Somebody give Nick Offerman an award!
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00:00Every time a piece of media announces a live-action adaptation, be it a book, video game or comic,
00:05the first thing we do is wonder who will play its most iconic characters.
00:09It doesn't matter how unanimously agreed upon the idea is across the web,
00:12sometimes it just doesn't match up due to schedules or simply interest.
00:16However, this list highlights the most exciting and exhilarating fan castings that eventually became a reality.
00:22I'm Sy for WhatCulture.com and these are eight dream TV castings that came true.
00:26Number eight, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones.
00:30For almost a decade, Game of Thrones was the biggest show on television.
00:34It was spectacular dark fantasy with a host of interesting duplicitous characters.
00:38Amongst these was the man who drank and knew things, Tyrion Lannister,
00:41an outsider from his family in part due to being born a dwarf.
00:45The books had been around for quite some time when the show was greenlit and had amassed their own cult following.
00:49Most fans were in agreement that there was no better man for Tyrion than Peter Dinklage,
00:53an assessment that the showrunners also held.
00:55However, they were hesitant to approach him.
00:58Dinklage had just finished work on the fantasy film Prince Caspian and the actor had a distaste for the genre's tropes.
01:03As he put it,
01:04However, Dinklage was friends with the wife of co-writer David Benioff
01:18and decided to read the script for the pilot despite his initial negative reaction.
01:22And the rest, as they say, is history.
01:25Number seven, Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, The Mandalorian.
01:29With a universe worth of lore, Star Wars has a long line of interesting characters outside of the main players in the live-action films.
01:35Ahsoka Tano is a Jedi warrior who first appeared in the animated Clone Wars movie
01:40and immediately connected with fans due to her awesome design and general badassery.
01:45This popularity was reflected in her repeat appearances.
01:48She was a major character in the Clone Wars TV show
01:50and Ashley Eckstein, the character's original voice actor,
01:54even got to cameo in The Rise of Skywalker.
01:56When it came to live-action, however, there was only one name that fans were interested in
02:00and that was Rosario Dawson.
02:02Adored by consumers of nerdy media, Dawson broke out in Slacker Comedy Clerks 2
02:06and has gone on to appear in Netflix's Marvel shows and graphic novel adaptation Sin City, just to name a few.
02:12Responding to a fan casting on Twitter with the hashtag
02:14Ahsoka Lives caught the attention of someone at Disney's Star Wars Division.
02:18Sure enough, in Chapter 13 of The Mandalorian, Dawson made her debut as the Chakruta hero.
02:23This would snowball into appearing in The Book of Boba Fett two years later
02:27and with the momentum totally behind her, she'll soon be starring in her very own Ahsoka show.
02:32Number 6, Henry Cavill as Geralt, The Witcher.
02:35Both a book series and now a video game franchise,
02:37it was only a matter of time before The Witcher came to live-action.
02:41A medieval fantasy with a supernatural twist,
02:43the show's world was ripe for exploring in a serialised television format.
02:47But of course the big question was who would play the leading man,
02:50the monster-slaying Geralt of Rivia.
02:52No one was a bigger supporter of Henry Cavill in the role than the man himself.
02:56In many ways, as a player of The Witcher games, this was his own fan casting.
03:00Cavill has admitted that he would not relent when it came to securing the part.
03:03Not only did he constantly badger his own agent about it,
03:06he would reach out to the studio repeatedly to put himself forward.
03:09Lauren Schmidt-Hissrich, writer and producer on the show,
03:12recalled that he was really annoying.
03:13I finally said, I'll meet you.
03:15The show is not greenlit.
03:16There is nothing.
03:17Now I have to go write the show.
03:19Despite apparently seeing 206 other actors for the part,
03:22it became obvious that Cavill was the man for the job.
03:25This however makes his 2022 announcement that he's stepping away from the role
03:29all the more heartbreaking.
03:30Two new seasons of the show have been greenlit,
03:32with Liam Hemsworth taking up the sword in Cavill's stead.
03:35Number 5, Adina Menzel as Shelby Kokoran, Glee.
03:39From 2009 onwards, Glee took over television as one of the biggest shows around.
03:43Its school setting, bright musical numbers and strong casting caught the eyes of many,
03:48especially around awards season.
03:50Fans immediately agreed that Leigh Mischel,
03:52who played hopeful Broadway star Rachel Berry,
03:54had the air of Adina Menzel about her.
03:56Menzel is appropriately regarded as the queen of Broadway.
03:59Viewers took to the internet to discuss,
04:01requesting that the showrunners take notice
04:03and do what they could to bring Menzel in.
04:05As Rachel was the daughter of two gay men,
04:07there was a space for Menzel to enter the show as the character's biological mother.
04:11Glee then took a mid-season break,
04:13and during this time,
04:14the creators admitted they had met with the queen of Broadway.
04:17Appearing in episode 14 of the show as Shelby Kokoran,
04:20the vocal coach of the school's rival group Adrenaline,
04:23fans were disappointed at first.
04:25However, a few weeks later,
04:26it's revealed that Kokoran was indeed Rachel's mother.
04:29The characters' storylines throughout the show
04:30are often a point of contention with fans,
04:32but for the most part,
04:33long-time Gleeks will remember the excitement
04:35of seeing their idea come to life on screen.
04:384. Alexander Siddiq as Ra's Har Gould
04:41Batman is, without a doubt,
04:43the comic book character with the most recognisable villains.
04:47Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Mr Freeze, the list goes on.
04:50Ra's Har Gould, despite being a cornerstone of the Batman comics,
04:53has never had too many live-action appearances.
04:56Notably, Liam Neeson portrayed him in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins,
04:59which was fine, if a little odd.
