The Score Magazine - Archive August 2009 Issue | Page 37

G.I. JOE
Dennis Quaid - General Clayton Abernathy / Hawk:
Quaid plays the team’s leader here. His son convinced him to take on the part,
and the filmmakers enjoyed working with him so much that Stuart Beattie wrote
“ten to fifteen more scenes” for the character.
Channing Tatum - Conrad Hauser / Duke:
Tatum had earlier played a soldier in Stop-Loss, an anti-war film, and originally
wanted no part in G.I. Joe, which he felt was pro-war. Once he read the script
though, he realized it was a fantasy trip.
Rachel Nichols - Shana M. O’Hara / Scarlett:
According to he story, she graduated college at twelve and became the team’s
intelligence expert. Possibly why she never understood the laws of attraction. She
burnt herself filming an action sequence.
Ray Park - Snake Eyes:
A ninja commando with a vow of silence, Park plays a martial arts expert and
specifically practiced wushu for the role, as well as studying the character’s comic
book poses. Nervous about wearing the mask, he requested to practice wearing
it at home.
Marlon Wayans - Wallace Weems / Ripcord:
Wayans was cast on the strength of his performance in Requiem for a Dream.He’s
the one with the bad humour as he invites Duke to join the Air Force with him. He
also told Scarlett that he can fly almost any aircraft.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje - Hershel Dalton / Heavy Duty:
He serves as the teams ordnance expert and was actually called up to play the
role of his series-wise cousin Road Block, but his character in real life seemed a
better fit for this character, or so the producer thought.
Saïd Taghmaoui - Abel Shaz / Breaker:
Serving duty as the team’s communications specialist and hacker, In the film, he
is Moroccan rather than an American but retains his characteristic love for bubble
gum.
Brendan Fraser - Sergeant Stone:
At first, it was reported he was going to play Gung-Ho, but it was later revealed he
plays Sergeant Stone. Fraser is quoted as saying he’d like to think his character is a
descendant of Rick O’Connell, Fraser’s character in The Mummy series.
COBRA
Christopher Eccleston - James McCullen / Destro:
A weapons designer and founder of the Military Armament Research Syndicate
(MARS) and the main villain of the film, David Murray was cast as Destro, but was
forced to drop it when he had problems with his visa.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Rex Lewis / Doctor / Cobra Commander:
The Baroness’s brother, a former U.S. Soldier who was thought to be killed during
an operation - instead, he became the disfigured Cobra head scientist. Levitt wore
a mask – which was redesigned from the comics because the crew found it too
reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan
Sienna Miller - Ana Lewis / Anastacia DeCobray / The Baroness:
The Baroness was going to marry Duke, but he left her at the altar, due to his guilt
over the apparent death of her brother Rex Lewis. Miller auditioned for the part
because it did not involve “having a breakdown or addicted to heroin or dying at
the end”
Lee Byung-hun - Thomas Arashikage / Storm Shadow:
Lee said he did not know G.I. Joe because it is an unknown series in Korea. Lee
was attracted to Storm Shadow’s “dual personality”, which he stated has “huge
pride and honor”
Arnold Vosloo - Zartan:
An expert in make-up and disguises serving Destro, Zartan several times whistles
“For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” early in the film; Zartan is revealed to be imper-
sonating the President of the United States when he again whistles it at the film’s
conclusion.