5 Actors Who Could Play Ross Ulbricht in the Silk Road Movie By now, just about everyone knows Silk Road’s story is headed to the big screen, and that, due to a solid choice for screenwriter in Dennis Lahane, the movie could very well make Academy Award waves should it end up in the hands of his past collaborators, the legendary Martin Scorsese or Ben so-hot-he’s-finally-buried-Gigli Affleck. But, just who should play the prize role of Ross Ulbricht, the Pennsylvania State University solar engineer who allegedly became Silk Road’s notorious Dread Pirate Roberts? The twenty-something Texas native who allegedly presided over a $1bn black market, earned $20,000 a day and eventually turned to hitmen to take care of his dirtier deeds. Well, with no director signed onto the project – and Lehane’s camp telling CoinDesk it will be six months before he’s ready to talk about his writing, it’s unlikely we’ll have anything more than speculation for the foreseeable future. Ross Ulbricht For now, however, reddit has already taken up this job as unofficial casting agency. There, you’ll get some unlikely choices, though reddit user PhinnaeusGage may take the cake for most far-fetched with his choice, acclaimed 53-year-old actor Sean Penn. Online celebrity look-a-like databases haven’t proved to be much help either. A quick scan of two of Ulbricht’s more well-known photos turns up possible matches such as Danny Glover, Dustin Hoffman and Queen Latifah, none of whom I can imagine quite striking the right tone for an Internet outlaw. So, with the first round of predictions in, who are the most likely choices? We weigh in with our top picks below: 5. Michael Cera Best known roles: George Michael on Netflix’s Arrested Development, Evan in Superbad Copyright: Jaguar PS / Shutterstock Suggested on one of the first reddit threads created following the film’s announcement, Cera isn’t a number one choice, but I wouldn’t completely rule him out. While he can be written off as the 2000s answer to Anthony Michael Hall due to his affiliation with Judd Apatow, Cera has proved capable of bringing depth to certain roles. His portrayal of George Michael on Arrested Development has become more controlled and nuanced over time. Cera could certainly capture a younger Ulbricht, but it’s hard to envision him ordering a malicious hit or running a drug ring. This one might just be out of Cera’s depth. 4. Aaron Paul Best known role: Jesse Pinkman from AMC’s Breaking Bad Copyright: DFree / Shutterstock Fresh off a career-defining role as everyone’s favorite meth addict in one of the most acclaimed and ubiquitous dramas in the US, Pinkman… err Paul… is wasting no time trying to prove he’s the real deal, starring in four movies set to be released in 2014, including Ridley Scott’s Exodus and the movie adaptation of the video game series Need For Speed. Paul is one of the more inspired nominations from reddit users, as he’s at least excelled in projects with similar subject matter, but he was always best on Bad when playing catatonic and neurotic. Granted, we don’t know much about Ulbricht, but Paul doesn’t seem like the best choice for a guy who would describe himself as “spunky, funky, not so chunky.” 3. Robert Pattinson Best known role: Edward Cullen in the Twilight series Copyright: s_bukley / Shutterstock Robert Pattinson’s name has creeped up on threads, no doubt for his facial features that are uncannily like Ulbricht’s. There are a number of similarities: feminine features, tousled brown hair, age, but what’s more important is what these two don’t have in common. It’s textbook Hollywood for the heartthrob to go mainstream by playing to a male audience – think Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Ryan Gosling in Drive, and so far Pattinson seems willing to do so. He’s set to star in four features in 2014 and 2015, including a role in Werner Herzog’s Queen of the Desert alongside James Franco and Nicole Kidman and in The Lost City of Z with PBS favorite Benedict Cumberbatch. Pattinson’s shown some unexpected depth in films like “Cosmopolis,” though it wasn’t embraced by mainstream audiences. Plus, while he’s taken a lot of flack for his emotionless performances, that might be the right touch if the film is looking to paint Ulbricht as the sociopath some have accused him of being. 2. Michael Shannon Best known roles: Nelson Van Alden on Boardwalk Empire, General Zod in Man of Steel Copyright: Joe Seer / Shutterstock Most notable in this Facebook picture published by Business Insider, Shannon and Ulbricht share a few prominent facial features, including a serious brooding brow and high cheekbones. Now, Shannon would definitely be better suited toward the later Ulbricht years – I sure couldn’t see him passing as a grad student. So, he’s really only in the running if the movie focuses on the Ulbricht who was “arrested for putting out a hit on clients of the Silk Road,” as producers have suggested. Shannon might be a bit old – and from a look at his IMDb a bit in demand – for the role, but he’s always burned with a borderline-manic intensity that could light up a dark version of the Silk Road story. After all, as Funny or Die proved in this video, Shannon’s even scary when he’s sitting on a couch talking like a 19-year-old girl. 1. Emile Hirsch Best known roles: Chris McCandless in Into The Wild, Cleve Jones in Milk Copyright: cinemafestival / Shutterstock Of all these actors, Hirsch may be the best prepared to take this role. A quick look at his IMDb shows he’s got only one project in pre-production, an untitled John Belushi project, which doesn’t sound completely fleshed out. Unlike some on this list, Hirsch has some serious acting chops. Into The Wild is already on its way to becoming a classic, and Milk will be watched for Sean Penn’s titanic performance for years to come. Hirsch is certainly believable as the good suburban kid, a role he served well in The Girl Next Door, and he’s shown a willingness to play grottier characters – see Killer Joe, but he’s never gone full-on bad. If he can own Ulbricht’s transformation and make it his own, it’s not hard to see him convincing audiences and critics in the process that he’s the top-tier actor he’s hinted at being. In the classic Princess Bride movie from which Ulbricht claimed the anonymous handle, ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’ was not one man, but a a series of individuals who periodically passed the name and reputation to a chosen successor. Indeed, could this fact could make an intriguing plot twist, with several actors playing the the elusive masked drug bazaar founder? However the script evolves, it looks likely that the ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’ will return to the screen at some point in the future, but it remains to be seen if this will be in the guise of Ross Ulbricht, or if any of the actors mention above play the lead role. Who do you think would make the most believable Silk Road kingpin and able to effectively bring bitcoin to the big screen? View 5 Actors Who Could Play Ross Ulbricht in the Silk Road Movie on CoinDesk. November 23, 2013 at 11:33AM ift.tt/1bZUWlF
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 10:36:33 +0000
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