[The Top Ten] Better Riddlers than Eddie Murphy
December 20th, 2008 by Will O'Hargan
The Sun's version of the Riddler
So, from the home office in Santa Claus, Indiana, BS.com presents the Top Ten Better Riddlers Than Eddie Murphy:
10. Clive Owen. He seems like a bit of an odd choice. He was a rumored candidate for the Bond job and one thing his characters never seem to lack is confidence, which is what causes the Riddler to commit his crimes. I’m also not sure he could pull off the Obsessive/Compulsive nature of the character that would have to be in a Nolan version. Still, he’s not an awful choice. At least, not Eddie Murphy awful.
9. Alan Tudyk. Before 3:10 to Yuma he would have been on the outside looking in. His roles establish that he could play the damaged Edward Nigma, but I was unsure if he could be badass enough to play the Riddler. He’s still low on the list because of questions on that issue, but he should be considered.
8. Neil Patrick Harris. His work on Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, strangely, would be a strong consideration as to why he should get the job. Edward Nigma should be conflicted, just like Billy in the internet sensation. While far from perfect for the role, he would certainlly be entertaining and could quite possibly pull it off.
7. Michael Emerson. LOST’s resident baddie/creepy guy could be perfect for the role. On LOST he has perfected the science of looking and seeming non-threatening, only to be capable of things you couldn’t possibly imagine. He’s great at playing two emotions at once and has a lot of experence as a bad guy. With LOST ending in the not-too-distant future, this could be an obvious move for one of the best actors on television.
6. Ben Foster. He could certainlly pull of the threatening, bad-ass parts of the movie. If he could easily portray the wounded side of the character would have to be something figured out during casting. Still, he’s the right age and has a pretty good look for the role.
5. Johnny Depp. This was the rumor for the longest time. I guess because the only way you could get a better actor of the right age after Heath Ledger is to go for Johnny Depp. Certainlly he would get the role of Tim Burton were still involved with the series, but now it just seems like it would be an obvious case of trying to one-up the last one, rather than casting based on character.
4. Guy Pearce. The guy can play smart, obviously. But Pearce is one of the more underrated actors of our time, putting out interesting role after interesting role. Plus he worked with Nolan on his breakout hit Memento, and the two have been longing to work together again. This could be the perfect oppertunity.
3. Chiwetel Ejiofor. If you wanted to have the Riddler be black, for some reason, here’s a guy who would be perfect. He is a fantastic actor with a lot of range who almost always brings class to a role he is in. Classically trained as an actor he could easily project inside confidence issues while taking over Gothem.
2. Michael C. Hall. Dexter’s not so psychotic serial killer is almost perfect for the role. He would be playing another damaged character on a larger scale. If he has the acting chops to go beyond the bland disconnect (not saying the show is bland, just his public character) we see so often on the show, he could be a fantastic choice.
1. Hugh Laurie. This, I think, is the perfect person from the role. He can pull off insecurity and overconfidence, and do it all with an era of class needed for the role. He also is obviously quite smart and that can be seen in most of his work to this point. The only real problem you run into is his television shooting schedule, but his show is produced by Bryan Singer, who is the current director of the Superman saga, so Warners may just be able to work it out.
Not in the Top Ten, but worth taking a look at: Casey Affleck, Peter MacNicol, Jude Law, David Tennant, Robert Carlyle, Bradley Cooper.
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