Fancasting - Rambling Thoughts

I was thinking about fancasting.  Specifically, when fans of a book (or comic book) suggest particular actors who would suit characters from the book.

I think everyone does it.  Certainly I have my own list for a few, or could supply one if pressed.  :-)  Of course, none of us really have the same interpretations of characters, I'd reckon.  So I'm sure some of my choices would boggle you, and vice versa.

Heck, I even have that reaction when authors fancast their own work. (Is it fancasting if an author does it?)  And that's even funnier, really, because the author is RIGHT.  Well, sort of.  We can disagree, but considering that the story comes out of the author's head, then I think that makes us wrong.  Maybe?

One example I can think of is P.N. Elrod's Vampire Files series (which I recommend as it's far more the Shadow than it is Twilight.  I'll write a review someday.)  At one point, a while back, Ms. Elrod had said that she imagined Jack Fleming, the lead character, as played by Vincent Ventresca from the 90s Invisible Man.
(IIRC, this was back in the 90s.  Her choice may have changed by now.)

And I have to admit that, entertaining monologues aside, I really don't see this one.  Ventresca was cute, but a bit too earnest looking perhaps?  And the hair doesn't work at all!  :-P  Though, it's not as bad as some, I suppose.

Possibly the most appalling to me had to do with Barbara Hambly's Asher series..  In that series, the lead vampire (...it's a weird coincidence that this has a lot of vampires) is Don Simon Ysidro.  He's described as small and slight, and deceptively young looking.  But apparently, Ms. Hambly's casting involved Nicolas Cage for the role.  Admittedly, this was, I believe, a LONG time ago.  But it was a while before I could read those books again.

I kept thinking of poor Simon punching women in bear suits.  This is not Ms. Hambly's fault, but there you go.

Other times, of course, I completely agree with author's casting.  (Ben Aaronovitch apparently suggested that Paul McGann would make a good Nightingale from Rivers of London.)  But that's not nearly as much fun as figuratively running screaming away from Ghost Rider.  So there you go.