JOE LEDGER FAN CLUB discussion

Tommy Lee Jones - Jerry

Like Tommy Lee Jones. Two thumbs up

Actually Tom Berenger as Church. Perfect match. LOL

Tom Hardy IS Joe. He could pull off that combo of ruthless/kick-ass good guy and good-looking but rough around the edges. He honestly fits the author's description perfectly. Though I ALSO think Josh Jackson could play the part beautifully... especially the smart-ass humor! :-)
Christoph Waltz for Church??? PERFECT!!
Also, Hemsworth for Bunny is a great suggestion.
Top = Djimon Hounsou or Richard T. Jones
Grace = Rachel Weisz
Gault = Fassbender for sure
Toys = Tom Hiddleston (Loki from Thor)

(** and please, no offense folks but Statham is all wrong for this part. Not the right demeanor, not physically right at all & let's face it... not young enough)

Its funny that now when I'm watching movies I'm looking at characters to cast in Ledger movie. Emily Blunt - Grace!!

How about this cast: Jim Caviezal as Joe, Chris Cooper as Church, Idris Elba for Top, Tom Hardy for Bunny, Kate Beckinsale for Grace, Bobby Lee for dr. Hu, Jimmy Smits for Rudy, David Anders for Toys, and Michael Fassbenderfor Gault?

Let me know how you like my ideas...

Church: Billy Bob Thornton
Joe: Thomas Jane
Grace: Rhona Mitra
Gus Dietrich: Jeremy Renner
Rudy: Michael Pena
Top:Michael Clarke Duncan
Bunny: Chris Hemsworth

Lesser Characters:
Circe O'Tree: Olivia Wilde
Aunt Sallie: Queen Latifah
VP Bill Collins: Alec Baldwin
Artemisia Bliss: Constance Wu
Violin: Odette Annable
Jerry Spencer: Tommy Lee Jones

Villians:
Hugo Vox: Robert Downey Jr
Gault: Daniel Craig (I want to watch him play a villain)
Toys: Michael Fassbender

Sorry, I insist on Chris Pratt for Joe (for his looks as Justin in Zero Dark Thirty), 6'2", light brown hair, mid 30's, nice facial symetry that coud pass for handsome all american boy to rugged baddas with just some stubble and acting skills.

Tom Hardy looks too rugged (that's why IS Gus for me), "The Man in a Suit" and "The Punisher" are way past due to play Joe, Mr Reese could play Samson Rigss and Thomas Jane could be Conrad Veder & Co. (if you know what I mean), mostly because until Mr Maberry suddenly introduced Samson Riggs with his mid to late 40's (if I am not mistaken), Top at 41, was the oldest field operative in the DMS... even Joe in his mid 30's, as ruthless and efficient as he is, considers that he might be overplaying his hand in a young man's game, and that should be a key to choosing who portrays who: actors that are, or can portray acurately, the character's age. So... no kids, but no early GenX'ers either (IMHO).

I love everyone's picks. Great minds

Bvglee wrote: "Sorry, I insist on Chris Pratt for Joe (for his looks as Justin in Zero Dark Thirty), 6'2", light brown hair, mid 30's, nice facial symetry that coud pass for handsome all america boy to rugged bad..."

I see what you are saying...I also thought of Sullivan Stapleton who plays Damien Scott in Strike Back would be a good Joe.

Best idea for Ledger, imo, is Tom Hardy. A very good choice.

For Church, though, if you've listened to the audiobooks, there's only one perfect choice: Michael Shannon. His voice is perfect, and he totally fits the description of Church as big, fit though not young, and physically imposing. Watch his character as it evolved in HBO's Boardwalk Empire, and you'll see what I mean.

Sebastian Gault: has to be Charles Dance (Tywin Lanister in Game of Thrones). And Jude Law is a great choice as Toys.

I have added Josh Brolin as Mr Church, he's late 40's but maybe aging him for the role could be easier than choosing some one too old. If not, then he could play Jerry Spencer.

Yeah, yeah the Hardy guy is not a bad choice, he's climbing in the charts, but still far behind C. Pratt & now Stapleton in mine (thanks for that one Pete, good call), gimme a better Gus and I'll think about it.

This discussion reminds me of my college days when I used to read the "Casting Call" section in Wizard, the comics magazine, and a friend used to say "Do you know how much a cast like that would cost?, Hollywood will never produce something full of names that big, between payroll, dealing with contracts (new and in effect), who's available from other proyects, and professional egos, that film will NEVER see the ligth... at least not even close to what fans dream of"

Bvglee,

I like your idea of Josh Brolin for Church, but you're right that he would have to be aged a bit. Gus Dietrich and Grace are two very hard people to cast I feel. #1, you don't see too much of Gus really and Grace is such a dynamic character. She is supposed to be drop dead gorgeous but also a total badass and, to me, there are not many women in Hollywood that could pull that off.

