Oh No! Constantine Actor Not From Liverpool!

So the new NBC show Constantine has cast its lead - it's Matt Ryan, a Welsh actor who, according to the linked article there, has been "seen in Criminal Minds, The Tudors, Layer Cake and other reputable productions."

Honestly, I don't really care one way or the other whether the actor happens to come from the same locale as the character they're portraying but David T.G. Riches obviously does. He says in the comments on the linked article:

While he is British he is also Welsh and I see visions of people in the U.K. specifically Londoners who will point out to the Star Trek episode of “Futurama” where Scottie was replaced with Welshie it just wasn’t the same.
True it is better than Keannu Reeves in the role but still was their no one from central England available? Maybe someone from Eastenders, Emmerdale, Law & Order U.K., or any other number of programs loaded with talent pool?

Matt Ryan might be British but "he is also Welsh" which, thanks to a handy line from the excellent Futurama, Mr Riches is able to point out that it just isn't the same as being English. Thank goodness it's not another American like "Keannu Reeves", eh Mr Riches, but still . . . a Welshman playing a character who wasn't Welsh? It's almost unheard of, isn't it?

Apart from Ioan Gruffudd who played Mr Fantastic in the last couple of Fantastic Four films . . . I don't know why they didn't get an American to play that part.

And that Rhys Ifans chap who plays Mycroft Holmes in Elementary . . . I don't know why that didn't get an Englishman to play that part.

And that John Rhys-Davies bloke who played Treebeard in The Lord of The Rings . . . I don't know why they didn't get a real Ent to play that part.

And that Anthony Hopkins fellow who played Hannibal Lecter in several films . . . I don't know why they didn't get a real cannibalistic serial killer to play that part.

Oh wait, yes I do - it's because they can act. You don't need to be from the same place as the character you're portraying, Mr Riches - that's part of the joy of being an actor, having the ability to take on different roles. If you didn't allow Constantine to be anything other than what his creators based him on, there would be only one man for the TV series's main role and that would be Sting:

And he hasn't looked like that since 1979 so unless you have a time machine handy, I guess we can discount him.

Am I, as a Welshman, being overly sensitive here, or was there an implication that Welshman just aren't quite as good as, presumably, Englishmen?

And who wants to be the first to point out that James Doohan who played Scotty (not "Scottie") was Canadian? Another example of an actor playing a role who came from somewhere different from the actor.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #256

Batman's a chamomile tea fan. Who knew?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #253

Judging by the construction of his sentence, I'd say it's fairly obvious he's not using it

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #252

I hear that all the time, though thankfully never from Mrs Earth-Prime

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #251

You tell him, Carol.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #247

Can I get an "Amen" on that, people?

DC's December Solicitations

ALL-STAR WESTERN #26

Trapped in modern times, Jonah Hex sets out to find the money he left buried around the southwest. But a chance encounter with John Constantine sets the Civil War vet on a collision course with the occult.

Jonah Hex on a bike and running across John Constantine! Why isn't the rest of the DCU this much fun?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #237

Haven't we all?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #233

That's right, Flash - piss off the 40 foot giant...

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #219

No, pray tell.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #212

That's squirrels for you - always looking for the good in people. Usually in their ears.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #211

You have to admit, he's got a point - the clue was in the name.

Writers Reshuffling

Over at the DC's Source blog, news is released about Jeff Lemire taking over the reins of Justice League Dark from outgoing writer Peter Milligan.

...Dark was the only League book I didn't pick up following the New 52 relaunch as I've never been a fan of Milligan's writing. Lemire, on the other hand, I do enjoy, and I'm tempted to start picking up ...Dark now that I'm more confident I'll like it.

Lemire says:

"So, what else can you expect from the “New” Justice League Dark? Well, you’ll see an old haunt becoming the team’s new HQ. Constantine, the master manipulator that he is, will emerge as the clear leader of the team, and there will be 2 new members as well! (Hint one’s a man and one’s a woman. One uses magic, one doesn’t.) Not enough….hmmm…how about a classic Justice League villain re-imagined as The Justice League Dark’s new arc-enemy?"

all of which sounds intriguing enough for me so I may well pick up a few issues.

Just to make matters worse (for me) there's news that Lemire is leaving Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. which has grown into one of my favourite books. He'll be replaced by Matt Kindt from #10.

But what's happening to Milligan? He's becoming the new writer on Stormwatch a title that I took a chance on due to Paul Cornell being the writer. I'm willing to give Milligan a go on a title I'm already getting but if it doesn't work for me, Stormwatch might join The Savage Hawkman in being another title ditched in a few months' time.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #135

Police protection? Never heard of it.

That Time I Interviewed Garth Ennis

Ten years or so ago a writing friend of mine set up The Alien Online, a website featuring monthly columns on a variety of subjects and he asked me to write one on comics. Sadly the site didn't last more than a year or two before biting the dust despite the best intentions of the owner but it was fun while it lasted. The trouble with writing a monthly column, though, was the lack of immediacy - with this blog if I read something interesting, I can post about it in minutes. Back then, it had to be written up and sent over to the editor before seeing the light of day by which time other, larger sites had long since published it and moved on.

However, it did give me the opportunity to interview Garth Ennis. I say interview - I wrote out my questions and sent them to him (using paper and pen - this was the old days!) and he was kind enough to write back with his answers. Moving some old papers around the other day, I came across his reply which got me to thinking: with The Alien Online long-since dead and, in all honesty, not having had a huge readership back in the day (because this blog gets zillions of hits per hour), not many people would have seen this.

So here, for your delectation, warts and all, is a Garth Ennis interview from 2001:

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #127

Power Girl describes Zatanna's magic household goods