Posted by: @glenwit

Full disclosure: I absolutely loved the Professor in the BBC adaptation...I know that some people are against him being too comical

Are you talking about me? Because I was under the impression everybody here liked that version of the professor except myself.  

Posted by: @glenwit

I can see him having a bit of a mischievous side to him as well (he seems like the kind of person to crack jokes - a lot of older university professors are like that. I know some of mine were)

Well, that's actually how I'd describe the professor in the Walden Media adaptation whom you can't stand.  

I don't think it's "wrong" per se for the professor to have a sense of humor, but I'd really like the next major adaptation to portray him as totally humorless since the BBC and the Walden Media ones portrayed as a somewhat comedic character in their individual ways. You see you'd expect an adult who'd believe a girl with a story of a magical world inside a wardrobe to be really childlike and whimsical. (What the BBC miniseries did.) It's less expected and actually funnier if he's this crabby old get-off-my-lawn guy who's always complaining about how education is going to the dogs. Of course, I wouldn't want them to go too far in that direction. (A stereotypical guy like that wouldn't have put himself "quite at (Peter and Susan's) disposal" in such a friendly way as the professor does.) But I think it'd be a nice change since other adaptations have leaned in the other direction. 

Posted by: @glenwit

According to the timeline, he was about 52 years old, but based on the description of him in the book, he seems a bit older than that (as well as Pauline Bayne's illustrations - although I take those with a grain of salt from time to time).

That's probably because C. S. Lewis hadn't written The Magician's Nephew when he wrote The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Since any adapters will have access to the whole series, in a way the original author didn't, I feel like they should take MN into consideration when writing LWW...but, I admit, I'd kind of like him to be old for tradition's sake.  

I honestly liked how the professor was portrayed in both the BBC and Walden Media films. Honestly both versions captured how I see him. The BBC one definitely showed he was smart yet does not let his age destroy his childlike wonder, plus the way he reacts and doesn't disbelieve the children about the magical wardrobe hints that he's been there. We get similar hints with the Walden Media portrayal too, I like how when Susan says "she thinks she found a magical land" he first has a somewhat amused face then when she adds "...in the upstairs wardrobe" the way his expression changed was perfect, especially when he goes "what was it like?" again hinting how he'd been to Narnia before at some point, and the fact that it was the wardrobe -- which we book readers know was made of the wood of a tree that grew from the silver apple he brought home -- that's a portal. Honestly, portraying him either way, or perhaps a combination of the two, I think would be perfect. Just my 2 cents. 

Posted by: @col-klink

Well, that's actually how I'd describe the professor in the Walden Media adaptation whom you can't stand.  

Yeah, I see what you mean there, although that isn't what I dislike about him (my reasons more have to do with the writers' handling of the character...not a knock on Jim Broadbent's performance either; I think he did his best with what he was given!). 

I'd really like the next major adaptation to portray him as totally humorless....You see you'd expect an adult who'd believe a girl with a story of a magical world inside a wardrobe to be really childlike and whimsical. (What the BBC miniseries did.) It's less expected and actually funnier if he's this crabby old get-off-my-lawn guy who's always complaining about how education is going to the dogs.

Okay, you've now got my gears turning about what this could look like. It absolutely would be funny, but I think it would also emphasize some aspects of the character in the book that previous adaptions might have missed (aforementioned affinity for logic + order, otherwise very grown up in his appearance and demeanor - BBC Peter and Susan should NOT have been surprised that he believed Lucy, I'll give you that).  But, it still comes down to my favourite word in these threads - balance. Balance, balance, balance. My concern if they make him too crotchety is that he wouldn't be believable as someone who would aid in the billeting of evacuee children (never mind being at said children's "disposal").  All things considered, it would make sense if he's a single, older (50/60 something) intellectual who lives alone that he wouldn't exactly warm up to them overnight. But it would also make it all the more compelling if Netflix gets the whole series out there + he actually ends up being their Earthly mentor for the rest of their lives. 

Posted by: @kokoro-hane. Honestly, portraying him either way, or perhaps a combination of the two, I think would be perfect. Just my 2 cents. 

I think I mentioned this in one of the other threads, but I would really like to see the Professor portrayed much younger than he traditionally is.

He is only supposed to be a man in his early 50s, and yet he is usually portrayed like a man in his late 80s. 

As a 52 year old man he would be in his absolute academic prime, and would therefore likely be a very active and busy member of the British University system... Not a wizzened old kook who has been locked away in a dusty old mansion for decades.

It's also worth acknowledging that the Professor in the story is in essence a proxy for CS Lewis himself and therefore should probably not be all that dissimilar in manner.

@icarus  I absolutely agree!

Not only because I'm older than 52 and far from elderly, but also because the description in LWW ("..a very old man with shaggy white hair..") is really from the children's viewpoint. A 52-year-old man, seen by a 10-year-old, is quite an old person, and how much hair and whiskers the man has will influence that view. 

This particular 52 year old will have lived through WW1 and the Depression, and clearly stuck to a traditional sort of male teacher style of clothing. He might resemble any of Lewis's colleagues at Oxford!

In spite of having this large house, there is no suggestion of his being rich, so he just has a housekeeper and three servants, but no male servant who might have taken care of his clothing - actually I can't imagine the average Oxford don doing anything else. (including himself, as you say - when he married Joy she had a huge task dealing with his clothing as well as everything else)

Posted by: @icarus

As a 52 year old man he would be in his absolute academic prime, and would therefore likely be a very active and busy member of the British University system... Not a wizzened old kook who has been locked away in a dusty old mansion for decades.

It's also worth acknowledging that the Professor in the story is in essence a proxy for CS Lewis himself and therefore should probably not be all that dissimilar in manner.

You're definitely spot on about how he shouldn't be a wizened old kook! I like the idea of him being a bit younger, but it would be weird if he was visibly younger than his book description (where he was desribed as having shaggy white hair). However, Col Klink mentioned that the timeline was established after LWW was written, which makes his description a bit out of place for someone who's supposedly younger than my dad - who only started going gray a couple years ago. 

FWIW, this guy is who I'd personally cast. 

His name is Graham McTavish. You've probably heard of him if you've watched The Hobbit or Outlander.  He's a bit older than 52 (he was born in 1961, which would make him about 60). But he still looks like he could take down his own Christmas lights  

@glenwit, Excellent suggestion! A number of older British actors come to mind for this role, but if we're going a bit younger, I wonder if someone like Kenneth Grahame would do. He's begun to age a bit, and might be able to sell the "charming-but-enigmatic" vibe pretty well. 

Keep in mind that people go grey at different rates. My dad started going grey in his 20s. He was almost white haired at the age of 50.

Kirke could be white haired but still have a young face. This makes some sense to me. It could be confusing to the Pevensies, thinking of him like an old man, but Dig not thinking of himself that way.

@lu_valient, that's a good point.  It shouldn't be an issue if he has gray, or white hair, as long as he's not otherwise stereotypically "elderly".  The lens of "old" might definitely be from the kids' perspective as well.  Thank you for the reminder; sometimes I still have my blind spots, and I do need those little reminders sometimes!

A good point of comparison for me is that the Professor should be closer in age and appearance to the Jude Law Dumbledore (currently age 49) than the Michael Gambon Dumbledore (currently age 81).

And not just in terms of physical appearance - Jude Dumbledore cuts around in a very smart suit befitting of an Oxford Don, whereas Gambon Dumbledore dresses like he's Merlin.

Has anyone suggested Rhys Ifans? I think either him or Charles Dance would be great.