The Dark Tower cast

1. Benicio Del Toro

Benicio Del Toro emerged in the mid-1990s as one of the most watchable and charismatic character actors to come along in years. A favorite of film buffs, Del Toro gained mainstream public attention as the conflicted but basically honest Mexican policeman in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic (2000).

...

-ROLAND "THE GUNSLINGER" DESCHAIN-

He amazing in everything, see Sicario and you'll see Roland to a tee. Mysterious, almost mystical/mythic, maniacally driven; that's Roland.

2. Idris Elba

Actor | Beasts of No Nation

An only child, Idrissa Akuna Elba was born and raised in London, England. His father, Winston, is from Sierra Leone and worked at Ford Dagenham; his mother, Eve, is from Ghana and had a clerical duty. Idris attended school in Canning Town, where he first became involved in acting, before he dropped...

-ROLAND "THE GUNSLINGER" DESCHAIN-

I never would've thought about him for this role but he's an amazing actor. Yes, I didn't picture Roland as a black man, especially with Susannah Dean calling him a "honkey *beep* when irritated with him, but that's not important to the story. Idris will kill it as "The Gunslinger" because he's an amazing actor, enough said. Plus, if they put blue glass contacts to get him the "blue bombardier eyes" would give him a great otherworldly/mythical appearance that i think would be a great touch for Roland.

3. Michael Shannon

Actor | Take Shelter

Michael Corbett Shannon was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, the son of Geraldine Hine, a lawyer, and Donald Sutherlin Shannon, an accounting professor at DePaul University. His grandfather was entomologist Raymond Corbett Shannon.

Shannon began his professional stage career in Chicago. His ...

-ROLAND "The Gunslinger" DESCHAIN-

Shannon is great at playing a characters that can be unhinged and still make them endearing. What he did with Boardwalk Empire and mix that with his character from YOUNG ONES would bring an unpredictability necessary for Roland. Plus he has the eyes.

4. Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Actor | Watchmen

Jeffrey Dean Morgan endeared himself to audiences with his recurring role on ABC's smash hit series Grey's Anatomy (2005). His dramatic arc as heart patient Denny Duquette, who wins the heart of intern Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) in a star-crossed romance, made him a universal fan favorite. He ...

-ROLAND "The Gunslinger" DESCHAIN-

He was great as "The Comedian" in WATCHMEN and John Winchester in SUPERNATURAL. He's a very underrated actor that would be wonderful as the mysterious Gunslinger from Gilead. Plus his rugged looks and tall frame fits Roland's description, IMO, except for the eyes of course.

5. Thomas Ian Griffith

Actor | The Karate Kid Part III

Thomas Ian Griffith was born on March 18, 1962 in Hartford, Connecticut. His father was a college professor, his mother a dance teacher. Griffith trained as an opera singer in New York City with Metropolitan Opera star Delia Rigal. He attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, ...

-ROLAND "The Gunslinger" DESCHAIN-

Tall, dark stature, sky blue "bombardier eyes" and around the right age, IMO. I always imagined Roland to appear to be between late thirties to late fifities. He hasn't acted in a while, writing for the GRIMM(Amazing show!), but what he did in John Carpenter's VAMPIRES was a bright spot on a mediocre film besides James Woods, of course. He would be great because he's not well known except if you've seen KARATE KID 3 or really into B or C grade martial arts films. So if he is good, we'll only see Roland instead of the celebrity playing him.

6. Josh Brolin

Actor | Avengers: Endgame

Rugged features and a natural charm have worked for Josh Brolin, the son of actor James Brolin. He has played roles as a policeman, a hunter, and the President of the United States.

Brolin was born February 12, 1968 in Santa Monica, California, to Jane Cameron (Agee), a Texas-born wildlife activist,...

-ROLAND "THE GUNSLINGER" DESCHAIN-

He would just kill it as Roland

7. Eric Bana

Actor | Dirty John

Eric Bana was born Eric Banadinovic on August 9, 1968, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is the younger of two brothers. His father, named Ivan Banadinovic, came from Zagreb, Croatia, and worked as a manager for Caterpillar Inc. His mother, named Eleanor Banadinovic, came from a German family ...

-ROLAND "The Gunslinger" DESCHAIN-

He's one of the many version of Roland I see in my mind when i read the series. He would be amazing.

8. Jon Hamm

Actor | Mad Men

Jon Hamm is an American actor and producer from St. Louis, Missouri who is known for playing Don Draper in Mad Men. He also played Mister Sinister in a deleted scene of The New Mutants and Legion, Brogan from Shrek Forever After, and other films and shows including Sucker Punch, Million Dollar Arm,...

