It was recently announced that Neil Gaiman is bringing his comic fantasy novel ‘Good Omens’ – which he co-wrote with the late, great, Sir Terry Pratchett – to television as a six-part series.
For those who don’t know, the book sees an angel and a demon team up to stop the end of the world.
Aziraphale and Crowley aren’t your usual citizens of heaven and hell, however, and have a superb bromance that is perhaps a big reason why Good Omens is so popular. Clearly, the TV series will have a tough job finding the two actors best suited to those parts.
Here are a few of our suggestions…
Richard Ayoade and Michelle Gomez
Good Omens might be about angels, antichrists and the apocalypse, but it is primarily a comedy. As such, it would make sense to cast two usually comic actors in the lead roles.
Aziraphale is a stuffy, nerdy kind of an angel, so Richard Ayoade – of The IT Crowd fame – would be perfect. We can see the character as a more sophisticated version of Moss.
A great left-field choice for Crowley is Michelle Gomez – she has already played one successful female version of a previously male demonic character, so why not do it again? They’ve never worked together before, but we think Ayoade and Gomez would have brilliant chemistry together.
Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie
That said, if you have a TV series inspired by the classic British sense of humour, then why not cast two legends of British comedy?
In the book, Aziraphale is described as “English… intelligent, and… gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide.” This description can’t help but bring only one national treasure to mind: the inimitably brilliant Stephen Fry.
And who better to play Crowley opposite him than his old friend Hugh Laurie? In The Night Manager, Laurie proved he could convincingly portray people who seem to have sprouted straight from hell…
Russell Tovey and Aidan Turner
On the other side of things, a TV adaptation might want to cast two young popular actors to bring in the yoof. Him & Her’s Russell Tovey and Poldark himself Aidan Turner would be brilliant choices for this line of thinking.
The pair also starred together in Being Human, in which their respective characters actually mirrored Aziraphale and Crowley. Tovey’s George was a bespectacled werewolf while Turner’s Mitchell was a reformed vampire.
It’s been a while since we saw them acting together, so to have them team up again for Good Omens would be great.
Matt Smith and David Tennant
Neil Gaiman is obviously a huge Doctor Who fan, having written 2011’s ‘The Doctor’s Wife’ and 2013’s ‘Nightmare in Silver’, so we think he would like the idea of Aziraphale and Crowley being played by two previous Time Lords.
Some of Matt Smith’s most prominent roles, not least the Eleventh Doctor, have had an awkward yet intelligent quality just like Aziraphale. Meanwhile, David Tennant recently showed that playing a demon would come naturally to him, after his diabolical performance as Kilgrave in Jessica Jones.
Plus, we know that the pair work incredibly well as a double act – just watch Ten and Eleven bonding in ‘The Day of the Doctor.’
Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston
Yes, casting these Hollywood big-hitters would probably put a big dent in Good Omens’ budget but, come on, it would definitely be awesome.
Aziraphale and Crowley have known each other for centuries so they need to have a nice, easy chemistry – and Cumberbatch and Hiddleston are firm friends.
The only issue is: who should play who? The book describes Crowley as having “dark hair, and good cheekbones”, which sounds like either of them. However, it is also said that “whenever he forgot himself, he had a tendency to hiss.” Cumberbatch is clearly a good hisser after playing Ssssmaug the dragon in The Hobbit films. So maybe he should be Crowley?
Who do you think should star in Good Omens? Let us know below…
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