6 Mar 2017

THE CASTING COUCH

Oh, how I love choosing characters for my books!

Of course, I have some very consistent favourites – the perfect Tom Douglas is Jack Davenport. Check out this picture – he couldn’t be better. And my favourite Becky Robinson has to be Gemma Arterton.

But the main characters in The Sixth Window are slightly different.

We have Bernie Grey – a policeman, but a joker. A fun guy, good looking – a slightly younger Gerard Butler would do it for me. Bernie would only be around 38-40, and Gerard Butler is now slightly older, but he has the perfect look.

And then we have the very suspicious Ed Cooper. Mark Strong would be perfect – if once again a tad too old. But I always pictured Ed with no hair – in fact originally it was mentioned in the book, but was cut at some point!

The women created an interesting challenge. Natalie, the main female protagonist who is grieving the loss of her husband, Bernie, has red hair. She’s quite a gentle soul normally, although will of course fight to the death for her daughter. But in keeping with the red hair, I thought Jessica Chastain would be perfect.

Scarlett, Natalie and Bernie’s fifteen year old daughter, has inherited her mum’s red hair – which she hates – and her dad’s pale skin, which is even worse in her mind. I had the perfect photo of the girl who would play Scarlett, until I checked and found out she was thirty years old (and looks twelve), so I may have to pass on her.

But Alison, Natalie’s best friend who has a significant role to play, would be played by Jaimie Alexander. I love the pointed chin and the incredible eyes that look, just like Alison’s, as if they may hide some secrets.

Finally, we have to cast Lewis. He has such a pivotal role that I couldn’t leave him out, and there is one actor with the perfect look, and that’s Jake Gyllenhaal. Good looking, but with a hint of danger.