-ROLAND "THE GUNSLINGER" DESCHAIN-

9. Willem Dafoe

Actor | Spider-Man

Having made over one hundred films in his legendary career, Willem Dafoe is internationally respected for bringing versatility, boldness, and daring to some of the most iconic films of our time. His artistic curiosity in exploring the human condition leads him to projects all over the world, large ...

-THE MAN IN BLACK/RANDALL FLAGG/WALTER 0'DIM/WALTER PADICK-

The first time I read this series, Dafoe is THE prototype of Randall Flagg/The Man in Black

10. Matthew McConaughey

Actor | Interstellar

American actor and producer Matthew David McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas. His mother, Mary Kathleen (McCabe), is a substitute school teacher originally from New Jersey. His father, James Donald McConaughey, was a Mississippi-born gas station owner who ran an oil pipe supply business. He is ...

-THE MAN IN BLACK/RANDALL FLAGG/WALTER 0'DIM/WALTER PADICK-

Since it's happening. He'll be amazing in the role.

11. Kevin Bacon

Actor | Footloose

Kevin Norwood Bacon was born on July 8, 1958 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Ruth Hilda (Holmes), an elementary school teacher, and Edmund Norwood Bacon, a prominent architect who was on the cover of Time Magazine in November 1964.

Kevin's early training as an actor came from The Manning Street. ...

-THE MAN IN BLACK/RANDALL FLAGG/WALTER 0'DIM/WALTER PADICK-

He great a playing the charming trickster or villainous characters. He would be great as the man of many faces.

12. Chris Pine

Actor | Star Trek

Chris Pine was born in Los Angeles. His parents are actors Robert Pine and Gwynne Gilford, and his maternal grandparents were Max M. Gilford, a president of the Hollywood Bar Association, and actress Anne Gwynne. His sister, Katherine Pine, has also acted. Chris's ancestry is Russian Jewish (from ...

-RANDALL FLAGG aka. THE MAN IN BLACK/MORDRED DESCHAIN/CLAY REYNOLDS-

13. Sam Witwer

Actor | The Mist

Sam Witwer headlines the SyFy series, Being Human, the U.S. adaptation of the popular British television series. The darkly humorous, provocative drama stars Sam as the heroic, "Aidan", a sensual and brooding vampire. His excellent work was noticed soon after the show's premiere, as Sam received a ...

-THE MAN IN BLACK/RANDALL FLAGG/WALTER 0'DIM/WALTER PADICK-

Randall Flagg is a tricky trickster of a character that, IMO, morphs each time you read the same story that includes him. Sam Witwer was great in BEING HUMAN, but his part on DEXTER as a copycat serial killer really has me convinced. Before you find out he seemed he would be the villain of that season.

14. Aaron Paul

Actor | Breaking Bad

Aaron Paul was born Aaron Paul Sturtevant in Emmett, Idaho, to Darla (Haynes) and Robert Sturtevant, a retired Baptist minister. While growing up, Paul took part in church programs, and performed in plays.

He attended Centennial High School in Boise, Idaho. It was there, in eighth grade, that Aaron ...

-EDDIE DEAN/ROY DEPAPE-

It's such an obvious choice if you've seen "Breaking Bad", Jesse is Eddie Dean without the six-shooter and multiple-dimension hoping. Basically he has a six year long audition for Eddie Dean.

15. Dane DeHaan

Actor | Chronicle

Dane DeHaan recently wrapped production on Amazon Studio's international cocaine drama Zero Zero Zero, in which he stars.

On the silver screen DeHaan was last seen as Billy the Kid in The Kid opposite Ethan Hawke and Chris Pratt. He played the title character in Luc Besson's Valerian and The City of...

-EDDIE DEAN-

16. Logan Lerman

Actor | The Perks of Being a Wallflower

One of today's leading talents across both independent and mainstream film, Logan Lerman is an immensely talented actor who takes on challenging roles and brings dynamic characters to life on screen.

Logan was born in Beverly Hills, to a Jewish family. His parents are Lisa (Goldman), who worked as ...

-EDDIE DEAN-

Loved what he did with PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, plus his roles in FURY and NOAH. All are so diverse roles that I think he can handle the role of a heroin addict turned gunslinger w/ a quick wit. Percy Jackson showed he can portray snarky and handle action very well.

17. Jesse Plemons

Actor | Game Night

Jesse Lon Plemons is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and achieved a career breakthrough with his major role as Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights (2006-2011). He subsequently portrayed Todd Alquist in season 5 of the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad...

