Thanks to the huge success of The Witcher 3, it was inevitable that Hollywood would come calling sooner rather than later, and we now know that a movie is in the works for 2017. There's plenty of potential in a Witcher movie. For a start, the games are based on Andrzej Sapkowski's much-loved novels, which should offer filmmakers a rich archive of source material to draw on beyond what's contained in the games. Secondly, the games have provided a great stylistic template for the world. Filmmakers don't need to improvise or look to that awful Polish Witcher (sorry, 'Hexer') TV show for inspiration about the tone of the world, because the games nailed it so well. Looking at the production so far, there are quite a few unknowns and question marks. Feature film debutant Tomek Baginski is expected to direct (check out his Oscar-nominated short, The Cathedral, to get an idea of his style), while it's being produced by Sean Daniel of Mummy series fame... which is, errr, interesting. But what better way to alleviate our worries that The Witcher movie will be yet-another terrible video-game conversion than by highlighting the actors who'd be perfect for the part of Geralt, the games' brooding protagonist? Here are 10 actors, from oldest to youngest, who'd be perfect for the part.
10. Viggo Mortensen
Naturally, picking an actor who has already played a long-haired fantasy hero with a penchant for growling and talking under his breath is reaching out for the low-hanging fruit of actors to play Geralt. But whatever. Why struggle for the higher-up fruit and risk breaking your back (or ruining the movie), when there's a great (very ripe) fruit right in front of you? Moving on from the drawn-out fruit analogy, Viggo Mortensen is an understated, enigmatic performer whose talents have only been unearthed since the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In plenty of his roles, Viggo plays fundamentally decent characters with a simmering, dark energy that can explode into all-out violence if they need to - as in History of Violence, Eastern Promises and The Road. Yet even when we see him getting his hands dirty, there's always a reassuring composure about his performances that's a perfect fit for the stoic Geralt.
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
