Casting of Blogger Girl Series – Nicholas Strong!
Welcome to the second installment of the Casting of Blogger Girl Series! Today I am casting the role of Nicholas Strong. I had a lot of difficulty choosing the right actor to play the part of Nicholas. In fact, I was *this close* to postponing his installment until later in the series. Truth be told, when I was writing Blogger Girl, I pictured a man I know personally when I wrote Nicholas. Although I did not base Nicholas’ personality on this guy, it was his face that I saw through the entire writing process. I am not going to divulge his identity because, quite frankly, I’m too embarrassed but I will say that it made it difficult for me to find the appropriate actor to take over the role when the book hits the big screen! I changed my mind MANY times.
Nicholas is an attorney in his early thirties and Kim has it bad for him. In her words, “At only about 5”7’, his stature might have kept him off of some women’s top five list but since I was vertically challenged too, he was currently number one on mine.” Kim’s weakness is the dark stubble on his jawline:
“I absolutely was not flirting with her, but I guess she’s cute enough,” Nicholas said, scratching his chin again.
I groaned. “For the love of God, why don’t you just shave?”
Nicholas dropped his hand. “Do I need to shave that badly?”
“No,” I said meekly.
“What then?”
“Have you looked at yourself recently?”
Nicholas shook his head softly.
“It’s sexy,” I whispered.
Nicholas gave me a closed mouth smile. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
I pinched my bottom lip. “It could be.”
The first actor I chose for the role was Wes Brown. Most recently, he played the part of Julian on the now cancelled television show Deception. I changed my mind for a few reasons but most notably because Wes doesn’t look quite right with scruff in my opinion and “lazy shaving habits” is Nicholas’ trademark.
The next actor I considered for the part was Rodrigo Santoro. I saw him in the movie What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Something was off with him though as well.
Readers weighed in with the following actors:
Melissa Amster from Chick Lit Central suggested Ron Livingston. He’s handsome enough but he’s a bit too old for the role and his portrayal of needy/ insecure “he broke up with me on a post-it note” Jack Berger on Sex and the City turned me off but I always appreciate Melissa’s opinions.
Elizabeth Grunderson suggested Joseph Gordon-Levitt but while the height is probably spot-on, I just don’t find him attractive enough for the role. Sorry, Joseph!
One of my favorite new shows of the summer was Under the Dome, based on the Stephen King book and I fell immediately in lust with the character of “Barbie” played by the gorgeous Mike Vogel. I considered him for about fifteen minutes until I regretfully decided that the blonde hair/blue eye combination just didn’t work. I’ll keep him in mind for book 4!
Then I considered Jake Johnson, who plays Nick Miller on The New Girl. On paper, he’s perfect: he has the right coloring, he’s the right age, he’s not very tall and he’s rarely clean-shaven on the show. I thought I finally got it. But the more I looked at him, the more I realized that he gives off a more goofy vibe than I want for Nicholas. Perhaps it’s because the role of Nick on The New Girl is so goofy but that’s all I see when I look at the actor.
It was here that I decided to skip over the role of Nicholas and cast Bridget this week instead. That was until I watched the first episode of the new show Lucky 7 and spotted him. The One. This guy is perfect for Nicholas. Yes, I think his eyes might be blue but he’s got the dark hair, looks natural with scruff, he’s only 5″9′ and he embodies sexiness, sensitivity and depth. He’s muscular without being overly built and I personally cannot take my eyes off of him when he’s on screen. Finally, his last name in real life is Kimberly’s last name in the book – KISMET!
So, without further delay (and thank you for your patience) allow me to introduce you to Nicholas Strong:
Actor Matt Long!
What do you think of my choice? Who would you have chosen?
Stay tuned for the next installment of the Casting of Blogger Girl series – the BFF Bridget and click here to see who I cast as Kim! http://wp.me/p2PJqp-eH
Perfect! That is an excellent choice. I also adore Mike Vogel and have since he was in Grind with my future husband, Adam Brody. (Woah, just checked the date…that was 10 years ago) Can’t wait to see who you cast next! 🙂
Glad you like my choice! That’s funny that you like Adam Brody – he’s my pick for the role of Jonathan! (I’m not including him in this series since he wasn’t a big enough role…)
I could so see that! You should include him anyway 🙂 (and I’m not just saying that because I lurve him)
Thanks for including my choice. I love your logic in how you chose the actor. So funny about his last name being the same as Kimmie’s. 🙂
I recognized Wes Brown from 90210, but can’t remember what kind of role he played on that show. And it was just last year too.
Hmm. I don’t remember Wes Brown from 90210 but then again, I didn’t watch it regularly. I’ve seen every episode of the original so 100 times but not 90210…. I know Wes Brown was on Private Practice for a while. Quite good looking…
Yes, yes, yes! He is a perfect choice for Nicholas, and I can’t wait to see him on the screen when Blogger Girl is made into a movie as it so should be!
Samantha Stroh Bailey
Glad you like my choice, Sam! Hopefully Hollywood will too 🙂
Ok, this blog had me LMAO! How do you put the captions under the pictures? The Jake Johnson one still has me in tears for obvious reasons. Anyway, I am in total agreement with your choice of Matt Long. He’s perfect! And by the way, in my own defense, that picture of Jake Johnson does not do him justice. He is the one and only reason why I still watch “New Girl”!! Mike Vogel leaves me breathless. OMG. Insanely gorgeous (did my doorbell just ring?), but I agree he is not Nicholas Strong. Nice job Meri. Really enjoyed this.
haha – I knew you would appreciate the captions, especially that one. My website gives me the option of adding them… If your doorbell just rang and it’s Mr. Vogel, I think we both know the answer to the question… 😉
Meredith, I think you got the right guy! Well done. I might do this as an exercise at some point for The Dating Game, but wow would it be difficult! I think I found the protagonist for my next novel on a quiz show though!
It is hard work but it’s a lot of fun too! I’m glad you approve of my choice for Nicholas 🙂