-EDDIE DEAN/ROY DEPAPE-

18. Dylan O'Brien

Actor | Teen Wolf

Dylan O'Brien was born in New York City, to Lisa Rhodes, a former actress who also ran an acting school, and Patrick B. O'Brien, a camera operator. His father is of Irish descent and his mother is of English, Spanish, and Italian ancestry. Dylan grew up in Springfield Township, Union County, New ...

-EDDIE DEAN-

For some reason during the beginning of THE MAZE RUNNER when asked about his name. The way he portrayed his characters frustration reminded of an addict wanting a fix.

19. Kyle Gallner

Actor | Smile

Kyle Gallner was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He started his career by following his sister along to one of her auditions.

Perhaps best know for his role as Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas on the CW's lone hit series, Veronica Mars (2004), actor Kyle Gallner had been appearing in films and on ...

-EDDIE DEAN-

Sarcasm is his wheelhouse like the character EDDIE is the king of it.

20. Rutina Wesley

Actress | True Blood

Rutina Wesley is known for the character Tara Thorton, on the gritty Southern vampire drama, True Blood (2008). She was born in the city most renowned for glitz and glamour, Las Vegas, Nevada and was exposed to the arts at a very early age; in fact entertainment runs through her veins. Her father, ...

-ODETTA/DETTA HOLMES/SUSANNAH DEAN-

Did not like her character on TRUE BLOOD but she played it well enough. The fierceness she put into her character made me believe she can handle Susannah. I can she her playing a character from the 60's.

21. Lupita Nyong'o

Actress | 12 Years a Slave

Lupita Amondi Nyong'o was born March 1, 1983 in Mexico City, Mexico, to Kenyan parents, Dorothy Ogada Buyu and Peter Anyang' Nyong'o. Her father, a senator, was then a visiting lecturer in political science. She was raised in Kenya. At age 16, her parents sent her back to Mexico for seven months to...

-ODETTA/DETTA HOLMES/SUSANNAH DEAN-

She would just be amazing.

22. Bianca Lawson

Actress | Save the Last Dance

Bianca Lawson was born on March 20, 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Save the Last Dance (2001), The Feast of All Saints (2001) and Rogue (2013).

-ODETTA/DETTA HOLMES/SUSANNAH DEAN-

Her angry character in SAVE THE LAST DANCE made me think of Detta/Odetta Holmes

23. Joy Bryant

Actress | Bobby

Joy Bryant was born in a modest home in The Bronx, New York and as a young woman, was enrolled in an inner-city outreach organization called "A Better Chance," designed to encourage minority talent. Joy was also blessed with brains as well beauty and remained an excellent student throughout her ...

-ODETTA/DETTA HOLMES/SUSANNAH DEAN-

24. Robert Carlyle

Actor | The Full Monty

Robert Carlyle was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland, to Elizabeth, a bus company employee, and Joseph Carlyle, a painter and decorator. He was raised by his father after his mother left him when he was four. At the age of 21, after reading Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," he enrolled in acting ...

-THE CRIMSON KING/STEVEN DESCHAIN/ELDRED JONAS-

25. Hugo Weaving

Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Hugo Wallace Weaving was born on April 4, 1960 in Nigeria, to English parents Anne (Lennard), a tour guide and teacher, and Wallace Weaving, a seismologist. Hugo has an older brother, Simon, and a younger sister, Anna, who both also live and work in Australia. During his early childhood, the ...

-THE CRIMSON KING/STEVEN DESCHAIN/ELDRED JONAS-

26. Denzel Washington

Actor | Fences

Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. was born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. He is the middle of three children of a beautician mother, Lennis, from Georgia, and a Pentecostal minister father, Denzel Washington, Sr., from Virginia. After graduating from high school, Denzel enrolled at ...

-STEVEN DESCHAIN-

Since it seems Idris Elba is playing Roland why not have a living legend play his father. It's Denzel, need I say more.

27. Gary Sinise

Actor | Forrest Gump

Gary Alan Sinise was born in Blue Island, Illinois, to Mylles S. (Alsip) and Robert L. Sinise, A.C.E., a film editor. He is of Italian (from his paternal grandfather), English, Scottish, Irish, French, German, and Swedish ancestry. His family moved to Highland Park, where he attended high school. ...

-STEVEN DESCHAIN/THE CRIMSON KING/ELDRED JONAS-

He was one of the few bright spots of that horribly-aged "The Stand" series. Actually most of the cast was the best part of that apdaptation. Anyway, when I first read "The Gunslinger" and when King describes "Steven Deschain" I immediately pictured Gary Sinse

28. Ed Harris

Actor | Appaloosa

By transforming into his characters and pulling the audience in, Ed Harris has earned a reputation as one of the most talented actors of our time.

