If you were casting a miniseries about the American Revolution, concentrating on John Adams, who would be the first person you would think of to play the second president? That's right, the name Paul Giamatti doesn't come to mind right away, does it? Well, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman did; they're producting a seven-hour HBO miniseries based on the David McCullough book John Adams, and they cast Giamatti in the title role. He'll play Adams during the revolutionary years, when he stoked the revolt behind-the-scenes. The series is set to start shooting in January and will begin airing in March 2008.I've got to say, resemblance-wise, it doesn't seem to be a match. Even tempermant-wise, I'm not sure. Adams was more of a low-key guy, while almost every role Giamatti's played has been on the high-strung or emotional side. If anyone's got the acting chops to pull this off, though, it's Giamatti. And he'll be the only actor that can say he played both a Founding Father and Pig Vomit.
(UPDATE: I have been taken to task by the readers for calling Adams "low-key." Apparently, my knowledge of American history needs an update, because Adams was supposedly a big pain in the ass. So Giamatti might be perfect for the role.)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-21-2006 @ 10:18AM
Toby OB said...
Not that he is still with us, nor would he be the right age now to play the role even if he was, but I always thought that picture of John Adams looked something like Ed Flanders, who played Dr. Westphall on 'St. Elsewhere'.
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8-21-2006 @ 11:31AM
Juan said...
I disagree with characterizing Adams as low-key. As I recall, he was known to fits of irascible temper and suffered from issues of low self-esteem - which most of us probably would when surrounded with the likes of Washington and Jefferson. Adams, however, stands very high on the roll of patriots and much of what he was criticized for, particularly his anti-Jeffersonian views, proved more correct in the long run, with the notable exception of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Giamatti can't be any worse for the role than Brent Spiner was, or William Daniels (Mr. Feeney, Boy Meets World) for that matter.
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8-21-2006 @ 12:05PM
Porchland said...
I hope the producers can work his wine-bucket gag into it. That was hi-LAR-ious! ;-)
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8-21-2006 @ 12:27PM
tyler said...
are you sure the press releas was right and they didn't cast him for the part of SAM adams. JOHN adams wasn't very behind the scenes when it came to stoking the revolution but SAM adams was very much so.
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8-21-2006 @ 12:35PM
Scott H said...
Just to tie together posts 1 & 2, William Daniels, who was the quintessential John Adams in "1776" (the Broadway musical and the movie) played a similarly temper-prone, unlikable character on "St. Elsewhere" -- the great Dr. Mark Craig, still for my money one of the best, inspirational and horrible, multi-dimensional TV characters EVER.
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8-21-2006 @ 1:10PM
jOHN said...
He did play the voice for the lead character of the comic-to-cartoon "Amazing Screw-on Head" for the Sci-fi channel. The cartoon was set in the 1800s. He played a robot, with a screw-on head (natch), that worked for Lincoln.
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8-21-2006 @ 1:20PM
GC said...
I think that this is actually an inspired bit of casting. Giamatti is not whom I would have immediately thought of to play Adams, but thinking back on the various things I've read about him over the years, it makes sense, both in terms of physicality and disposition. Adams was short, pudgy, and balding, and I don't know where you got your description of him as "low key," Joel, but he was anything but. Headstrong, tempermental, and bullying is more like it. He was one of the faces of the American Revolution, and he was persistently annoyed/afraid that history would forget about him in favor of the likes of Franklin and Jefferson, whose public personae were more obviously likable.
Hanks and his producing partners have shown a knack for creative casting in their past HBO miniseries, choosing actors that didn't make much sense until you saw their performances: Bryan Cranston (from "Malcolm in the Middle") as Buzz Aldrin and Dave Foley (from "Kids in the Hall" and "NewsRadio") as Alan Bean in "From the Earth to the Moon," for example. Or Damian Lewis (who?) as Winters and Donnie Wahlberg (a New Kid!?!) as Lipton in "Band of Brothers".
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8-21-2006 @ 1:38PM
erroneous_nick said...
Is that picture of Giamatti from a mugshot? It's just really bad.
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8-22-2006 @ 9:40AM
scott said...
Is Virginia Madsen going to play Abigail?
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8-24-2006 @ 8:57PM
C, F, said...
The comment about John Adams temperment was right off- Adams was a man of fiery temperment, and was always happy to make his views LOUD and clear, which is a big part of why many of Adams' peers found him obnoxious and bothersome.
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8-27-2006 @ 11:59PM
bubbly2c said...
I think Paul is an inspired choice for John Adams. Joel, is living in lala land and so isn't required to be accurate on anything older than last week....
As for Abigail, I think Maura Tierney would be the ideal choice. Abigail was the manager of the Adams farm for the many years John was away and was the first U.S. woman citizen to lobby for women's rights - repeatedly but lovingly to her husband ("ray, John, Please do not forget the ladies...") I think Maura would do a great job in this larger than life role....
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9-14-2006 @ 10:32AM
Barbara said...
As a direct descendant of Mr. Adams, I think the choice admirable. Adams was considered a "rude yankee" by some of his southern counterparts, however, he was admired for his intelligence and spirit. He was Harvard educated, honest and direct. Perhaps those who are confused by this should actually read McCullough's book, upon which this series is based.
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