If You Could Recast....

[Ian]

Ahhh...here I am, sitting here at my laptop, procrastinating my French homework away, thinking about DS. Ahhh...I love it.

Anyways, assume that all the actors/actresses on DS up and quit, and Dan Curtis had to recast them all. Also, assume he has a time machine that can go backwards and forwards in time (but only as far as 10/25/05 ). Which actors/actresses from any time period do you think could fill in their previous owners' shoes? I know there are some beloved ones on the list that we know we could never TRULY replace (Joan Bennett, Lara Parker, Nancy Barrett, Humbert Allen Astredo, Don Briscoe and the QUEEN, Grayson Hall, come to mind , but there are also some that you make you think, "Which producer did they sleep with to get on the show?" (I've heard mention of Roger Davis, Lee Beery, and Geoffrey Scott on that topic. ) So this is your chance to recast who you want to recast with WHOEVER you want. Go ahead. Have fun.

I'll make out a preliminary list of the actors/actresses from the show, but don't feel inclined to do all of them. There's far too many! Also, my list isn't set in stone. Feel free to add some in that I didn't mention.

Humbert Allen Astredo
Nancy Barrett
Lee Beery
Joan Bennett
Chris Bernau
Clarice Blackburn
Don Briscoe
Kathy Cody
Terry Crawford
Joel Crothers
Thayer David
Roger Davis
Louis Edmonds
Elizabeth Eis
Dana Elcar
David Ford
Conrad Fowkes
Jonathan Frid
Anthony George
Robert Gerringer
Grayson Hall
David Henesy
Kate Jackson
John Karlen
Jerry Lacy
John Lasell
Donna McKechnie
Diana Millay
Alexandra Moltke
Denise Nickerson
Lara Parker
Dennis Patrick
Christopher Pennock
Addison Powell
Keith Prentice
Lisa Richards
Robert Rodan
Frank Schofield
Kathryn Leigh Scott
Geoffrey Scott
David Selby
Craig Slocum
Sharon Smyth
James Storm
Michael Stroka
Virginia Vestoff
Marie Wallace
Donna Wandrey

[AndreDuPres]

I hope I'm answering this correctly...I wish TPTB had chosen Chris Bernau to go on to the Parallel Time storyline rather than Michael Stroka.  I find Stroka irritatingly fake and ineffective in most of his roles--excepting early Aristede, of course.  Bernau, on the other hand, was so much more personable and "smooth."  I'm re-watching the Leviathan stoyline again right now, and I'm glad Bernau's there to liven it up.  I wish Elizabeth Eis had been used more...she's just so...normal amidst all that 1970PT craziness.  Lee Berry would have to go.  My God, that woman could not act!  She's not even that good looking, either-- a bit too "Rubenesque" for my tastes.  Either hire a new actress or get Alexandra Moltke back, please!  AM would have been nice for the part, IMO, though by then it was *way* too late to get her back on the show.  Josette in 1841PT was not too great, either.  They should have just gotten that woman who played Granny Edith.

[Ian]

Technically I meant from real life. If you wanted, you could have said, "I want Halle Berry to do Jonathan Frid's roles!" if you wanted to.

But! I still like your answers! Chris Bernau is pretty good. I tend to find a lot of Michael Stroka's acting...a little insipid, to be honest. In other news, I always loved Grandmama (Isabella Hoopes) in 1897. I wish she had lived longer. Now, I never got a chance to see 1841PT, so I don't know how *cough*Mary Cooper*cough* acted, but I personally like Isabelle Hoopes a lot, so I can easily imagine her in that role as well.

