February 5, 2010 | by Ben Kendrick 

Who Should Play Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect Film?

mass-effect-2-shepard

Mass Effect 2 hasn’t even been on retail shelves for two solid weeks but has managed to sell over 2 million copies as well as rack up a hefty amount of critical acclaim.

Sure, the sequel isn’t perfect, but there’s one point we can all agree upon – the Mass Effect premise, and its relative universe, is one of the best stories out there – and by “out there” we don’t just mean within the video-game market.

 

There’s no denying the Mass Effect franchise has serious long-term potential. Recently, our sister site Screen Rant covered the rising interest in a Mass Effect film adaptation. With industry critics throwing the notion of Mass Effect 2 as a viable game of the year contender, it’s clear the franchise isn’t simply going to slip into hibernation until BioWare is ready to release the third title. As a result, a film adaptation seems like a pretty viable possibility.

BioWare isn’t likely to let Uwe Boll turn Mass Effect’s rich source material into B-movie garbage – but that doesn’t mean that we, as fans of the franchise, shouldn’t encourage the developer to aim for the stars.

To that end, we’d like to present to you the top five individuals we believe should be considered for the role of Commander Shepard in the inevitable Mass Effect film. Keep in mind, our choices are not based solely on who could pull off the look (especially considering half the Commander Shepards in existence look nothing like the one BioWare slapped on the cover of the box), though that certainly was a factor. We also took into consideration individuals who could embody the difficult choices and heroic qualities that make Shepard a great protagonist – even if Shepard does dip into that “renegade” side once in awhile.

The Obvious Choice: Matthew Fox

Matthew-Fox-Commander-Shepard

BioWare might as well have brought Fox in when modeling the default-Shepard. Fox has accurately portrayed Jack Shepherd as he faced a number of morally ambiguous decisions (which should be familiar when playing Commander Shepard) - who to save, how much to sacrifice in order to achieve the greater good? Jack (like the Commander of the Normandy) can be a self-righteous jerk ready to give rousing speeches – even when no one is looking for one. In addition, Fox didn’t look completely ridiculous in the Speed Racer “Racer X” suit – which provides a bit of hope that the N7 armor will be an even better fit. Though, some of us are still having a difficult time forgiving him for his contribution to Vantage Point – at least Commander Shepard isn’t likely to be shouting “¡Tranquilo!”

The Renegade Choice: Dominic Purcell

dominic-purcell-commander-shepard

Purcell may not be a mirror image of Commander Shepard, but he’s certainly got enough physical attributes in common. He can can also provide broad acting chops, having played wrongfully accused death-row inmate, Lincoln Burrows, on Prison Break for four seasons. Casting Purcell who has certainly played his fair share of bad guys (most notably Ulrich in Mission Impossible II as well as Drake in Blade: Trinity) would likely allow the filmmakers to delve a bit deeper into Shepard’s “renegade side” – upping the intensity in scenes where other actors might play it a bit nicer. That said, a few years back, Purcell gained a few personal “paragon” points when he was flagged down by a woman with a choking baby and subsequently performed CPR until paramedics arrived – saving the kid’s life.

Continue reading our choices for who should play Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect film…

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  • John Hall
    I'd have to give my vote to Nathan Fillion. The man can stuff a character with heroics, gray area moments, and also a sharp wit. I think he'd make a damn good Commander Shepard.
  • Mikayyyy
    Joaquin Phoenix.

    I dont know why, but I've always wanted to see him as shepherd. every since I put ME1 into my 360 for the first time, I imagined him.