Sorry, but Josh Brolin as Church is a bit too much--too good looking, too young (unless aged, but why?), too Hollywood, and not jaded and "experienced" enough. I just don't see it. A Tommy Lee Jones would be good, though he's too old. I still think Michael Shannon would be a great choice--steeley, unflappable, projecting power--but Brolin is wrong. IMO. This character is critical to the whole feel of these stories.

As for Ledger, there have been great suggestions. I like Hardy, but Stapleton would be very good also. Chris Pratt, not so much.

Grace: I love the idea of Kate Beckinsale. Top: maybe LL Cool J. Bunny: I second the idea of Chris Hemsworth.

Is anything actually in the works to make any movies of these novels?

Film and TV rights to extinction machine and the Joe Ledger series have been acquired by producers tony Eldridge of Sony pictures

Thanks! Good to hear these might actually make it to the big screen eventually. (Maybe after some of the fictional events are no longer fictional!!)

Has anyone here caught "Banshee" on Showtime?

Antony Starr IS Joe Ledger. There'll be no-one better. He has that 'everyman' sort of appeal. He doesn't come across like, "Hey, look at me, I'm a star pretending to act like some tough guy or action hero ...."

He comes across as totally ordinary --- until the shooting and ass-kicking start. Once it begins, he's a freaking cold-blooded ass-whopping machine.

Just like the show Banshee, Starr is criminally underrated. Come to think of it, it'd be nice if a Joe Ledger series had a transvestite mercenary/smartass hacker like Job ....

Randy wrote: "Sorry, but Josh Brolin as Church is a bit too much--too good looking, too young (unless aged, but why?), too Hollywood, and not jaded and "experienced" enough. I just don't see it. A Tommy Lee Jo..." "...Michael Shannon would be a great choice..."

Josh Brolin was born in 1968 (47 right now) and M. Shannon in 1974, just barely out of his 30 (even younger than TOP)... I understand the difference of opinion, but don't see the age as a valid point.

For Joe I would definitely say Antony Star or Jason Stathom(the way he looked in Home front). Who ever it would be the would have to funny master is sarcastic humor and quick wit for sure

Bvglee wrote: "Randy wrote: "Sorry, but Josh Brolin as Church is a bit too much--too good looking, too young (unless aged, but why?), too Hollywood, and not jaded and "experienced" enough. I just don't see it. ..."
Very good point on the age: maybe Brolin just looks too young (imo) to make, for me, the ideal candidate for Church. Shannon displays a certain stoicism and steely control, in some of his past roles, that just reminds me of Church. (He may need to be aged a bit, too, however!) Brolin could definitely work in the role of Church, just not my first choice.

I have been tossing around Jensen Ackles as Joe Ledger.

Is Josh Holloway too old to play Ledger? He does sarcasm so well.

If he could properly act, Scott Adkins would be a great Joe Ledger. Thomas Jane and Ryan reynolds are also great options.
Bruce Willis would fit the role if it were 20 years ago.

Anthony Hopkins is a great choice for Church, although in my mind I always pictured him as the late Richard Crena (Col. Trautman from Rambo).
I would say that Bryan Cranston could nail the part, since he has that dangerous halo and presence.

For the role of Grace, I´d pick Ronda Rousey and I agree with Idris Elba as Bunny.

I had to create an account just to get in on this. I love how more than one person has brought up Dexter characters. I've always thought that the cast of Joe Ledger move/show could get some good picks from the Dexter cast:

Dr. Hu - CS Lee (Masuka from Dexter) - someone else said this and I think CS Lee was born for this part; the first one cast in my mind
Rudy Sanchez - Jimmy Smits (Miguel Prado from Dexter) someone else said this and I wanted to second it; another great choice
Mr. Church - such a crucial casting choice and I think they can get this one from Dexter too - I haven't seen anyone else recommend this so what does everyone think of Keith Carradine (he played Frank Lundy in season 2 of Dexter) - I've thought about this one so much that when, I think Mr. Church I see http://www.hbjzds.com/data_images/wal... does anyone else agree? I think he just has a calm control that would go well with Church's character

And then yeah, Whoopi Goldberg, of course.

Chris, those are awesome choices lol
Love it

Thanks for joining! Love to pick up the heart beat of this group, it's a bit of a flat liner lately

I'm sorry, but has anyone read the books? Everyone at the DMS, minus Hu, bug, and the techies are described as hardened vets from various military branches. Church himself is described countless times as being blocky, large and well muscled. With that said, Anthony Hopkins for church? Seriously? It's gotta be a guy that seems wise AND dangerous. Same goes for everyone else, they've got to mentally and physically embody the characters. So anyways, here are my picks!
Church: Liam Neeson, Hugo Weaving, or Josh Brolin
-Josh Brolin or Liam would be best. Both physically imposing, can fight and have that seriousness and wisdom that church invokes.

