that role - she needs to be up to the challenge.
 
Ahm, I am goint to go with a personal favorite of mine. She is not as well known as others, but she has done some previous works.

Lotte Verbeek, who is most known for the roles of Giulia Farnesse in The Borgias and Geillis Duncan in Outlander.

Lotte-Verbeek.jpg


I think that for the younger/older versions of the character we can use one actor/actress and only change the style of clothes, hair and make up, but let it be known that they are the same person. I think this two pictures of her were just taken two or three years appart, but it seems longer due to what I mentioned above about hair and clothes. Bangs are always a way to take years off of a face :)

And is okay, because elves don't show age much, anyway.

GW349H362
1b35653c0d251daf7370eea05c8ae062.jpg


I just like the way she acts and I think she is quite versatile. I think we should cast someone who can proyect a strong personality, otherwise she might be eclipsed by Fëanor,

ce4eb49a815b7453b5e78bb54b1a183b.jpg


I see this last image of her and think... maybe that was the look on her face when Fëanor and her sons sworn their fateful Oath?
 
Nerdanel's strength should be apparent, and one of her primary traits. We should be able to picture her in a workapron, chiseling stone, at home in the forge of her father or husband. People should not look at the actress and think 'delicate'!

She does not have to be particularly lovely. Tolkien did not describe her as beautiful, and in fact some of the Noldor even wondered why Fëanor even married her in the first place as she was apparently rather plain looking. 'Hollywood plain' doesn't mean ugly, just maybe a bit of a girl-next-door vibe to her, or even just less ethereal/elfy than the other wives we're casting.

Her father and three of her children have red hair, but we don't need to make her a red-head. She can have brown hair with coppery red highlights if we want. I mention this so it's not a case of 'hunt down an actress with red hair.' I'm fine with her being red-haired, of course, it's just...optional.
 
I don't have an actress in mind, but I'd love to see someone who looks strong. Not "surprisingly strong for a mere slip of a girl" strong (like Rey in the Force Awakens, who had a great 'slim but incredibly athletic street waif' thing going on), but like, built. Hard to knock over, forearms for days. Not a crazy body builder, but someone that, when she picks up a chisel and hammer, I believe that she actually knows how to use them.
While I like the look of many of the actresses nominated, they are all built along more slender lines than I was imagining.
I can always imagine that whoever we pick would go through mighty-elf bootcamp after casting, so it might not matter overly much. But if you know of any actresses who might fit a more physically powerful role, please share!
 
I mean there's Gal Gadot - Wonder Woman seems to count as a physically robust female character right?

600full-gal-gadot.jpg


Not that I think Nerdanel looks like this, mind.


There is also Rachel Henley, older sister of Georgie Henley, who played the grown-up Lucy in the first Narnia film:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1914410/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t47

That might be closer to the right look in my mind.
tumblr_moypzySjJ71r3e2sjo2_500.jpg


Granted, she's 10 years older now.

 
Last edited:
I don't know what age range we're looking for...
I began thinking about Kate Winslet with red hair...
 
So are we going for the idea that we're going for two or three, similar to Feanor? That's why I had Sophie Turner in mind as a young Nerdanel when she meets Feanor.

Also, haven't heard of Hilary Swank in anything since 2009.
 
So are we going for the idea that we're going for two or three, similar to Feanor? That's why I had Sophie Turner in mind as a young Nerdanel when she meets Feanor.

Also, haven't heard of Hilary Swank in anything since 2009.
I really hope there's a way of avoiding casting more than one actor. The reason we're throwing in more suggestions is that we need a Nerdanel who is a kind of rough artist person, strong but not the prettiest of the elven women.
 
Yeah, several actors should be reserved for a very few. If there is need to show some characters as children, they can just be some random children in the background, nothing major.
 
I would suggest Adrianne Palicki from GI Joe. She can perform a strong women, but I fear she is way too attractive.
MV5BMTQ4MjM4OTA2OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDM3NzIzOQ@@._V1_UX214_CR0,0,214,317_AL_.jpg
 
Back
Top