ASP3: This is John Galt

Posted by sdesapio 11 years, 6 months ago to Entertainment

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Ideally, the actor playing John Galt in Atlas Shrugged Part 3 will appear to have jumped right off of the pages of Atlas Shrugged. However, in our quest to find the perfect John Galt, some tough choices may have to be made. That's where you come in.

If you had to choose, which would you consider the number one priority in casting John Galt?

A. As long as the actor looks and acts like John Galt, I don't care what his personal beliefs are.
B. The actor needs to possess a deep understanding of, and passion for, Ayn Rand's ideas first and foremost.

Leave your answer in the comments below.

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Posted by thelocalglobe 11 years, 6 months ago

Have there been any of the actors who are not in fact "true believers?" Better yet have any of the actors so far just suddenly disappeared?

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Posted by overmanwarrior 11 years, 6 months ago

"B" It takes more than an actor to play John Galt. I would look where nobody else has, and give a philosopher a paying job who can just happen to act because he is good at everything. I would say the person would have to "BE" John Galt. A faker won't work with the core audiance. If we were talking 40 years ago, I'd say Clint Eastwood, but there aren't people like that now working in films. But they are working as mechanics and oil riggers all over the world.

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  Posted by khalling 11 years, 6 months ago
  
  or writers
  
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    Posted by overmanwarrior 11 years, 6 months ago
    
    Perhaps. : ) But I think John Galt needs to be a stud who knows it and loves it. Someone not broken by the world. I have known a lot of actors and they just don't have the goods. They are mostly all broken men.
    
    If it was my decision it would be someone like this.
    
    http://www.nakedcowboy.com/
    
    A dude who can play the guitar in Times Square nearly naked is a guy who understands a bit about what being John Galt is. Unafraid, enterprising, talented, and holding the whole potential of the world in their mind.
    
    Plus, I bet he would sell tickets to a younger audience................I'm just saying.
    
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      Posted by khalling 11 years, 6 months ago
      
      perhaps. I like the unafraid part-but not if ignorance is thrown into the equation. I see Galt as strong but not a steroid body builder who spends all day in the gym. He is fit to fly an airplane not wield a club. His power comes from his mind. As a woman, I can tell you, attractiveness in a man comes from how he engages you, the intelligence in his eyes,how he is comfortable in his skin. How he controls his physical strength, yet you feel it all the same. He is also not devoid of emotion (which is not consistent with AS). He feels love, anger, great joy, sorrow-and he shows it. He also protects with his life those he loves.
      There are thousands of physically attractive men who are vapid as the Saharan, yet are bold. Their boldness is stupidity and their looks do not disguise the emptiness in their eyes
      
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        Posted by winterwind 11 years, 6 months ago
        
        you're on the mark today, aren't you?
        
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        Posted by JossAmbrose 11 years, 6 months ago
        
        We so need this guy ;]
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6ehbGV8s...
        
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        Posted by khalling 11 years, 5 months ago
        
        whoa. dutch elm disease. that is serious
        
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        Posted by Non_mooching_artist 11 years, 6 months ago
        
        Oh did you nail that! Yes, he will be lean, like whip with a mind as sharp. No weak chinned men need bother. An unknown, so no one has a tainted, preconceived idea of how we think the person should portray JG. I don't want to see a Harrison Ford up there, as he's not believable in that role. I'm sure this will be the most difficult task set before the producers/director.
        
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        Posted by overmanwarrior 11 years, 6 months ago
        
        I think we are narrowing down the specifics now!
        
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        Posted by Non_mooching_artist 11 years, 6 months ago
        
        Honed, wafer thin.
        
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        Posted by khalling 11 years, 5 months ago
        
        my son will be forever grateful for your choice.
        ok, I say feed him some meat!
        
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        Posted by khalling 11 years, 5 months ago
        
        lol
        
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Posted by thelocalglobe 11 years, 6 months ago

B. The actor must be a true believer

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Posted by halfwindy 11 years, 6 months ago

A. As long as the person can act like they have that passion, it doesn't matter so much whether it is true. However, both B and A would be ideal.

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Posted by Tymtrvlr 11 years, 6 months ago

B. The actor must possess a deep understanding of, and passion of Ayn Rand's ideas and the American U.S. Constitution, not the living, breathing, morphing, perverted clinton/obama marxist version. tom Selleck comes to mind.

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  Posted by Bxdwhine 11 years, 6 months ago
  
  I feel a need, as a supporter of both; to separate- not morph Ayn Rand's philosophy and the U.S. Constitution. There is a fringe hanging between the two brilliant ideals.
  
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Posted by Gillygirl 11 years, 6 months ago

Brendon Fraser is my choice. He is tall and authoritative looking. He has experience in diverse roles and can pull off drama as well as action or comedy.
This is a role that an actor plays. Acting is just that. It does not have to be a reflection of philosophy or politics or anything. It is someone pretending to be the person the writer creates meeting the vision of the director's interpretation.

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Posted by sojack12 11 years, 6 months ago

I think someone committed to the cause would do a better job hyping the film off-screen.
One person who came to mind is Vigo Mortensen. Star of Hidalgo and Lord of the Rings. I don't know if he requires a lot of money or what his politics are but he seems right in every other respect.
I also like Gary Sinese but not as much, but he is committed politically.

