John Constantine
John Constantine is already being played by Matt Ryan on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. He first portrayed the character on his own series for NBC and also voices the role in the DC Animated Universe. He’s a fan-favorite casting so whoever takes up the role has big shoes to fill.
However, there are certain actors who I think are more than up for the challenge.
The first actor is Dan Stevens. Known for his roles in Beauty and the Beast and Legion, Dan has shown his acting range. In Legion, he portrays a character who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder. It is no easy task playing a character like that while making sure it’s done with respect.
In Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, he plays a character with a rough edge masking his pain inside. That’s perfect for John Constantine. On top of that, the Beast is very cynical and Constantine too has a cynical view of the world.
Dan Stevens might be the best choice to take on the role who isn’t Matt Ryan.
I have two words for you. Simon Pegg. I know what you’re thinking “the guy from Shaun of the Dead? That’s him. A versatile actor who has shown his range switching from snarky wit to deep cynicism in the click of a finger.
An example of this is The World’s End. Gary King is similar to Constantine in that he’s conniving, hard to trust, and covers his emotions with drink after drink.
However, he also makes the audience feel for Gary King at the right times. Even though we’ve watched this person lie about his mother dying, we still feel for him.
We understand everything bad about him is an inability to move on from past mistakes. That is John Constantine in a nutshell.
He’s 50 so the Constantine he plays would be older but we don’t know how they’re wanting to do with the character. It could easily be an older Constantine to break away from Matt Ryan’s. If so, then Simon Pegg is a good choice.
