I thought long and hard about who would be good characters for the US Version and I thought about using US Soap Actors for parts.

Nikki Wade: I was thinking of the lady who played Dylan on The L Word who had that lawsuit with Helena Peabody.

The next actresses have all been on the longest runnning soap opera of all time. Guiding Light.

Monica Lindsay: Marj Dusay, she has been playing Alexandra Spaulding on and off since the 1990's. Or she could play one of the Costa Cons. She also played Blair's mother on The Facts Of Life in the 1980's.

Sheena Williams: Liz Keifer Another Guiding Light Graduate, she's been playing Blake Thorpe Marler since the 1990's as well.

Roisin Connor: Maeve Kinkead. Sister In Law To Meryl Streep who has also been on and off GL since 1980.

Jim Fenner: Anthony Herrera who played James Stenbeck on As The World Turns in the 1980's and makes occasional appearances whenever necessary.

Dominic McCallister. Any one of former Daytime Hunks would do it.

Nathan Mitchell: I was thinking of Shemar Moore but he's doing another show, so he wouldn't be able to do it.

The actor who played Corky on "Life Goes On" would be perfect as Spencer because he too has Down's Syndrome.

Any other suggestions.

I found Alexandra Hedison to be quite sexy on The L Word. But I'm not sure about her playing Nikki. She's got the dyke vibe, that's for sure. But she's not a professional actress--she's a photographer. And I think that the character of Nikki goes through so much emotionally, and is such a complex character, that you really need a professional actress to play the role. Hedison can play cool (which Dylan was), but I don't see her being able to capture Nikki's explosive passion.

I have to admit, I have a fantasy that Gillian Anderson would play Helen. I know she's too old, but what can I say? She's fantastic at the repressed emotions.

Just posted to agree on the Gillian Anderson statement. I was Obsessed with that woman as a teen. I don’t know many American shows well enough to cast the American list, apart from the majors ones that make it internationally, but I think T R Night who plays George O’Malley in greys Anatomy would be a great Dominic. Dominic is a clumsy good looking, rather then a stunner, I think Night has the same qualities.
x

Here's an idea for Nikki: Paula Malcomson, from Deadwood.



She's more petite than we might want for Nikki, but she does explosive passion and anger really well. And has a bit of a hard look to her, which I think would work well for Nikki. The only potential problem is perhaps she's a bit cold, and Nikki has to exude warmth and lovingness, to compensate for her general hostility in early episodes.

I was thinking of another actress to play Nikki.

Anne Marie MacDonald

She is a Writer, Hosted a Show called "The Passionate Eye" and was in this fantastic movie from a couple of years ago called "Better Than Chocolate". She played a woman named Frances who owned a gay and lesbian bookstore who was having trouble with the border because they wouldn't allow "certain" books across the state line.

There was a bookstore in my hometown that was in the same situation but now that books can be ordered online, or have a special order, being able to survive would have been very hard.

Rachel Hicks: Elizabeth Hendrickson. She played twins Frankie & Maggie Stone on All My Children who cheated on Bianca Montgomery with another woman.

Crystal Gordon: Lauryn Hill. She's been out of the spotlight for many years due to "personal issues" She acted on As The World Turns in the 1980's in her pre-fugee days so this could be a comeback for her.

Yvonne Atkins: Kim Zimmer. Another Daytime Legend who has been on Soaps since the 1970s. She replaced Kathleen Turner as Nola Dancy on The Doctors, and she played Kathleen's "Friend" in Body Heat with Ted Danson and William Hurt.

She's been on One Life To Live, Santa Barbara but she's probably best known for her work as Reva Shayne on GL for which she has won Four Emmys and has had multiple nominations.

She's actually quite a good actress. I saw her in some other movie where she played a totally buttoned-down, type A lesbian businesswoman, which was a big contrast with her role in Better Than Chocolate.

Here are some more ideas I just thought of especially with Soap Actors/Actresses.

Helen Stewart: Crystal Chappel: Another Daytime Actress from Guiding Light who also worked on One Life To Live and Days Of Our Lives. She's won a Daytime Emmy (The Highest Trophy For US TV) for Soap Opera Work.