05:01The name Ra's Har Gould is Arabic in origin,
05:03literally translating to the head of the ghoul,
05:06so fans began to consider actors more appropriate for the casting.
05:09The most popular of these was Alexander Siddiq,
05:11best known for his time portraying the softly spoken Doctor Bashir
05:14in Star Trek Deep Space Nine.
05:16Just after fellow DC show Arrow introduced its own interpretation,
05:20played by Matthew Nabal,
05:21Siddiq was announced to be coming to Fox's Gotham,
05:24a show that takes a look into the younger years of Bruce Wayne.
05:27In the show, Ra's Har Gould is an ambiguous character
05:29is instrumental in shaping the destiny of the future Batman.
05:32Siddiq's performance as the character was so good
05:34that DC fans moved from fan-casting his appearance
05:37to fan-casting his return,
05:39hopeful that he may cross over into the Arrowverse
05:41or even into the feature films somewhere down the line.
05:443. Nick Offerman as Bill, The Last of Us
05:48HBO's belief in adapting video game mega-hit The Last of Us 4 TV
05:51speaks volumes in its monumental budget,
05:54spent on impressive sets and brilliant casting.
05:56Nick Offerman wasn't necessarily on everybody's lists
05:59when the show was first confirmed,
06:00but as soon as the announcement came,
06:02there was a collective rumble of excitement.
06:04Offerman became a beloved figure working on Parks and Recreation
06:07as the very gif-able Ron Swanson,
06:09a gruff man with deadpan delivery,
06:12suspicions of the government,
06:13and secretly a heart of gold.
06:15He was the perfect choice to play Bill,
06:17the sardonic pessimist survivalist.
06:20What makes this such a remarkable case
06:21is that it almost didn't happen.
06:23In July 2021,
06:25HBO announced some of the supporting roles for the show,
06:27including Chernobyl's Con O'Neill as Bill.
06:30This was walked back before the end of the year
06:32due to scheduling conflicts,
06:34and Offerman stepped up.
06:35And it's fair to say he knocked it right out of the park.
06:38While some fans saw the Bill-centric episode of the show
06:40as a sudden diversion,
06:42no one can truly deny Offerman's dramatic chops.
06:45He demonstrated the character we knew from the game
06:47with way more depth,
06:48as he explored a beautiful and tragic love story
06:50in a post-apocalyptic world.
06:52Offerman trended on Twitter for days after the episode aired,
06:55with many calling for him to get his flowers
06:57once awards season rolls around.
06:592. Hayley Steinfeld as Kate Bishop
07:02Hawkeye
07:02The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a game-changer in many ways,
07:06but related to this topic,
07:07it has changed and revitalized careers forever.
07:10Decoupling the men and women
07:12who have played the most prominent roles in the franchise
07:14from their characters is very hard.
07:16The best of them have left a huge mark on Marvel going forward.
07:19In the comics,
07:20Kate Bishop is the apprentice of Clint Barton,
07:22aka Hawkeye.
07:23When it was announced that Barton
07:24was getting his own Disney Plus spin-off,
07:26fans immediately began to talk about
07:28who could take on the mantle of Bishop,
07:30with Hayley Steinfeld being a prominent pick.
07:32MCU fans get some interesting insights behind the scenes,
07:35with the docu-series assembled,
07:37and the Hawkeye episode highlighted
07:38Hayley's ascension to the role.
07:40Executive producer Trin Tran mentioned
07:42that they chose to meet with her for a conversation,
07:44but that it was clear she was the perfect casting,
07:46and so they offered Steinfeld the part
07:48after just one meeting.
07:49She also admitted that she figured
07:51MCU godfather Kevin Feige
07:53had always wanted Steinfeld for the role.
07:55And thankfully, it paid off,
07:57as Kate Bishop's debut was a highlight of the show,
07:59which makes it not at all surprising
08:00that the star has signed on
08:02for multiple upcoming MCU productions.
08:05Number one, Ben Barnes as the Darkling,
08:07Shadow and Bone.
08:08Shadow and Bone is a dark fantasy series
08:10that its fans had a very specific dark fantasy about,
08:13that is, the casting of Darkling.
08:16Focusing on a Russian orphan
08:17who discovers she has supernatural abilities,
08:19Alina finds herself up against the Shadow Summoner,
08:22General Alexander Kirigan.
08:23Based on a novel of the same name
08:25and its ensuing sequels,
08:26Netflix picked up the property for streaming in 2019,
08:29when looking to cast the enigmatic Kirigan,
08:32Ben Barnes knew he was right for the role.
08:34At the end of his conversation with the casting director,
08:36he showed them a Tumblr post
08:37from literally years before the show had been picked up
08:40that showed fan edits of him as the Darkling.
08:43Barnes had shown his range
08:44with appearances in Westworld and The Punisher,
08:46but his breakout performances were on the big screen
08:48in Prince Caspian
08:49and the 2009 adaptation of Dorian Gray.
08:52He certainly caught the eye of many,
08:54and Tumblr fans of Shadow and Bone
08:55were adamant about Barnes as the Darkling,
08:57should it ever get picked up for television.
08:59In fact, unknown to Barnes,
09:01the casting director had seen that same fan edit previously,
09:04and before long,
09:05everything came together in a way
09:06that caused a great many Tumblr users' dreams
09:09to become a reality.
09:10And that's the list.
09:11Let us know what you thought of this video
09:12down in the comments below.
09:14Which of these dream castings made you the happiest?
09:16And of course,
09:17let us know of any other upcoming TV shows
09:18that you have casting ideas about.
09:21Make sure you like this video,
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09:25Head over to whatculture.com for more content every day.
09:28I've been Cy for WhatCulture,
09:30and have a good week.