    I think matt fox would definitely be great in the role, but he doesn't have that dangerous unpredictability that my vision of shepherd does. But it all comes down on how you play it. My personal favorite is the balance of renegade and paragon because I like my action heroes complex and borderline insane. so yeah. to each their own
  • tylerjc
    There's going to be an inevitable uproar over the many choices the directors/writers decide to take wheter the go Renegade, Paragon, save the council or not, love interests etc. If Channing Tatum got the role, I'd kill myself.
  • nico507
    I think Joseph Gordon Levi would be awesome.
  • Spawnacus
    I like the idea of Wentworth Miller. I think he's got the chilling eyes of Commander Shepard that could burn a hole straight into your soul.
  • Chester
    Scott Foley who plays Bob Brown from the show "the unit". not only has he already played a special ops military guy, but he looks just like Shepperd anyways.
  • This list is horrible, but hey if you want a terrible movie made of a great game go ahead and cast Dominic Purcell
  • OTWarrior
    sam worthington....no other choice really.
  • DjOli
    Matthew Fox with Mark Meer as voice over!
  • How about Mark Vanderloo? You know, the guy they actually based Shepard off of?
  • I'm glad you brought this up -

    Mark Vanderloo is a model not an actor (aside from a guest appearance on a Spanish TV show in the early 2000s).

    Even if he were an actor, the main thing is for these people to bring something to the role - in addition to a pretty face. If he can do that, I wouldn't have a problem with him. But "being" Shepard is way more important than "looking" like Shepard.
  • Karl Urban gets my vote! <3 Hopefully, this will be better than the "Doom" adaptation that had squandered its potential. Karl made a wonderful turn in STXI - so, with the right director, awesome co-stars and sky's the limit production - this could be phenomenal! ;)
  • Gavin
    Choosing an actor to play a video game character purely based on whoever looks the most like him is an extremely common mistake, especially when it's a game that lets you make your character look like whatever you want. The only way a studio could cast the main character effectively is by deciding which version of Shepard's personality they want to represent, and then cast based on who could act it out the best. Sure Matthew Fox looks like the Shepard on the box, but he doesn't look anything like mine, and he's not much of an actor. Channing Tatum can be a good actor, but he's way too young. I see Shepard as being at least in his late 30's. Gerard Butler could be good. Bruce Willis and Russel Crowe, though great, are both way too old and way too famous.

    Personally I think the underrated Thomas Jane would be a good fit. Other potentials might be Bradley Cooper, Ewan McGregor (if he bulks up a bit), probably others who I can't think of.

    Also, I think that they should cast Seth Green and Keith David. It's a bit of a stretch, I know.
  • koz
    how late 30's? the game states he/she is 29 by mass effect 1....
  • Gavin
    I obviously missed that part. My estimate of late 30's was just based on how I perceived the character, and may have been influenced by the way I chose to make my character look. I figured someone who's supposed to be a veteran would be older, but I guess if you join the military around 18-20, you'd be a veteran by 29.

    However, I do stand by my opinion on Channing Tatum, if not based on age, then based on the fact that, while I think he's a decent actor, I don't think he's able to play a character who's even remotely intelligent. He's really good at playing, well, morons.
  • PS: Thomas Jane could be a very good choice.
  • We tried to address this upfront in the intro to the article - not many people actually play as the default-Shepard.

    The subsequent explanation of our choices wasn't focused solely on what physical characteristics these people share with Shepard but what acting backgrounds/experience they could bring to the role - and how that experience might influence the type of Shepard we'd see on the screen.

    Sure, we also thought it'd be fun to focus on people that looked a bit like BioWare's version of Shepard - but we hardly just chose people based on physical appearance.
  • He may be a little young, but what about Chris Pine? I was very impressed with him in Star Trek.
  • Rob_Keyes
    nah, he already has his space ship in a big sci-fi property, lol
  • BJ Hanssen
    I want a female Shepard in a movie for a very simple reason; that way the Mass Effect movie won't be the archetypical tough-guy action flick. A female Shepard would have to bring something more than just male bravado and muscle to the role. I don't think Kate Winslet is a good choice, though. Some of my suggestions would be (in no particular order) Olivia Wilde, Olga Kurylenko, Stana Katic, Amanda Tapping, Yvonne Strahovski (although she should probably play Miranda <.< ), Malin Akerman, Zoe Saldana, Keira Knightley (if you've seen Domino, you'll understand), Kate Beckinsale, Rhona Mitra, Moon Bloodgood and Lena Headey.
  • Here's the thing, though. You say that a female Shepard would "have to bring something more..." But most of the actresses you mentioned aren't good actors. Regardless of whether it's a male or female Shepard, I want talent. And that's exactly why Winslet would be a good choice.
  • BJ Hanssen
    "Most" of them aren't good actors? Are you kidding me? Of the ones up there, the only ones I might have problems with as far as acting ability goes are Rhona Mitra, Moon Bloodgood and Olga Kurylenko - and all three of them have proven themselves to be fine *action* actresses.
  • Not kidding. Few of those actresses have shown any sort of acting talent in their previous roles.