Charlotte Middleton: Olga Sosnovska: Already known as Lena Kundera on All My Children who did Daytime's first lesbian kiss in April 2003.

Tanya Turner: Catherine Strickland: Previously acted on One Life To Live and "almost" got into a "relationship" with Nora played by Hillary B. Smith.

Tamla, out of curiosity, why soap actors? Most often soap actors aren't used for prime time television shows (even those on cable networks).

I'm not sure if you're American or British but on US Soil, alot of Actors start on the Soaps "Before" going on to Prime Time and Movies.

When a US Actor or Actresses career goes downhill in Movies, sometimes doing TV is the only way to make their bread and butter.

Also, since on Daytime, many storylines have been Prison Related, I just thought that maybe Soap Actors would be good.

That's just "My" opinion. Also, I have to admit some of the US Actors look like their British Counterparts.

I'm American despite all my best efforts.

Yes, many prime time television actors started out on soaps (Sarah Michelle Gellar, what's-her-face from Desperate Housewives), but it's rare in the US to have a new television show which takes a majority of their actors from daytime soaps. And, most soap actors never do make it out of daytime tv to prime time tv. Sad but true. I guess I also have a bias because soap actors tend to be very conventionally attractive, and I have a fear that the American version of BG will be filled with all these Pretty actresses, which would make it very hard for me to suspend my disbelief and actually truly feel that these are women in prison because they have had hard lives and committed crimes. So I'd want the producers of BG to look to the independent film world where actors are a little less Hollywood Attractive, rather than looking to the world of soap operas.

Personally - I think unknowns would be a great way forward.

After all, most of the cast in Series one when it was first shown were "unknown". I recognised Simone, but only because I had watched Young Persons Guide, but even then, it wasn't a name I recognised, just a face when she came on screen. Oh and Luisa Bradshaw-White (Lorna Rose) - because she had been in the BBC production This Life, but while that had a cult following, it wasn't mainstream having only been shown on BBC2.

So, somehow I would love to think some relatively unknown actors get the same chances Simone, Mandana and many of the others were given to really shine and show what they can do without any preconceptions about them or their acting.

:D

Just my two pence worth.

Excellent point to recent posts.

However, the one thing that British People are so lucky about is that they are more "open" to sexuality than on US Soil.

Case In Point: On American Soaps

There's never been an interracial lesbian or gay supercouple
There's never been a Teen Related Storyline
A Man has never crawled into bed naked with another man.

Amongst so many factors.

As for unknowns, you're right because if BG is going to be "realistic" it's sometimes better to have "unknowns" than established characters. To be honest, I didn't even know any of these actors/actresses before watching the show, and it's kind of sad considering that while Canada still shows Coronation St, current which is us about a year behind as well as Old School Episodes on Country Canada as well as Eastenders on BBC Canada, I don't really see as much of British TV as I would like.

Anyhow, they have some very big shoes to fill when they do the auditions.

It's American Television. In general I'm for talent, be it unknown or known. Definitely, it's to the advantage of both the realism and the quality of the show, if they prioritize talent over looks. In truth one of my hopes for the US version, is that it will actually have a grittier look to it. Larkhall always looked pretty & lax compared to the "correctional facility" I've seen in the US.

I hope they also play with people's expectation of stereotypes, when it comes to looks more, though. I'd love to see some soft looking inmate, be a wolf in sheeps clothings, et cetera.

I know what you mean about Gillian, being an instant mental pick for Helen.

I think it's easier for me to say "nay" to suggestions, than come up with them, because I really don't have that good of a grasp of who there is.

I'm biased against most day time soap actors, too. For basically the same reasons, I've already seen listed.

I think if they're going to mirror the US prison system, & they build the set carefully, they won't throw as much make-up on them, so even if they are "normally" prettier, they should be able to do their make-up cleaner.

I mean, Charlize Theron is beautiful and her turn in Monster didn't leave me feeling her looks were getting in the way of her role.

I want the casting to provide a little bit of everything and I don't really care who provides what.

I think about this, I start auditioning film actors which is highly unlikely since it's the FX network, we're talking about.

