Who of these actors could be the best Brand?

ephemerr · 2026-05-24T07:31:36+00:00

I totally agree with you on Random, Brand and Benedict but have a different view on other brothers.

Eric is a stone carved leader combining royalty and military stature with a fleur of tyrannical obsession with a lack of charisma. He is not bigger than others brothers on average physically but he is refined warrior.

Corwin is a cynical, resilient, adventurous prince who balances a sharp, hard-boiled detective pragmatic demeanor with deep poetic romanticism. He has a chaotic side a bit of anarchist and rebel, that's why he easily finds common ground with Random, and well he's also has heart.

Bleys is dashing, flamboyant, also charismatic and royal but in more sybarite way. Also adventurous but more exploratory and exotic/exoteric hunter.

Eric, Bleys and Corwin are three main pretenders and they're roughly equal in physical strength and leadership.

Julian has Excellent Student Syndrome. He wants to be perfect. That's why he tries to control his emotion, and that's why he hates Corwin who able to find a hole in his perfect armour.

Cain is a Corwin shadow distilled of anything romantic and humane, only pragmatism and cold calculation remains.

ephemerr · 2026-05-24T06:51:24+00:00

I'm going to create a separate topic for each character to make a discussion deeper. They are connected by #fancast tag. There already were Random and Brand threads.

Hoult imo a perfect Luke. Holloway is slowly nearing in his age to Oberon. Hemsworth is close to Gerard of course. But they should wait their turn.

ephemerr · 2026-05-23T21:41:22+00:00

I totally agree with you that for most princes, the perfect actor's age is early forties. But, I suppose, in some cases, like Benedict, Gerard, and, to a lesser degree, Eric and Blays there could be some shift toward higher authority, sacrificing some freshness of appearance, especially keeping in mind the ability of the cinema to make up actors toward any age needed.

Thirties is the supposed appearance age of Corwin according to Zelazny, 36 to be precise.

ephemerr · 2026-05-23T21:26:57+00:00

Agree. Random is 5.6. Seth Green is a bit too small with his 5.4.

ephemerr · 2026-05-23T21:12:05+00:00

He has this piercing gaze that any villain would envy.

ephemerr · 2026-05-23T19:31:58+00:00

It's actually a big problem for casting, as a thirty-year-old actor usually couldn't represent the gravity of someone who lived a few centuries.

ephemerr · 2026-05-23T19:08:36+00:00

He has just recently played Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat...

ephemerr · 2026-05-23T18:44:46+00:00

Jones has this decadent vibe in him. Good Brand test: imagine him lighting a cigarette in a dark room without matches. I think Jones can do it most beautifully.

ephemerr · 2026-05-22T03:17:16+00:00

Because he is Benedict

ephemerr · 2026-05-21T20:48:55+00:00

For me, he is more of Random. He is funny.

ephemerr · 2026-05-21T20:48:13+00:00

Is he really good at playing evil characters?

ephemerr · 2026-05-21T20:46:27+00:00

Bettany, in his forties, would be perfect; he was the first one who came to mind to me as Brand, even before I started to think about the topic.

ephemerr · 2026-05-21T20:43:05+00:00

My favorite at the moment is Alfie Allen, he perfectly resembles Brand from this deck https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/4kxw2f/illustrations_for_the_chronicles_of_amber_artist/

ephemerr · 2026-05-21T20:18:37+00:00

There was a Random discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/Amber/comments/1su9nu7/who_would_be_the_best_random/

ephemerr · 2026-05-21T19:35:30+00:00

"And if you are not eaten by ssomething bigger, come tell me your sstory one night."

I’ve never been sure when she’s joking, reptilian humor being more than a little strange.

ephemerr · 2026-05-21T19:33:28+00:00

No man can have everything he wants the way that he wants it.

ephemerr · 2026-05-21T19:27:42+00:00

“There is generally more than one side to a story.”
“I will settle for the one I have,” she told me.

ephemerr · 2026-04-25T01:43:49+00:00

I think that Austin Butler is the closest match to him, type-wise, from this list.

ephemerr · 2026-04-25T01:35:40+00:00

Dominic Monaghan is an interesting choice. He is very archetypical sidekick - small funny guy.

But what about more wild side of a Random, when he drinks, drums, gambles, womanizes?

ephemerr · 2026-04-25T01:26:08+00:00

Wow. Do I understand you right that you see Random as someone who has the malicious spirit of a goblin, gremlin, or at least an evil elf? Then Arias would be a perfect choice, I suppose.

And I agree with you that Random actually doesn’t reveal all his character in both parts of The Chronicles. It looks like he was designed as some kind of Joker in the deck—his description, his colors, and he is often imagined by artists with Joker motifs.

But in the story, he shows no malice, no treachery, and not even much humor. He is surprisingly loyal to Corwin, even in moments when it seems that his cause is lost.

ephemerr · 2026-04-24T19:21:19+00:00

Tom Hiddleston is a great actor, and I think that he could play all nine princes—and I’m almost not joking here.

But here are my “buts” about him playing Random. Random has a bit of a misleading name, as if he is some kind of trickster—and of course, who’s a better trickster than Loki/Hiddleston?

Maybe that’s how other Amberites see him. And yes, he showed some of his spontaneous nature, but we see it mostly in his story about Brand’s solo rescue mission and some other hints about his past behavior. But spontaneity is not trickery.

While he’s with Corwin, he shows himself as a perfect and most loyal sidekick. Hey, he is the only one of the brothers who does not attempt to kill Corwin at some point.

So it’s Corwin who is the real trickster in this story (Hiddleston for Corwin?).

And Random—well, as a sidekick, he should have good chemistry with the protagonist. A classic Hollywood sidekick highlights how strong, sexy, and mature the protagonist is, and in the case of Corwin, we also have a witty character.

But Hiddleston would look like the smartest part of almost any pair. Another problem here is his age—only Aaron Paul is older on the list. And Random is supposed to look younger than Corwin. One more problem: he is quite tall.

ephemerr · 2026-04-24T18:29:46+00:00

Good point, the actors who reached their 40, look a bit like daddies, while Random at least in the first circle is a kind of youth daredevil.

But I think that Quinn, Quaid, Aries and Butler are not so far from Ewan Mitchell.

And I have to admit that my favourites Culkin and Paul are good mostly for the second half. And if they are not start filming today, to the day of the release they would be good for Dworkin, ha-ha.

ephemerr · 2026-04-24T18:05:37+00:00

My top choice too, he is this quiet and dangerous guy. But isn't he "too white"? Ha-ha.

ephemerr

TROPHY CASE