Featured and casting images by Brendan Graham. Comic panels are property of Image Comics, Rob Guillory and John Layman.
CHEW is the fantastic series written by John Layman and superbly drawn by Rob Guillory. As the title page of the series often states:
Basically, he’s got a power that enables him to get a complete psychic history of anything he consumes, past to the very present. Needless to say, when a case goes seriously wrong, and Tony must munch on a culprit in public to make sure they’re caught, he doesn’t really get much opportunity to explain himself, and gets booted from his local police force. Luckily, he’s recruited by an alternate version of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where his powers are put to proper use in stranger and stranger cases involving similarly powered individuals.
It’s rare that while drafting a Dream-Casting, I think of one actor and am absolutely certain they’d fit the bill. Luckily I saw plenty of Ken Leung as Miles on Lost, a character that seems to be a prototype for Tony, with both sharing odd superhuman abilities and a lack of patience for their job partner’s relaxed approach to police work…
John Colby, Tony’s partner in crime busting is a carefree, rather morality-loose character. While most of the FDA is fighting against the public consuming chicken (for reasons as yet unrevealed besides tenuous at best association to a killer avian flu outbreak in-story), Colby is more than okay with its consumption, as you can see by his character picture.
As for who should play him, I could think of few better picks than Bradley Cooper, a guy who pretty much got his start as well playing a similar character in the Hangover films. Phil was pretty much the troublestarter in the Wolf Pack, being the little nudge the other members of the group would need to have more fun (and trouble) than they originally bargained for.
Initially, Savoy acts as Tony’s mentor, guiding him through the ins and outs of the FDA and the use of cibopathy (Tony’s food power, which Savoy shares). So, to properly cast Savoy, you need an actor known for playing intelligent, teaching roles. Who better than Frasier Crane? He’s got the intelligence and excellent vocabulary down, and has shown a new willingness to play more villainous characters. Personally, if either he gains a bit more muscle or the studio producing an adaptation decides to use either CGI or wire-work fight scenes, I think he’d be fantastic in the role. The only reason I don’t say he’d be perfect is because the actor who would be is dead, unfortunately…
Mike Applebee is the boss to Chu and Colby, and Savoy’s former boss. He’s abrasive, loud, a bit gross and constantly in denial of how to properly treat his employees. Sound a bit familiar? If you saw the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, this may sound a lot like J. Jonah Jameson, who was played spot-on by J.K. Simmons, so who else would be better than him to play the role? Now, this is not to say J.K. Simmons is the character, just that he’s great at playing that type of role.
Now, Amelia Mintz was the toughest of the main group of characters to decide upon in my opinion. Amelia is a food reviewer for a local newspaper near Tony’s office with a power of her own; she can write so vividly about food that her readers can taste the very recipes themselves. This leads to very positive and negative reactions in her readership…
There are a lot of talented young actresses who have expressed a willingness to engage in quirky, out there comedies, but few seemed as open to it as Banks and Cuthbert. Banks has played roles in several James Gunn projects, including Slither, showing she can handle being a part in a gory genre project, and Cuthbert has shown that she’s not afraid to do what it takes for comedy in roles like Alex in Happy Endings.
Most importantly in the role, you need someone who can portray a worldly, intelligent woman, and both fit this like a glove. In both interviews and the projects they’ve worked on, it is evident both women are very bright and can easily handle this role.
Hope you enjoyed my Dream-Casting picks for CHEW. Did you like what you saw? Any agreements or disagreements? Who would you like to see in the roles? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments!
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