Every time I read a book, I think about who would play the main characters. So what do you think for Major Pettigrew's Last Stand? For Mrs. Ali, I was thinking of Shohreh Aghdashloo, an Iranian actress who appeared in The Stoning of Soraya M. She was terrific! I'm stuck on Major Pettigrew. For Roger's girlfriend, Sandy, I thought of Charlize Theron or Uma Thurman.

I kept imagining Christopher Plummer as Major Pettigrew and Jude Law as Roger. As for Mrs. Ali, I too, thought of Shohreh Aghdashloo.

Jude Law would be fantastic as Roger! Shall have to give more thought to who would be a good fit to play the Major.

I really cannot think of who would play the various characters well. I am not into movie stars so much and can't really say who should play whom.

I had a thought last night about who could play the major -- what about Michael Cain? Or, is Peter O'Toole still alive? Isn't it awful that I don't know that. Even Anthony Hopkins might be good (I am thinking back to his performance in Remains of the Day.)

I think Michael Caine's accent would be wrong and, dare I say it, both he and Peter O'Toole would both be too old - they're both almost 80, whereas I think the Major is a decade or so younger. How about Clive Swift who played Richard Bucket, the long-suffering husband of Hyacinth Bucket in the British comedy "Keeping Up Appearances"? He has the slightly bumbling but charming demeanor that I associate with the Major.

I'm not quite sure this book would adapt well to a movie...but Jude Law as Roger is spot on!!!

I am not up to date on current movie stars so I think Alec Guinness would be the perfect Major Pettigrew. I have no idea of whom I would select to play Mrs. Ali or Roger.

I agree, someone like Alec Guinness would be perfect, but sadly not Sir Alec himself, who died a decade ago.

I see Colin Firth - with makeup which ages him - as Major Pettigrew and happen to agree with Jude Law as Roger. That is as far as I've gotten with the casting :)

Okay...Tannistha Chatterjee as Mrs. Ali woud be great. You would have to use quite a lot of engineering to make this actress look older. How about reviving Hugh Grant as Major Pettigrew??? I love Colin Firth, but he would make a great DD.

Hugh Grant - noooo! Way too young, and even if aged, I reckon too smooth!

Have you seen Hugh lately????? He is almost 50 you know!!! Age him a bit more and....don't you think??? He has those cute "crinkly" eye wrinkles!!! and with his new shorter hair cut. He may be a bit blustery for Major P. though.

Just don't see Hugh Grant in the role! Still holding out for Clive Swift http://www.naxosaudiobooks.com/cliveswift.htm :)

I am totally voting for Michael Caine for Major Pettigrew - - I seriously thought of him immediately!

Jude Law would be great as Roger . . .

I can see John Goodman in the role of Major. He has been credible in every role to date, from Fred to Babe, to SPeaker of the House. Love him. And he has lost quite a bit of weight recently.

How about Patrick Stewart as the Major?

I adore Peter O'Toole, who just turned 76, but think he's a bit too frail for the part. Michael Caine can pretty much adapt to any accent he chooses, in "Zulu" he had a veddy upper class accent. I think Michael Gambon might be a good choice. After seeing him in "The King's Speech" I now can see him as the Major.

Probably my first choice would be Richard Easton. He's not well know for films, but has a long career on Broadway. He's the right age and a wonderful actor.

I'd also like to find a role in the movie for Alan Rickman, he's a personal favorite of mine.

Good thought. Patrick Stewart is the right age and also more than capable of portraying the correct military bearing and accent.

I instantly saw Michael Kitchen.

I read this book on Kindle so it's not easy for me to find the names of the minor characters. However, there are several roles for great British actors/actresses among the members of the Major's country club.

How about Harriet Walters as the Major's sister-in-law?

So many great suggestions! I've put together a montage of 5 of the actors that have been suggested in this discussion: http://www.bookbrowse.com/booktalk/images/posts/2011-05-16-major-pettigrew-actors.jpg

After seeing all those fellows side by side.......... I'm casting my vote for.......... Michael Kitchens!! He would do a fantastic job. He's not flashy, he can play a gentleman, show his soft side but also be righteously indignant when necessary. Plus I can easily see him play the romantic scenes. IMHO Michael is perfect.

I can definitely see Patrick Stewart in the role of Major Pettigrew but the actor I thought of was Geoffrey Rush. As for Roger, I am more in favor of Clive Owen than Jude Law. Roger strikes me as more of a cookie cutter figure and I think Jude Law somewhat pops off the screen and might be too dynamic for the part.

I think that Colin Firth could pull it off as the Major with maturity and pretenion and just hte right amount of rigidity,and Jude Law as Roger. I'm not so sure about the women