Jade Legacy "Dream Team" Casting 4: Wes Chatham as Hansi-Odín

I guess my older readers did find the nod to the "golden age" of the nineties that Hansi's initial appearance represents. He's a big, muscular guy sporting an almost albino horseshoe moustache... in the nineties that's all it took to paint a very sharp picture. Whose? Come on, man, do I really have to say it all? There was only one moustache like that. Yep, Hulk Hogan's.

Hansi doesn't even finish the first volume looking like that, but of course there is a reference to that time by trying to give him a couple of elements that are characteristic of the WWF iconic legend. Aside from that element (which isn't even durable) Hansi will have to be big, burly and have a very blonde hair colour. So... well, let's face it, if the Hansi of the first pages seriously resembles Hulk Hogan, which he does, then it would be quite reasonable to think that an actor who could play Hogan in fiction could also look good as Hansi.

Well, there's a name: Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Marvel). His name is being mentioned for the H. Hogan biopic.

He definitely has the physique and I have no doubt that he could be a near-perfect Hansi. But I have to be honest, there are still actors with spectacular looks who, from a strictly physical point of view, could also be very interesting to watch as Hansi.

I find Henry Cavill or Jason Momoa quite interesting to play our Viking. Both are two actors that I love to see on screen and that give me a very good vibe off screen. The hair colour and beard adjustments are insignificant details and quite anecdotal.

It's clear that Hansi looks like a role that more than one good candidate could take on.

I can't make a strong statement about Elsa Pataki's husband, because I haven't followed his career in depth, although I recognise that physically he might be the most suitable. It would be particularly interesting to see what Henry could do with the character... and it would certainly be a pleasure to discover a Hansi under Jason Momoa's skin...

But....

I think my nominee would be an actor perhaps lesser known to some, but whose range and acting abilities made me fall in love with him from the first time I saw him.

Wes Chatham

Some of you may remember him from The Hunger Games, where he plays Castor... but it's definitely with the character of Amos Burton in The Expanse (Amazon Prime) that he's really shining. Wes not only has real military training, which is great for the character; his physique can be as impressive as the character demands. Gaining a little more mass shouldn't be complex for an actor whose physique doesn't go unnoticed, but is certainly a mere footnote anecdote compared to his acting talent. For Wes to bulk up would be a minor demand compared to what he can bring to Hansi.

Anyone who has followed Wes, especially in the evolution of his work as Amos, will know what a magnetic actor he is. Of his ability to play with silences and especially with looks and gazes. Hansi, like the rest of the small circle of human characters, has a slow but complex evolution through the saga and I am convinced that Wes would be more than up to the task of evidencing that progression through his work. Hansi is the most martial of that group of humans, the most mature and focused. He will be the first to connect the necessary keys to adaptation and also the first to realise the risks involved. He turns out, in fact, to be the first-born of a group of brothers. He is slowly carving out a path that will lead him to a very firm and settled position, from which he travels through the last part of the saga. I see Wes in all these stages and I see him doing outstanding character work.

It's a shame, because I'd honestly want Jason and Henry somewhere in this stellar cast.

But it won't be playing Hansi, I'm afraid.

I definitely trust Wes Chatham to bring our paladin-soul Norwegian to life.

What do you say, does he stay?

Coming up in the next post...

Next on the list: Gharin

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