    And, as far as action actresses go, it would seem a hell of a lot easier to teach a talented actress to do action than it would be to teach an action-oriented actress how to act. Same thing with male actors. :)

    I want talent over action stars.
  • BJ Hanssen
    Olivia Wilde is doing a damn good job as Thirteen on House, Stana Katic is proving that she's an excellent actor with her role as Beckett on Castle, Amanda Tapping is probably the actress who has fired most rounds with firearms on screen ever and holds a very high star in the scifi fan community because of her roles in the Stargate franchise and currently in the show Sanctuary, Yvonne Strahovski is quite simply excellent (which you would know had you watched Chuck) and she is already part of Mass Effect as the voice of Miranda Lawson, Malin Akerman did an alright job in Watchmen (although I can agree that she can still improve...quite a bit), Zoe Saldana more than proved herself with Star Trek and Avatar, Keira Knightley has proved in many films that she is a GOOD actress and in Domino (excellent film) she also showed that she can do action without metaphorically "killing" the character aspect, Kate Beckinsale is a good female action lead (as she has proven in the Underworld films) and Lena Headey showed the world both her ability to realistically and dramatically portray a character as well as her action prowess in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (where she played the title character). So tell me again, which one of these do you consider to be a bad actress? I certainly do not see it.
  • Paco
    Hmm, I'm a bit surprised Karl Urban didn't get more votes. I guess people forgot that he was in The Lord of the Rings as Eomer and of course as McCoy in Star Trek.

    Versatile if you ask me.
  • Matt
    Matthew Fox would be the best choice.
  • uupinko998
    Matthew Fox ROCKS! I been a fan of his since Party of Five!

    Jess
    www.online-anonymity.cz.tc
  • Jademaya
    You will probably hate me for it, but I say - Vin Diesel .
  • Spawnacus
    I hate you. J/k...I don't know you. But the Vin Diesel idea is dumb. Just plain ol' stupid. He's Riddick, not Shepard.
  • I actually just posted a blog entry about this very topic. I hate the bias for a male Shepard and think anything but a female Shepard does the bigger story a great disservice. I also vote Rhona Mitra for Shepard. Check out my blog entry for my arguement backing this up.
    http://gingerbreadgirlproductions.com/blog
  • spiderLAW
    Are you serious. Shepard has always been conceived as a male Commander. Look at the marketing and look at the covers. The male Shepard is THE Shepard. Just because BioWare lets you chose to write your own story in ways doesn’t defer the fact that the main story all together regardless of choices was written around a male character.
    That being said, I would prefer a male Shepard but female Shepard could work too. Like Ben said, it depends on what the actor can bring to the movie.
  • I wasn't debating that. It's clear that Bioware has a bias towards the male Shepard, just look at all the advertising. I'm saying it's my opinion that the already great story packs a greater punch when the protagonist is female.
  • Why would "anything but a female Shepard" do the story a great disservice?

    I think it's more dependent on what the actress/actor that steps into Shepard's boots can bring to the role.

    PS: I looked on your blog but couldn't find that entry you were referring to - how about a direct link to that article?
  • I think the larger story of humans being the on the low end of the galactic species totem pole and constantly having to reprove themselves and fight for equality within the system, not only speaks to directly to the themes of overcoming racism, but also resonates with the struggle of women to find equality in a man's world. Ultimately this makes for a much more dynamic story and makes Shepard's success feel like it's all the greater.

