10 Casting Decisions The Dark Tower Film Must Get Right

8. Dandelo

Dandelo is an "emotional vampire" who - depending on how deeply you read into The Dark Tower's connections with Stephen King's oeuvre - either is the monster from It or related to it in some way. He presents himself to Roland and the others as "Joe Collins", a washed-up American comedian, inviting the wanderers into his home and treating them to a feast and some of his stand-up routine. Then he feeds on Roland's laughter and almost kills him... It's a creepy, villainous role, and a hard one to cast. My first thought was Gary Busey. He's perfect for the "washed up" image that Dandelo presents to the world, and could pull of comedy, but the only problem with that is as soon as you see Busey on screen you kind of know he's going to be a bad guy. The casting for Dandelo needs to be someone who can turn from warm and welcoming to suddenly evil before anyone knows what's happened. Ideal Casting: Bryan Cranston OK, so it's unlikely Cranston would sign on for a (relatively) minor role, but we can dream, right? Over many years in the business the Breaking Bad star has shown himself to be a versatile actor and, as we saw with Walter White, he can go from a regular, everyday guy to a terrifying villain like no one else. Back up Casting: Willem Dafoe Dafoe can pull of the right look for Dandelo, and has an unpredictable, menacing quality about him. Perhaps the only problem is the same one as with Busey; he gives off "bad guy" vibes as soon as you see him.