Joe Ledger: Anthony Starr (hands down this guy is Ledger) or maybe even Josh Holloway. Both are badass without needing to be and both have that cocky humor.

Top: (he's described as an older grizzled black guy) Michael k Williams or Idris Elba

Bunny: Alan Ritchinson or Chris Hemsworth. Always imagined Hemsworth just because who else could fill the role? Giant muscular surfer dude? I mean for real, he's perfect! Hell maybe even Liam Hemsworth.

Grace: Yvonne Strahoviski. Hot, blonde, accent, and a badass. Yup, it's her

Rudy: duh, Javier Bardeem. Joes character literally says it constantly

Aunt sallie: they say whoopi, but really? I could see Viola Davis literally destroying that role

Dr. Hu: Ken Leung. I always saw this guy when I read Hu's character. He's a natural smartass and can pull off the intelligence aspect as well. Possibly C. S. Lee.

Lydia Ruiz: Michelle Rodriguez

Sam Imura: Joe Taslim. Just watch The Raid

Bug: Donald Glover, John Boyega, or Shamiek Moore

Toys: Jamie Bell. For sure

Junie: always saw Rachel McAdams

Circe o Tree: Natalie Emanuel. They could easily pull this off, even though she's described as being more European.

Anywho. That's what I got. Let's all hope this gets picked up by Fx, HBO, Starz, or Cinemax. Something that can allow it to really dig into the source material.

A lot of good choices. After watching Daredevil season 2 I can see Jon Bernthal (Punisher on the show) as Joe Ledger. Really, he does great in playing "normal" character who then switches to psycho-killer. As for other characters I have hard time to figure this out, but I'll try anyway.

Church: Billy Bob Thornton if he was bigger, Liam Neeson - maybe, maybe. Josh Brolin sound good as well, especially with good characterisation he could nail the role. I don't see Anthony Hopkins as Church.

Aunt Sallie: Viola Davis. She would be perfect.

Rudy: Javier Bardeem hands down.

PS: Today I'll finish Code Zero and tomorrow start Predator One, then Kill Switch and then I'll have to patiently wait for next installment. Great series and nice to join this little fan club :)

At the moment I'm finishing Kill Switch, while reading a scene with Toys in a hotel I thought that I could see Cillian Murphy playing him.

I think jon is a great actor and could absolutely nail the role, but ledger is more of a surfer boy type. Jon would howeve play one hell of a Top if they decided to change the race for that one!

Church: Jeff Bridges
Toys Ewan McGregor or Edward Norton
Joe Ledger Christian Bale or Tom Brady
Bunny Joe Manganiello
Top Common
Gault Jason Statham
Grace Natalie Portman or Charlize Theron
Amira Halle Berry or Zoe Saldana oe Selma Hayek
El Mujaheed Neveen Andrews from lost
Dr Hu Steven Yuen or CS Lewis

Church-Ray Stevenson
Joe- Bradley Cooper
Rudy- Joe Mantegna
Top- Richard T. Jones
Bunny- Alan Ritchson
Hu- Masi Oka
Grace- Cobie Smulders
Sam Imura- Daniel Dae Kim

Sorry to comment on such an old thread, but we just finished the second book (Dragon Factory) on our last RV trip. Toward the end of my book, I comment to my wife: "Joe Ledger would look just like the guy who played Hawkeye in Avengers (Jeremy Renner)." He is 5'10" tall and a well muscled 5'10" is 210lbs (which Joe mentions as his weight). A taller actor would look skinny at that weight

(My son is a 5'10" linebacker type who hangs around 210)

Unstoppable is the latest Joe Ledger anthology. The FOREWORD in this book from Tony Eldridge (producer of The Equalizer) says “drop John McClane from Die Hard into an episode of Fringe and you’ve entered the world of Joe Ledger. I am gleefully grateful to have the chance to bring Joe Ledger to the screen”.
Guys, it’s here! Joe Ledger and the DMS will be on the big screen soon.
Check out this new book and let me know what you think.