Actually, I don't have a good bead on the stage, but I think if I was going to be particular, I'd like not only these "unknowns", but for them to have a solid theatre background. Maybe I should just go wander imdb, until someone strikes my fancy.

--edit--
Not so serious and assuming I'm allowed to cast anyone realistic or not:
Ok, so this isn't the full silliness, but it's bad enough. The only things I think I'll share are:
Helen: Kirstin Scott Thomas
Nikki: Penelope Cruz
BodyBag: Lucy Lawless (what, the outtakes alone would be worth it, lol)
Yvonne: Lucy Liu (this reminds me of the time I was mistaken for being a bodyguard of a suspected Chinese Mafia daughter)
Zandra: Calista Flockhart
Dockley: Juliet Landau
Denny: Aishwarya Rai :rofl Not only impossible, but talk about miscasting. I could see her as Di Barker, heh That's it, I quit.

yea, I came up with a very American list of actresses, there.

Too hard, I can't think of any actresses in the states who fit the parts, or who would make it believable, maybe a few movie actresses sort of ....

Nikki:
Ally Sheedy
(or Hilary Swank - ha ha then I saw this: http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/3165/E...Sheedy,%20Ally)

Helen:
Rachel Weisz (even though she's British)

Yvonne:
Glenn Close

Denny:
Michelle Rodriguez

Shell:
Jodi Foster

Fenner:
Alex Baldwin
Russel Crowe

Karen Betts:
Sigorney Weaver

Julies:
Lisa Kudrow
Mira Sorvino

Dominic:
Mark Ruffalo

Zandra:
Kate Beckinsale

How could I have forgotten Hillary Swank? To be serious, I feel like I'd have to have a database of all actors that I could query and call in for auditions, lol. Overall, very nice list, ladder. It'd be fun to imagine them doing any kind of production together. I think I'd want to swap Kate & Rachel, roles, though. They're both Brits, by-the-way. Although, I'll admit, the swap has less to do with ability. I can see your list was influenced by Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion, lol.

Aside from my lack of seriousness previously, though I was thinking it'd be damaging to try and recreate or go on similarities to the originals. Usually, when I actually appreciate a remake (which is rare), it is because of a really good actress/actor who goes in, makes the character her own that is different, but enjoyable. So even though I was lacking seriousness, I was actually serious about looking for something different, particularly, not trying to fall in line too much with the look. Basically, what I'm saying is that if the cast of the US bad girls visual appearance is closer to their original counterparts, that is going to keep me more focused on how the original cast did ___ & ____ better, rather than simply trying to evaluate the show, from a "try and pretend I haven't seen the original, so I can be more objective" perspective.

Great choices! Here is my DREAM cast, not taking into account age. ;):)

Nikki:
Gina Gershon ala her Bound role
or Angelina Jolie ala Gia, Hackers, or Girl Inturrupted
or Alexandra Hedison :wub:
or Shannyn Sossamon

Helen:
Either a young Brigitte Bardot
or a young Sophia Loren
(wishful thinking!) :)

Sherilyn Fenn or Uma Thurman or Juliette Binoche

BodyBag:
Tracey Ullman

Denny:
Asia Argento or Lili Taylor or Christina Ricci

Shell:
Sheryl Lee ala her Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me Laura Palmer role

Fenner:
Jack Nicholson
or Dennis Hopper
or Michael Madsen :wub:
or Ray Liotta

Karen Betts:
Isabella Rossellini
Lena Olin

Yvonne Atkins:
Holly Hunter

Julies:
Boy George
Elton John

Dominic:
A young Richard Gere in his American Gigolo, Breathless, and Looking for Mr. Goodbar days, or Olivier Martinez ala Unfaithful (more wishful thinking!) :)

Zandra:
Maggie Gyllenhaal or Scarlett Johansson

hmmm...interesting thread as well as choices. I have to say that my watching the US remake is gonna depend on the casting. I'll probably watch one or two episodes to get a feel for it, but if it doesn't grab me then oh well. It is going to be hard for them to fill the original BG's shoes, but they do have the fact that most USers have no clue about BG and so it won't really be a remake for them.

As for my ideal cast...

