The cast is starting to come together for a musical remake of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, which already includes Anne Hathaway (One Day) as Fantine, Russell Crowe (The Next Three Days) as Inspector Javert, Hugh Jackman (Real Steel) as Jean Valjean, Eddie Redmayne (My Week with Marilyn) as Marius, Helena Bonham Carter (Great Expectations) as Madame Thenardier, and a rumored Geoffrey Rush (The King‘s Speech) as Monsieur Thenardier. However, there’s a race to fill the other juicy roles, which includes Éponine, who is most famous in the stage version for singing the solo, “On My Own.”
According to the New York Post, Lea Michele (Glee), Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers), Evan Rachel Wood (The Ides of March), and country / pop singer Taylor Swift (Valentine‘s Day) have all auditioned for the coveted part with Oscar-winning director, Tom Hooper (The King‘s Speech). Personally, I think Michele has an advantage since she played a young Cosette on Broadway as a child, and has sung songs from the musical on the Glee soundtrack. However, given Wood’s vocal performances in Across the Universe and Mildred Pierce, she would make for a very good candidate.
It is also being reported that Johansson has a good shot at the part because of her acting credentials, and the fact that she does sing (as seen in her studio albums), whereas Swift, the professional singer of the quartet who was just nominated for a slew of Grammy awards, would be my last choice of the bunch to take on such a brave and inspirational power ballad.
Who do you think is the strongest singer to take on the part of Éponine? Do you think they’re looking at too many high profile stars or should set their sights on other singers? Keep checking back on Movie Buzzers for more details behind the production of this very exciting and highly-anticipated project!
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