[Maria_Merriweather]

Nancy Barrett--Ann-Margret
Joan Bennett--Barbara Stanwyk
John Karlen--Anthony Perkins
Alexandra Molke--Mia Farrow
Jonathan Frid--Christopher Lee
Louis Edmonds--Vincent Price
Kathryn Lee Scott--Sally Field

[Ian]

Jonathan Frid--Christopher Lee
Louis Edmonds--Vincent Price

I love those picks, especially Christopher Lee as Barnabas! See, I'm no good at this. I can only throw the idea up there, but I'm not creative enough to do it myself. XD

[Raineypark]

Barnabas - Rafe Fiennes.

[BuzzH]

Barnabas - Rafe Fiennes.

I don't know...Alec Neuman was okay by me.  

[TERRY308]

Raineypark, if Rafe Fiennes was Barnabas, I would absolutely die.  Every since I saw him in "The English Patient" he has a piece of my heart...a big piece.

How I love that man 'o mine.

You know who else who be good for Barnabas.....Johnny Depp.  He's another one who had a big piece of my heart.

[BuzzH]

You know who else who be good for Barnabas.....Johnny Depp.  He's another one who had a big piece of my heart.

You know, that's interesting because I've heard for years that Depp actually *wanted* to play Barnbas.  He's apparently a big DS fan. 

[Ian]

You know who else who be good for Barnabas.....Johnny Depp.  He's another one who had a big piece of my heart.

You know, that's interesting because I've heard for years that Depp actually *wanted* to play Barnbas.  He's apparently a big DS fan. 

The way he fawns over Tim Burton's darker movies, I'm not surprised. It's quite possible he could be a good replacement for John Karlen, if not Jonathan Frid.

[Julia99]

Ahhh...here I am, sitting here at my laptop, procrastinating my French homework away, thinking about DS. Ahhh...I love it.

 and the QUEEN, Grayson Hall, come to mind ,

Grayson Hall

It's good to know that young Ian is sufficiently enlightened to see that some people are just irreplaceable .. but after her turn at the DSFest in Brooklyn a few years back . .i think a mature Donna Wanderly could do wonders with the Hoffman character . .  But of course only if the Queen deigned to allow it . ..

[ClaudeNorth]

Hmmm...

For Laura Collins, I would go with a KNOTS LANDING-era Michelle Phillips because she's way cool and because her real-life romantic adventures parallel those of the 1966 Laura.

Sam Waterston would have made an interesting Barnabas.  I think he would have tapped into the gentlemanly vibe that was such an important part of Frid's portrayal.

Christopher Meloni as a werewolf character because I like the idea of seeing him in a tattered shirt...

And I think that Faye Dunaway, at different ages, would make a fun Julia Hoffman (although there is only one Julia in my book) or Elizabeth Stoddard.

Also, John O'Hurley as Dr. Eric Lang.

[Julianka7]

I vote for Johnny Depp as Barnabas too
Julianka

[michael c]

'of course' i wouldn't recast anyone.

but i'm intrigued by a few of maria merriweather's choices.

barbara stanwyk could have been good as elizabeth.like joan bennett she had that rich,throughty voice and hollywood pedigree.although ms.stanwyk(like joan crawford and bette davis)had that touch of the 'working girl' about her where as ms.bennett seemed refined,slightly aloof.

a young and sexy and redheaded ann margret could have been good as carolyn too.she'd play spoiled and insolent well.

mia farrow would have made a good victoria winters as well.the character she plays in 'rosemary's baby' was similar to vicki in many ways.innocent,naive and trusting.that's how both of the characters were written(although in today's context that's often perceived as 'clueless').plus i think both actresses(ms.farrow and alexandra moltke)bring a certain poigniency to their roles.

[MagnusTrask]

I think you'll agree after you read these choices that everyone is replaceable.

Barnabas:  Bob Newhart
Julia:  Anna Nicole Smith
Willie:   Max von Sydow
Roger:  Pauley Shore
Elizabeth:   Janene Garofilo
David:  Abe Vigoda
Elliot Stokes:   Tom Arnold
Burke:  Richard Simmons
Quentin:   John Cleese
Mrs. Johnson:  Martin Sheen