I blame the films ...

[blamebrampton]

SOME otherwise attractive, amusing and intelligent flistees of mine have been impugning the studliness of the lovely Arthur Weasley! And look, I get it, they're young. They have this thing in their heads that says 40+ is old and dull. I dare say that I thought that way, once. And the films do not help. Mark Williams is a fine character actor, but he is not the greatest looker in the world, and he does give the role a bit of a fuddy duddy edge.

But think about what we know of Arthur in the books: he has seven children, across ten-odd years, so clearly he goes like the clappers. His children are all attractive, with at least one, Bill, being wildly good looking. He's brave, having spent his twenties and then his forties battling the evil that is Voldemort even though he could easily have hidden behind his blood status. And he's romantic, falling in love with Molly and with Muggle tech, and with the idea of a better wizarding world.

When we meet him, he's 41, and at the close of canon, he's 48. I'm 43, and Mr Brammers is 41, George Clooney is 49. All eminently shaggable, let me tell you!

In conclusion, let me suggest that the films have given people a misleading mental image of Arthur Weasley, just as they have of thirtysomething Harry and Draco, and twentysomething James and Lily. Rather than thinking of the lovely but not so studly Mark Williams ...

think instead of 45-year-old David Wenham ...	or going-on-40-year-old Paul Bettany.

Admit it: you'd go there.

Comments

[potteresque_ire]

I think part of the trouble is that when the first film was cast called, it wasn't clear how old the prev-gen characters were yet. Snape was only in his 30s as well. I think the way they've cast that generation is to make everyone look around late 40s to 50s, which is on par with parents with teenage kids these days. While there are men who look mighty fine as they age, most men don't hold up as well when the late 40s strike.

Although, maybe they just have issues with matching age with looks. The epilogue thing is still making me *facepalm* not so much because their appearance isn't flattering but because they make them look so old...

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I think the casting for the film's older generation was just generally crazed. We knew, for example, that Lily and James were in their early 20s when they died, but the Mirror of Erised had them looking late 30s at best. Same with Snape, who should have been early 30s, but they went for the much older Alan Rickman. And look, I have friends who had a hard life, but seriously? Twenty years?

So it came as no surprise when they had everyone looking so horrid in the epilogue. Clearly the casting director is 14 and thinks everyone over 17 is gross!

[potteresque_ire]

The cast was set and the 1st movie began shooting before the 4th book was out, right? I think by that time they know Harry's birthdate (because Headless Nick's birthday party gave away the year) but I'm not sure they know about how old James and Lily were when they died.

Yeah, still... the film's casting director probably have premature aging issues himself and is trying to compensate! :D

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

In Prisoner of Azkaban, we learn that Remus and Sirius were fighting against Voldemort when they were freshly out of school and that it was only a few years later that Peter betrayed them and Lily and James died, so even if they didn't have an exact age, they knew it was early 20s.

ISSUES! Absolutely!

[potteresque_ire]

Oh... so they know by then? (I wasn't following the movies and didn't watch Movie1 until almost a year after its release :D) I'm awful at these details....

They should be spanked then. SPANKED!!!

And yeah, definitely issues *grumbles*

[inamac.livejournal.com]

Well, the first books are written from the pov of an 11/12 year old boy - and at 12 anyone over 20 is perceived as ancient so I suppose the film-makers went with canon in that respect. I very much doubt that they bothered working out everyone's actual ages, even with JKR breathing down their necks.

I know that I remember my Junior school teachers as all being incredibly old - though reason tells me that at least a few must have been straight out of training and in their 20s.

And I'm not sure that, if I were a witch and was teaching at Hogwarts I wouldn't magically add a few years to my age - at least in front of the students.