Ed Harris was born in Tenafly, New Jersey, to Margaret (Sholl), a travel agent, and Robert Lee Harris, a bookstore worker who also sang professionally. ...

-PERE DONALD CALLAHAN-

Ed Harris kills it at any role. He can bring out Callahan's guilt and want for redemption from events of "Salem's Lot".

29. Liam Neeson

Actor | Kinsey

Liam Neeson was born on June 7, 1952 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, to Katherine (Brown), a cook, and Bernard Neeson, a school caretaker. He was raised in a Catholic household. During his early years, Liam worked as a forklift operator for Guinness, a truck driver, an assistant architect and an ...

-PERE DONALD CALLAHAN-

Liam Neeson brings on his gentle giant persona from before "Taken" would be a great Callahan.

30. Ann Dowd

Actress | Compliance

Ann Dowd was born on January 30, 1956 in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA. She is an actress, known for Compliance (2012), Hereditary (2018) and Garden State (2004). She has been married to Lawrence Arancio since November 7, 1984. They have three children.

-RHEA OF THE COOS-

Amazing as the occult leader on "The Leftovers" and as various characters elsewhere. She can bring the crazy Charlie Manson vibe of Rhea.

31. Paz Vega

Actress | Spanglish

Paz Vega

A renowned international actress who has captivated audiences in Europe, North America, and Latin America with her talent and versatility in acting. After starting her career on the successful sitcom "Siete vidas", the Sevillian actress made the jump to the big screen with Julio Medem's "...

-MIA-

I always read the Mia character as an exotic beauty new to our plain of existence. Paz would be amazing.

32. Elena Anaya

Actress | La piel que habito

Spanish actress Elena Anaya impressed the critics with her performance in Sex and Lucía (2001).

Elena was born in Palencia, Spain, on July 17th, 1975. An active child, she excelled in karate and mountain climbing. By the time she was 17 Elena knew that she wanted to channel her energy into ...

-MIA-

After seeing her sensuous turn in "Sex & Lucia" and her mysterious turn in "The Skin I Live In" makes me believe she'd portray a Mia very convincingly.

33. Tatiana Maslany

Actress | Orphan Black

Tatiana Gabrielle Maslany was born September 22, 1985 in Regina, Saskatchewan, to Renate, a translator, and Dan, a woodworker. She graduated from Dr. Martin LeBoldus High school in 2003. She was a well respected student, and participated as often as possible in school productions. She is well known...

-MIA-

34. Penélope Cruz

Actress | Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Known outside her native country as the "Spanish enchantress", Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement, but she decided to ...

-MIA-

35. John Slattery

Actor | Spotlight

John Slattery was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Joan (Mulhern), a CPA, and John "Jack" Slattery, a leather merchant, both of Irish descent. John landed his first TV gig on the 1988 series The Dirty Dozen (1988) and has worked steadily since then. His television career has ...

-ELDRED JONAS/THE CRIMSON KING-

Eldred Jones I always seen as a grizzled, no nonsense, calmly self-assured solider-of-fortune. What he did on "MAD MEN" felt like that character-type except just of the advertising world. He would be great as Jonas

36. Stephen Lang

Actor | Avatar

Stephen Lang is a distinguished and award-winning actor who commands considerable respect, and is equally at home on the Broadway stage, on television, and in film.

Though he is arguably most well-known for his acclaimed performance in James Cameron's Avatar (2009), Lang began his career in theater....

-ELDRED JONAS/THE CRIMSON KING-

37. Lance Henriksen

Actor | Aliens

An intense, versatile actor as adept at playing clean-cut FBI agents as he is psychotic motorcycle-gang leaders, who can go from portraying soulless, murderous vampires to burned-out, world-weary homicide detectives, Lance Henriksen has starred in a variety of films that have allowed him to stretch...

-ELDRED JONAS-

When I first read "Wizards & Glass" and came across the character of Eldred Jonas, my immediate visual representation was Henriksen. Plus he would look great w/ the "handlebar mustache".

38. Peter Weller

Actor | RoboCop

Peter Frederick Weller was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, to Dorothy Jean (Davidson) and Frederick Bradford Weller, a federal judge and career helicopter pilot for the United States Army. He traveled extensively as his father literally flew around the world. Before he was out of his teens, he ...

-ELDRED JONAS-

Robocop as the western edition of Clarence Boddicker would be very interesting.

39. Garrett Hedlund

Actor | Tron: Legacy

Born in Roseau, Minnesota, Garrett John Hedlund is the son of Kristi Anne (Yanish) and Robert Martin Hedlund. He has two older siblings, Nathaniel and Amanda. His father is of Swedish descent and his mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry.

