In the first episode of the Cult Film Club Pax, Jaime and Shawn took on the role of casting agents and recast the principal characters of The Wraith with modern actors in a segment we like to call “It’s Time for a ReCast!” Sometimes it helps to put a face with a name, so we thought it would be fun to take a closer look at the various actors we mentioned filling the rather crazy shoes of Sheen, Quaid, Howard and the rest of the original cast.
First up, let’s tackle that winning wizard full of tiger’s blood, Charlie Sheen, who played the role of Jamie Hankins/Jake Kesey…
The role of Jamie/Jake sort of calls for someone who can play the damaged hero, cool under pressure, lethal, but likeable enough that you can get behind the character’s vengeful deeds. With that in mind Jaime (our faithful CFC host that is) chose Aaron Johnson (probably most recognizable from his turn as the titular character in Kick-Ass), Paxton chose Chris Hemsworth (most notably known as the Asgardian slinger of Mjolnir Thor), and Shawn chose Jason Schwartzman (Max Fischer from Wes Anderson’s Rushmore.)
Next up we’ll take a look at the Sherilyn Fenn role of Keri Johnson…
It seems like all three of the CFC hosts had a hard time casting for this part, if only because Ms. Fenn wasn’t exactly winning any accolades for her take on Keri. That being said, we managed to look past that and pick some pretty awesome ladies to breathe new life into the role. Jaime went with Emma Watson (the striking and brainy wizard Hermione from the Harry Potter flicks), Paxton settled on AnnaSophia Robb (who played Violet in Burton’s Charlie & the Chocolate Factory as well as recently being cast as a young Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex & the City prequel show), and Shawn cast Olivia Wilde (who escaped the grid as Quorra in Tron: Legacy.)
You can’t have a good action flick without a dastardly villain, and Nick Cassevetes did a pretty bang up job playing Packard Walsh…
Detached, psychopathic, and just a little bit charming, Packard was at his best when he had a supernatural shotgun pointed right at his face. The role definitely requires someone who can be likeable, but who can also cut through a room with just a glance. To fill Cassevetes’ shoes, Jaime picked Dane DeHaan (who didn’t take Uncle Ben’s heroic mantra to heart when he found himself with super powers in the 2012 film Chronicle), Pax chose Brandon Routh (the silver screen successor to Christopher Reeve taking on the mantle for Superman Returns), and Shawn went with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (the time traveling Looper and floating-room fighter in Inception.)
Rounding out the principal cast is Randy Quaid as the stalwart Sheriff Loomis…
Aside from getting the chance to continuously warn the young road pirates of their imminent doom, this role requires an actor that’s handy with paper and scissors (he makes a mean string of headless paper dolls.) For this level of gravitas Jaime decided on Matthew McConaughey (the sleazy yet loveable Wooderson from Dazed and Confused among many other sleazy yet loveable characters), while Paxton felt that the only person worthy of filling Quaid’s shoes, was Quaid himself, and Shawn went with his heart and cast Ken Marino (the dreamiest member of 90s sketch comedy troupe The State.)
Though they may not have been top-billed, there were some other awesome actors and parts in The Wraith. For instance, the loveable “Rughead” Clint Howard…
This skittish, techno-geek saw right through the titular Wraith’s armor to the damaged soul beneath, and Mr. Howard put everything he had into that role (including wearing a monumental Eraserhead-inspired hairpiece.) For this bit of ReCasting, Paxton again thought that the right man for the job was the man who originated the role, and that’s hard to argue with! Shawn, on the other hand felt that this would be an opportunity to change up the casting a bit and bring in someone who could not only fill Howard’s shoes, but also his cute and lovable personality, Kristen Schaal (rabbit ear-wearing daughter Louise on Bob’s Burgers, as well as adorable stalker in Flight of the Conchords.)
Though he doesn’t have a huge role in the film, Matthew Barry made a pretty big impact as Jamie’s little brother Billy Hankins…
Billy is the kind of character that will always stand up for what’s right, even if that means getting the ever-living crap beat out of him on a daily basis. He really is the heart of the film, and with that in mind, Jaime chose Josh Hutcherson (from The Hunger Games and the recent Red Dawn remake), while Shawn went with, of all people, Justin Bieber (just so he could see him get beat up on screen.)
The casting wouldn’t be complete though without finding someone to play a couple of bungling road pirates. For the role of Skank (originally played with hydraulic fluid-swilling gusto by David Sherrill)…
…Jaime centered on Alex Pettyfer (from the recent male-stripping classic Magic Mike), while Shawn went back to the pool of talent from The State and picked Robert Ben Garant (who is probably better know as bulletproof vest-wearing Deputy Travis Junior from Reno 911!)
Last, but certainly not least is the slightly touched Gutterboy (played by Jamie Bozian)…
For this recast role, Jaime (our faithful CFC host) picked Jack Gleeson (from Game of Thrones), if only to see him play the exact opposite of a character like Joffrey Baratheon.
Tasked with the job of recasting The Wraith, who would you like to see in these roles? Leave us a comment with your choices, or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter!