Nikki: I gotta go with Alexandra Hedison! She knocks my socks off! (BTW, she is a professional actor, but is taking time off and didn't really want to do TLW, but felt she couldn't pass up the story.) She would definitely be my first choice, but Halle Berry would be pretty hot too.

Helen: I can see Gillian Anderson here but my dream would be Famke Jansen. She's hot!

Fenner: I never thought about Jack Nicholson before someone mentioned it here...I thought that was pretty good. I had thought of Scott Lowell.

Dominic: Jake Gyllenhaal...does anyone else see the resemblance?

Zandra: this one's kinda tough for me...maybe Brittany Murphy? Shannyn Sossoman is an interesting choice...gotta think on that one.

Yvonne: Laura Dern? Kelly Lynch?

Julies: heres a few ideas...Lisa Kudrow, Swoosie Kurtz, Alison Janney, Leisha Hailey, Drew Barrymore

I've also gotta have Jordana Brewster in there somewhere...I don't know what role but I would definitely watch it if she was in it! Mmmmmm...yummy!

Jordana Brewsert is a Hotty this is true, but I truly believe she is too young to play any main charachters. I could see her playing Maxi though or maybe even Denny. If it made it that far.

Ok I have read the threads and really thought about it. and here are my takes.

Nikki: Erin Daniels

Helen: Jennifer Aniston

Zandra: Christina Ricci or Clea Duvall

Yvonne: Susan Surandon

Shell: Drew Berrymore

Denny: Sophia Bush or Eliza Dushku

Fenner: (sorry ladies) David Hasselhoff.

BodyBag oops Sylvia: Doris Roberts

Dom : Josh Dumell

Jenifer Aniston as Helen?! Ok, I like Jenifer, but she doesn't have the acting chops to play Helen. We'd lose so much of the unsaid stuff. I've liked a lot of stuff she's in, but her portrayals have always felt a little hollow to me.

David Hasselhoff? Ok, I haven't seen him in much, but can he actually play someone mentally fast on his feet or extensively evil, let alone both?

Xenaclark - otherwise interesting, choices.

Elle - mmm, yea, Famke in Dom mode . . .

Yea, I see Jake as Dominic, but then I'd want him even less near Helen. Mostly, because, there's something I can't place that I don't like about Jake. I'd just end up wanting to see less Dominic. He's not that great of an actor (don't stone me), but he'd still act circles around Joe, lol.

& Route66 -awesome cast.

Even if I would give a real remake a hard time, this is still fun to muse about.

Ok, ok, ok. I have to admit that I could not think of nor picture anybody else as Helen but Simne so I just pulled a name. I'm ashamed to say that I really could not think of anybody..

And the Hasslehoff is because he can play sleeze really well. I think..

Oh and as for Jake...Um just a rumor but I don't think he would have any issues with Helen because I hear that he is umm in real life more to go for Jim then anybody. BUT thats just here say.

Well, I hadn't heard that about Jake, but I haven't read a celebrity mag/site, in a long time. That's funny, I wonder if that rumor started before or after Brokeback Mountain.
It wasn't that I thought he'd have any issues with Helen or the role. It's just some completely illogical bias of mine that I can't explain, especially since I really like Donnie Darko.

Your comment gives me a new take on the remake, though. Sure, I have 5 more seasons to watch of Bad Girls, but I don't remember there being any gay male characters. It could see it being an interesting change of dynamics if Dominic turned out to be Gay or Bi, so he could end up being a real friend/confidant to Helen post confession.

Next season the Governing Gov is gay. But he is a bit older.

You've got to be kidding?

Again, you have to be joking?

Speaking of Gyllenahaals, how about Maggie Gyllenhaal as someone?

Now I don't know but check out this picture of Maggie and Kate Winslet:
http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/5852/E...nhaal,%20Maggie


(I don't really see those two being as free and open as Simone and Mandana were.
That is why I return to actresses like Ally Sheedy, or maybe Alexandra Hedison if she can show me tough, othe roles need women who are willing to put themselves into the role FULLY, and feel totally comfortable with eachother.)