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Posted by DanconiaBTC 11 years, 6 months ago

I guess you guys are saying Brad Pitt, who already expressed interest in the role, won't work cheaply enough?

I do have to say that DB Sweeney is one of my favorite unappreciated actors. So, I was pleasantly surprised to see him cast for pt 2. Why wouldn't he be in part 3?

I have no idea about his politics, but if he's not too expensive, one of the best actors for this role I can think of would be Guy Pearce.

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Posted by j_IR1776wg 11 years, 6 months ago

All good comments.

He should be...
1) Unknown or relatively unknown.
2) A dedicated Objectivist.
3) Good looking enough that his appearance does not detract from from the message.

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Posted by roconnor 11 years, 6 months ago

Jim Caviezel would be great in the role of John Galt. Watch him in 'Person of Interest' for a dose of no nonsense, get-the-job-done brilliance and credible, tough-guy realism. He has the look, with eyes of steel and the confident demeanor, to peer up from under that wide-brimmed Fedora hat and BE John Galt. He's certainly got the handsome good looks and is the correct age to be Dagny's ultimate romantic interest, and he can certainly play an entrepreneur engineer/inventor genius. Remember how he portrayed Jesus? This guy can do.

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Posted by Misanthrope 11 years, 6 months ago

I think I'd cast a voice actor like Corey Burton. He'd be able to create exactly the voice you want and that's the most important thing for Galt's speech. I don't know about any passion for Ayn Rand, but he's a consummate professional and makes his money on his own talent and abilities.

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Posted by Wisedad 11 years, 6 months ago

Both A and B. He must be a Yaron Brook who looks like a young Clint Eastwood.

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Posted by UsH 11 years, 6 months ago

I go for an unknown actor that has to be found by some kind of scouting like John Galt himself.

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Posted by wynsday 11 years, 6 months ago

I like the suggestion of Gary Sinese as John Galt, he is capable of intensity and is believable as a railroad worker/mastermind. Other choices I would be happy to see would include Tom Sellek, Rob Lowe, Sam Rockwell, Paul Walker, Jake Gyllenhaal.

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Posted by harneburd 11 years, 6 months ago

Any actor that can look and act like the John Galt in the book. Most important is that he can act. A great example of an actor that can act but doesn't necessarily agree with the who he is portraying is George C. Scott as General Patton. An unknown is just as good as a famous actor - as long as he can act (Dustin Hoffman in the Graduate) and bring out the character Ayn Rand envisioned.

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Posted by standeyo 11 years, 6 months ago

I vote B. He needs to have a compassionate side but a strong will with an intellect to allow him to design the "power device"... Several types come to mind: Mark Harmon, Liam Nesson, pierce Brosnan, Chris O'Donnell

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Posted by Lucy11 11 years, 6 months ago

Someone looks like Kevin Costner. Handsome. Tall. Smart and practical.

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Posted by MarjoriePeters 11 years, 6 months ago

A. Looks and acting skill are the most important. I vote for Paul Bettany. He is tall (6'3") , good-looking in an austere yet intelligent way, and he's an atheist!. If he thinks for himself, he might already be one of us. And he is not a top-ranked star, so he might be available.

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Posted by mottesj11 11 years, 6 months ago

I have always envisioned Christian Slater as John Galt when I read the book.

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Posted by TheEggman411 11 years, 6 months ago

Shoot first for the ideal: both. Most likely, however, the right looking actor will have no philosophy. So require him to read Atlas and all the rest of Ayn's preceding works. I'm predicting after he does, he'll make the right choice.

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Posted by nbadhwar 11 years, 6 months ago

He must look like Galt (or at least not like an anti-Galt, like the actor in AS II before they blacked out his face), and act as though he believes what Galt believes. This means he must be a good actor, and w. a good actor, we needn't worry about his actual beliefs.

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Posted by davemcgruer 11 years, 6 months ago

I think the actor's eyes will be very important. His expression must not be flat, but have a twinkling that indicates a deep knowledge, confidence and understanding of the importance of ideas in the world. The viewer needs to see what Dagny sees when she first looks in Galt's eyes. An actor who can do that will then fit in with the rest of the role. He should be in his 30's to be true to the novel and to fit in with Dagny and Francisco's age.

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Posted by tonephoto 11 years, 6 months ago

Someone who is a true beliver in real life not just an "Actor"

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Posted by murphlaw 11 years, 6 months ago

Gregory Peck was Atticus Finch. George C. Scott was Patton. We need someone who can fill that bill for John Galt. I see Galt as virile, brilliant and not over, say, 50. He worked for 20th Century Motors, so I don't think he's much younger than, say, 32. As far as an actor goes, this leaves out the obvious Clint Eastwood. I like Keifer Sutherland or Bruce Willis. I like the idea of an actor who is at least entertained by Atlas Shrugged or, better yet, is emotionally invested in it, as Gary Cooper was in "Fountainhead." or Reagan was in "Knute Rockne: All American." Even though he has been ostracized by Hollywood for his Left Behind roles, I also like Kirk Cameron. Overall, the actor should exude the dogmatism, self-confidence, diffidence and intelligence that I feel embodies John Galt. Keith Murphy

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Posted by rev_libertarian 11 years, 6 months ago

A

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