‘Salem’s Lot - Our Casts

In October of 2024, I finally convinced Wayne to read ‘Salem’s Lot so we could discuss it. He didn't like it nearly as much as I did, but it was fun to talk about it and we FaceTimed to tell of our ideal casts. For me, it would have to be an eight episode mini series with the following cast, written and directed by Frank Darabont with Stephen King as executive producer and script supervisor:

Daniel Radcliffe as Ben Mears - Radcliffe has that boy-next-door sweet face and also the look of a writer. At least I think he does. He can portray every emotion with absolute conviction and has the depth to pull in the audience, making them suspend any disbelief in the supernatural tale they are being told. They will watch his performance and never doubt that he is Ben Mears, that he will prevail.

Aimee Lou Wood as Susan Norton - I first noticed Aimee Lou Wood in Living and was so taken with her. She has that local-girl look about her; is beautiful in an unconventional way that makes people notice her. I could so see her as Susan Norton, the prettiest girl in the park, the girl that everyone in town knows and likes, and the girl that easily catches the eye of any man. Ben Mears can't help but resist her lovely face. More than that, I think that Wood has a soft shyness that makes her so captivating. I can see her as Susan, smiling at passerbys in town, arguing with her mother at home, in a passionate embrace with Mears, and then bravely joining in to fight the evil that lies inside the Marsten House.

Javier Bardem as Kurt Barlow - Barlow has such a mysterious quality and Bardem is so good at portraying serious and sinister but still seeming likable somehow.

Scott Ryan as Richard Straker - In 2024 I was obsessed with Mr. Inbetween and hearing Susan's description of Straker convinced me that Scott Ryan would be the ideal choice: I was attracted to him in a mildly sexual way, I guess. Older man, very urbane, very charming, very courtly...And of course there’s something attractive about a man who is so unabashedly bald. 

David Denman as Dr. Jimmy Cody - I really haven't seen much of Denman's work, but when I listened to the audiobook, I could so see him as Dr. Cody. Reliable, kind, easy-going, tough, but real enough to show fear and vulnerability.

John Glover as Fr. Callahan - This choice was simply that John Glover has a kind face and immediately came to mind when thinking of who I'd cast as Father Callahan, who was a good, decent man.

Dot-Marie Jones as Matilda "Matty" Burke (in place of Matthew Burke) - I first noticed Jones in an episode of Desperate Housewives and thought she was sexy and cool and confident. When I was trying to cast my version of ‘Salem’s Lot I realised that there were so few female characters and decided to change one of the males to a female. Matilda Burke felt like the right choice and I instantly saw Dot-Marie Jones in the role of English teacher, Matty Burke. 

Brendan Sexton III as Mike Ryerson - No other actor has impressed me as much as Brendan Sexton. He's not always in the greatest of movies, but I find each of his performances utterly mesmerising. 

Keivonn Woodard as Mark Petrie - Woodard was so incredible in The Last of Us and would be the ideal Mark Petrie. In my mini-series, everyone in town would know ASL and communicate with Mark without ever drawing attention to his deafness and difference. (I saw his parents, in small but impactful roles, as Colman Domingo and Lupita Nyong'o.)

Ray Winstone as Sheriff Parkins Gillespie - I've always liked Ray Winstone and he has that gruff likability that would be perfect for a small town sheriff. He's also versatile enough to play Gillespie, who in the end, has no problem leaving ‘Salem’s Lot and turning his back on the town he once swore to protect. I can see Winstone playing Gillespie's pathetic-ness and leaving the audience torn between liking him at the beginning and disgust at his weakness in the end. 

Anthony Paolucci as Tony Glick - Paolucci blew me away with his performance in Spotlight and I think he'd be perfect as the everyday Dad in a quaint little town whose life is turned inside out by the death of his two sons. The audience would watch as he becomes a husk of a human being, weeping and cursing at the grave of his child, utterly shattered and inconsolable. (Marjorie Glick must be played by Kristen Schaal because she is brilliant.)

Also, in my version of ‘Salem’s Lot, the entire McDougall family is left out because I hate Sandy McDougall more than any other fictional character. I loathe, despise, and abominate her to the core of my being. 

Main characters descriptions (kidnapped from stephenking.fandom):

Ben Mears: a successful writer who returns to Jerusalem's Lot, Maine to confront the trauma of his childhood and becomes the leader of the fight against the town's vampires.

Matt Burke: a local high school English teacher and Ben's close friend who is among the first to recognize the supernatural threat.

Susan Norton: a young college graduate who begins a romantic relationship with Ben before becoming one of Barlow's victims.

Mark Petrie: a resourceful and courageous boy whose knowledge of monsters makes him a key ally in the battle against the vampires.

Father Donald Callahan: the Catholic priest of Jerusalem's Lot who loses his faith after confronting Kurt Barlow.

Jimmy Cody: the town physician and Matt Burke's friend who joins Ben's group in investigating the outbreak.

Mike Ryerson: the town gravedigger who becomes one of the earliest victims of vampirism.

Kurt Barlow: an ancient master vampire who arrives in Jerusalem's Lot intending to transform the town into his domain.

Richard Straker: Barlow's loyal human familiar who manages his affairs and carries out his master's plans.

Wayne's dream cast:

Ben - Adam Driver

Susan - Elisabeth Shue

Matt - John Lithgow

Ryerson - Thomas Hayden Church

Mark - River Phoenix

Dr. Cody - Rob Morrow

Callahan - Brendan Gleeson

Barlow - Willem Dafoe

Straker - John Malkovich