I think the cast needs to be younger than a lot of the suggestions. Simone and Mandana were each around 30 when the show came out. Characters like Zandra, Denny, Shaz etc are 18, 19, 20 years old. Buki is 16 when she winds up in Larkhall. So as much as I love some of the actors who have been mentioned, I think younger is the way to go.

well, yea, my suggestions for Zandra & Denny were too old (neverminding the lack of seriousness). Course, I've also been looking at this from the perspective of "Dreaming", as in I could pick which age of said actor, including ressurection if that's what I wanted.

Maybe it was because she's all decked out as a junkie, or Laura was older, but I was actually surprised, when they said she was 21, because until that point, I had seriously thought that she was older, not 30, but past 25 at least.

Drew Berrymore is full figured, has good comedic timing, can do damaged/trashy, slutty, crazy, & violent. I actually understand why someone would want her to play Shell.

I agree with the age thing. Its just that Nikki is supposed to be 35 where as Helen is 30.

I found that comical because at the time Mandana was 32 and Simone was 34.

Its not often that someone gets to act older then their age.

I also found it odd that Nikki was older then the two Julies. I always thought they were older.

no way could Nikki have been older than the two Julies, they both had kids that were at least 16, and I just don't see them both getting prego before 15.

Rhiannon was 16 when she got sent to Larkhall in S4. Which means in S1 she was maybe 12 or 13. Similarly, we don't see David really until S3, and he's in high school, but could be only 14 or 15 at that time, meaning he was also perhaps 13 or 14 in S1. So if Nikki was 34 in S1, the Julies could have been 31-33 or thereabouts, having had their first kids at 18-20.

ok, then I guess they just look older.

over in the articles board there is a great article with Simone and I thought it brought up something for this post... to do with another reason the US version will probably be such a let down.

Simone had a lot of these complex groupings of emoitions to deal with...
that is why I'm scared of the US version, afraid they won't pick an actress who can pull this off.

Ok this is really my thoughts on the whole thing. If they have had it shelved for a while now, I really don't think its going to get made.

I wonder if the contract states that if it does not get made within a certain number of years if they can continue to release the episodes to the states.

My list is just a dream cast. I know the people I have listed are too old to actually play the roles, and would probably never even glance at the pilot. :) I'm in my mid 30's now, so I rarely pay attention to younger actors. There are only a handful under 30 that I like: Christina Ricci, Keira Knightley, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Why, are they too old? I think it would be a crap show if all the actresses had to be 30 and under, too bay watch in prison if you ask me.

I can't comment on most of the selections so far, if only because I haven't even heard of most of them-- I'm a little out of touch with pop culture since giving up tv. I'm as dubious as anyone here that an American version could hold a candle to the original-- we always seem to botch trans-Atlantic imports. <sigh>

That being said, I'd *love* to see Frances McDormond play Bodybag. I think she'd have a grand old time with the role. :devil

Possibly Megan Follows as Helen? Granted I haven't seen her in anything since Anne of Green Gables, but I guess she'd be roughly the right age now, and as good as she was then at portraying the gamut of emotions, I'd at least want to give her an audition.

Um... did I mention I'm a little out of touch with pop culture?

Ok, I'm going to have to surf over to IMDB for help with the rest... it's exhausting, this virtual casting lark!

I agree, ladder. SL was around 33/34 and MJ around 31/32 when they first started filming S1. According to the BG book, Helen was 30 and Nikki 35 (these ages must have been towards the end of S3, 'cause during S1 Nikki said she'll be 43 when she gets out in 10 years' time, which would have made Nikki around 33 during the events of S1 - and if Helen was 5 years younger than Nikki, she would've been around 28 during this time). The actor's age doesn't determine the character's age, as long as she looks the part.

I agree with the weary sentiment made by a number of posters regarding a US version of BG. It might fly with those who have never seen the original, but having seen the original, I can't image watching a copy and never seeing any of the "old, familiar" faces. How do you get stuck in the N&H storyline with no SL or MJ portraying these characters? It is simply unfathomable!

Just a technical question: Did the FX network (or whoever they are) buy the whole script or just the concept? In other words, are they planning on doing only a reproduction, or are they free to change the storyline at will?

The concept. They can change characters, storylines etc.

abzug, even worse then...... how little of the concept they will actuall hold on to is scary.