“I’m not sure I could trust a man who would bypass an Oreo in favor of vanilla wafers. It’s a fundamental character flaw, possibly a sign of true evil.” -Joe Ledger, Patient Zero

Sorry this is long and nobodies posted here in a while but, got into a huge discussion with my friends about who could play characters if we get a movie/tv series

Joe Ledger - Tom Hardy / Ryan Reynolds / Chris Pratt / Chris Evans
Church - Ron Perlman
Aunt Sally - Whoopi Goldberg
Top - The Rock
Bunny - Chris Hemsworth
Rudy Sanchez - Mark Ruffalo
Violin - Kate Beckinsale
Grace - Elizabeth Hurley
Circe - Anna Kendrick
El Mujahid - Jason Mamoa
Toys - Jack Gleeson
Gault - Hugh Laurie
Amirah - Natalie Portman
Cyrus Jakoby - Anthony Hopkins
The President - Ian McKellan
Vice President Collins - Charles Dance
Mother Night - Chloe Wong
Hugo Vox - Michael Fassbender

That was a great list Abbi, I smiled as I was reading. Damn that was good

Amazing list Abbi!

Joe Ledger - Ryan Reynolds (His acting style is perfect for the type of person Joe is)

Church, I vote for the lesser known Richard Sammel (the Strain)
Joe: Either Jason Statham or.....anyone BUT Bruce Willis.

I like the idea of Michael Pena as Rudy.

Honestly, I think they should go for as many “new comers” as they can. Much of today’s action heroes are just “tired”.

So true Billy

Abbi wrote: "Sorry this is long and nobodies posted here in a while but, got into a huge discussion with my friends about who could play characters if we get a movie/tv series

Joe Ledger - Tom Hardy / Ryan Rey..."

ACE! Great list

I just figured out who I had in my head for Ledger:
Josh Brolin
Maybe a trifle too old, but.....

Please go to Twitter, Mayberry wrote:

So...I've been asked to build a list of actors who could play JOE LEDGER on cable TV. Help me out here. Who do YOU think could handle the action, humor, and heartbreak of Joe Ledger? #castingJoeLedger Photos and links welcome.

Stupid autocorrect Maberry.

I have been listening to the audio books and in my head Church is always played by Zeljko Ivanek.

Melany wrote: "I have been tossing around Jensen Ackles as Joe Ledger."

I love this so much.

How about Ryan Reynolds for Joe? He nails 'smart ass' so well.

Shane, that’s awesome. Why didn’t I think of him? Drat!

I mentioned Jensen Ackles to Jonathan two weeks ago. He said that many have mentioned it. However, he has no say in any casting decisions. But he did seem to give a little wink.

You got a wink? Cool! I don’t know who that actor is. I will look him up.

These are the folks that come to mind when I'm reading or listening to the Joe Ledger series. Many of them don't fit Maberry's descriptions at all, but there are a few like Aunt Sallie and Brick that I just can't see any other way than exactly how he describes:

Church-Denzel Washington
Joe Ledger-Ryan Gosling
Grace Courtland-Hayley Atwell
Rudy Sanchez-John Leguizamo
Top-Edris Elba
Bunny-Dave Bautista
Lydia-Zoe Saldana
Sam Imura-Brian Tee
Bug-Echo Kellum
Doctor Hu-Steven Yeun
Aunt Sally-Whoopi Goldberg
Gus Dietrich-Stephen Lang
Brick-Ving Rhames
Violin-Lady Gaga
Lillith-Marisa Tomei
Skip-Timothy Olyphant
Ollie-Henry Cavil
Circe O'Tree-Rashida Jones
Junie Flynn-Emma Stone
Samson Riggs-Mahershala Ali
Sebastian Gault-Joaquin Phoenix
Toys-Anthony Carrigan
Amira-Nazanin Boniadi
El Mujahed-Oded Fehr
Cyrus Jacoby-Rufus Sewell
Otto Wertz-Danny Huston
Gunnar Heckel-Josh Stewart
Hecate Jacoby-Emilia Clarke
Paris Jacoby-Orlando Bloom
Hugo Vox-Vincent D'Onofrio
The Spaniard-Diego Luna (yes, I know he's from Mexico 😅)
Nicodemus-Javier Bardem
Erasmus Tull-Stephen Amell
Howard Shelton-Bradley Cooper
Artemisia Bliss-Fan Bingbing

Denzel Washington for Church because he can nail the quiet and seemingly calm intensity that character requires. When I watched Blade Runner 2049 in the theater and saw Ryan Gosling's performance as Agent K coupled with range in several other movies he's starred in I've never been able to envision anyone else as Joe Ledger. Two things I would want to see changed in a TV series (too much content would have to be cut for movies) would be a larger presence for Samson Riggs so we can see exactly what made him a role model for Joe Ledger and for Erasmus Tull to become a larger story-spanning villain like Sebastian Gault was because he seemed to have a massive amount of untapped potential to be truly terrifying.

Michael wrote: "I'm sorry, but has anyone read the books? Everyone at the DMS, minus Hu, bug, and the techies are described as hardened vets from various military branches. Church himself is described countless ti..."

So far I think you are right on with your picks. some you hit the nail on the head