Garrett spent his early years growing up on a farm in a ...

-CLAY REYNOLDS-

40. Clint Eastwood

Actor | Million Dollar Baby

Clint Eastwood was born May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, to Clinton Eastwood Sr., a bond salesman and later manufacturing executive for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and Ruth Wood (née Margret Ruth Runner), a housewife turned IBM clerk. He grew up in nearby Piedmont. At school Clint took interest in ...

-CORTLAND "CORT" ANDRUS-

In the books, Cort is a heavy-set, bald fellow, but I feel having the actor that portrayed the Roland Deschain prototype would be fitting.

41. Ray Winstone

Actor | The Departed

Ray Winstone was born on February 19, 1957, in Hackney Hospital in London, England, to Margaret (Richardson) and Raymond J. Winstone. He moved to Enfield, at age seven, where his parents had a fruit and vegetable business. He started boxing at the age of twelve at the famous Repton Amateur Boxing ...

-CORTLAND "CORT" ANDRUS-

42. J.K. Simmons

Actor | Whiplash

J.K. Simmons is an American actor.

He was born Jonathan Kimble Simmons in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, to Patricia (Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, a music teacher. He attended the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; University of Montana, Missoula, MT (BA in Music).

He had ...

-CORTLAND "CORT" ANDRUS-

43. Paul Giamatti

Actor | Sideways

Paul Giamatti is an American actor who has worked steadily and prominently for over thirty years, and is best known for leading roles in the films American Splendor (2003), Sideways (2004), and Barney's Version (2010) (for which he won a Golden Globe), and supporting roles in the films Cinderella ...

-CORTLAND "CORT" ANDRUS-

In following the book description closely, Giamatti would be amazing as Cort.

44. Clea DuVall

Actress | The Faculty

Clea DuVall was born in Los Angeles on September 25, 1977, to Rosemary (Hatch) and actor Steph DuVall. DuVall's teenage years presented her with many challenges. Her parents divorced when she was twelve, and, when her mother remarried, DuVall moved out because she did not feel at home in the ...

-ALICE-

45. Samantha Mathis

Actress | Broken Arrow

Samantha Mathis was born in 1970 in New York, to Donald Mathis and Austrian-born Bibi Besch, an aspiring actress at the time. Her maternal grandmother was actress Gusti Huber. Her first acting job was in a commercial for baby products with her mother. Since her parents divorced when she was only ...

-ALICE-

46. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Actor | Terminator 2: Judgment Day

With an almost unpronounceable surname and a thick Austrian accent, who would have ever believed that a brash, quick talking bodybuilder from a small European village would become one of Hollywood's biggest stars, marry into the prestigious Kennedy family, amass a fortune via shrewd investments and...

-Tick-Tock Man-

When reading "The Wastelands" I always saw Arnold as the Tick-Tock Man.

47. Chloë Grace Moretz

Actress | Kick-Ass

Moretz is best known for her work in the sci-fi thriller series The Peripheral, created by Scott B. Smith; the Mattson Tomlin-directed sci-fi thriller Mother/Android; Neil Jordan's thriller Greta; Roseanne Liang's Shadow in the Cloud, which claimed the Midnight Madness People's Choice Award at the ...

Susan Delgado-

She's the archetype of book description at this very moment if the film series was already in full swing and was preparing to film the "Wizards and Glass" portion next month.

48. Elle Fanning

Actress | Super 8

Mary Elle Fanning was born on the 9th of April 1998 in Conyers, Georgia, USA, to Heather Joy (Arrington) and Steven J. Fanning. Her mother played professional tennis, and her father, now an electronics salesman, played minor league baseball. She is of German, Irish, English, French, and Channel ...

-Susan Delgado-

49. Ray Liotta

Actor | Narc

Intense was the word for Ray Liotta. He specialized in psychopathic characters who hide behind a cultivated charm. Even in his nice-guy roles in Field of Dreams (1989) and Operation Dumbo Drop (1995), you get the impression that something is smoldering inside of him. He was born in Newark, New ...

-Enrico Balazar-

I know, I'm casting him as a mafia kingpin but he was so good in Goodfellas. Don't tell me when you read Enrico Balazar/Jack Andolini character you didn't immediately picture Liotta as one of them.

50. Chris Messina

Actor | Argo

Chris Messina was born on August 11, 1974 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Argo (2012), Away We Go (2009) and Devil (2010). He is married to Jennifer Todd. They have two children. He was previously married to Rosemarie DeWitt.

-Jack Andolini-

I can see him playing the capable Lieutenant in Balazar's family.