    Here's the fixed link:
    http://gingerbreadgirlproductions.com/blog.html
  • spiderLAW
    @ashleylynch...again
    I hear what you are saying but i still don’t agree with it.
    This is something that is constantly being brought up as a reason to cast a black man, a black woman, a woman in general, and it gets old. Yes the world has its problems with acceptance of race or gender but that shouldn’t be a reason to ignore source material.
    If you want to see a women playing powerful roles, watch movies that do such. I understand there isn’t a abundance of those kinds of films and that is truly disconcerting. HOWEVER, it should still NOT be a reason to rearrange the source material to feed the new belief of ACCEPTANCE.
    If i sound rude i am truly sorry. I am just at my wits-end with the extreme point of view. Too many people are viewing the extreme points of understanding instead compromising and meeting in the middle. This is why hate exists...People chose a side an decide to fight with all their might to make their choice the justifiable one. It would be nice to see people agree on both spectrums of the conflict and find middle ground.
    Back to Mass Effect. There are plenty of strong female presence in the main story. There are strong male characters but i have noticed they take less part in the story than the female characters do. Dr. Chakwas, Miranda, Liara, Tali'Zorah, Ashley Williams, Samara, Marinth, Admiral Xen, EDI, Jack (extreme presence), and it continues.
    And again, i wouldnt mind a female Shepard in the movies but i dont think it has to be male or has to be female to play the role. I think whoever they chose better have the acting skills or else!! lol
  • It's hardly rearranging the source material. If it were, then Bioware wouldn't have gone to the expense of having Jennifer Hale record a second set of dialogue choices. I would never make the arguement that Nathan Drake in the Uncharted movie should really be female because that's not the story.

    It's not my desire for a strong female lead near as much as it is my desire to have the best story possible. Having played through both games, both ways, it's undeniable to me that the story with a male Shepard feels that much more bland. Sure there's strong supporting female characters in Mass Effect, just as there's strong male supporting characters. This is about who leads the front for humanity and unites the species.

    A male Shepard shows up as the bias in all the advertising for the games because they had to pick one and let's face it, they're selling the game to 14-24 boys mostly. It's really an obvious choice from a marketing standpoint. Which is also the reason why it will undoubtably be a male Shepard in the movie too.

    Of course in the end it won't have to do with any of this, or even who the best actor is, at the budget level this movie will be at it's about who can market it. If Angelina Jolie shows interest in the project, Channing Tatum is out of a job.
  • Spawnacus
    I'm not arguing with you about this, but I think the execs made a mistake with their marketing campaign. Look at Tomb Raider and the marketing of Lara Croft, I think the Mass Effect corporate juggernaut should have been marketing a female Shepard to boys 14-24. I agree that, in a film version, the role should go to female. I personally like Olivia Wilde or Lena Headey. If they go with a male, I like Wentworth Miller or Jensen Ackles.
  • I completely agree with your line of thought as well as the notion that a female Shepard would add an extra layer of complexity to the story. I wouldn't mind either way - so long as the actor/actress was able to do the core of the character justice.

    That said, I still think it's a bit unfair to say that "anything but a female Shepard" would do the story a great disservice. The parallels are certainly apparent, and a male Shepard might leave some of those points untapped, but, certainly, there a portions of Shepard's personality that fly in the face of many masculine stereotypes as well - it might be nice to see a beefy action hero that doesn't always shoot first.
  • spiderLAW
    That's more understandable.
    And now I am 50/50 with you.
    But both Angelina and Channing are terrible so hopefully neither get thwe role.
  • I still love Rhona Mitra for the lead even though she doesn't really have the star power for such a large vehicle. If I were lucky enough to land director's gig for Mass Effect, I'd make the argument that casting someone less familliar would make the film better received as a whole rather than casting someone who brings a lot of audience baggage with them.

    But I'd lose that argument.
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