Just the look is great - of course he'd be given a wig and makeup, but he already has a lovely faunish look! I liked him very much in Lion. He went to some excellent English schools, so he'd have a delicious RP voice too!

Ooh, I love the idea of Dev Patel as Tumnus! Great casting suggestion.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on the wig, @coracle — he has a mop of curly hair that already looks quite faun-like, imo. I want to find out what his hair care regimen is.

I do think his mop of hair is beautiful! But movie makers are likely to have different ideas.

  Good choice, I reckon too — and it would be nice to have some ethnic diversity in the cast, especially since there are still those who claim "Narnia is racist"... Seriously, though — Tumnus is described in the book as having "rather reddish" skin, which isn't important to the plot, but still, he's been played by a white actor in nearly every adaptation I've ever seen. Why haven't there been any screams of "whitewashing!!"...?? (Possibly the critics who would do that haven't actually read the original book.)

(The only exception I can think of is the 1979 animated film of LWW, which DOES give Tumnus red skin — but it also gives him green hair and has him hopping about bizarrely like a frog, which are details I hope Netflix doesn't intend to imitate.)

At the Venice Film Festival last week, the actor Timothee Chalamet (Dune, The King, Little Women) went with a rather bold open-backed red jumpsuit on the Red Carpet, which certainly turned quite a few heads, but from the waist up it kind of gave him a very distinctly Mr Tumnus sort of vibe, especially with that head of curly hair he has.

Timothee Chalamet is probably one of the most in-demand young actors in Hollywood at the moment, so it's perhaps unlikely they'd be able to get him now, but I'm going to throw him into the mix for Mr Tumnus anyway.

He's a really strong but sympathetic action lead in things like Dune and The King, whilst also showing a much softer and charming side befitting someone like Mr Tumnus in things like Little Women.

@icarus the red scarf certainly adds to that look!!

Posted by: @icarus

 

Timothee Chalamet is probably one of the most in-demand young actors in Hollywood at the moment, so it's perhaps unlikely they'd be able to get him now, but I'm going to throw him into the mix for Mr Tumnus anyway.

I would say the likelihood has definitely increased if Greta Gerwig's involved with LWW considering Chalamet has appeared in the two most recent Gerwig films 😉 

It may seem like an obvious choice now but I think he'd be a great Tumnus.

Was going to suggest Chalamet for one of the Narnian princes but somehow this seems even more perfect haha. He’s such an interesting actor to watch, I feel like he’s played quite a few roles where he’s struggling with a darkness of some kind and must resist it - very fitting for Tumnus! 

He seems very young. I know James McAvoy was also young, in the 2005 film. It's just that he's so delicate looking in the Little Women film 2019. Perhaps he's beefed up a bit? Very pretty!

I came across the following illustration today of Mr Tumnus which depicts him with slightly darker skin than he is usually depicted in illustrations, and I have to say the look really works for me. 👍 

https://www.kateslaterillustration.com/blog/tag/narnia

(Click here to view the image in detail)

Therefore, given that Mr Tumnus is one of the few characters who is specifically described in the book as being as non-white (if we are to assume that the line about his skin being "rather reddish" relates to skin tone, and not some form of cold-weather induced ailment) then I am going to have to stick with my choice of Dev Patel for this role - sorry Timothee Chalamet!

I think Adeel Akhtar would make a good Mr. Tumnus.

James McAvoy shared his thoughts on a 'Timothee Chalamet' Mr. Tumnus in this video.

He’s a shoo-in. Listen, it’s a small part, it’s a cameo role. If his ego’s okay taking that small part, he’d be perfect I’m sure.”

You know, sometimes I think that maybe that 2022 Venice Film Festival outfit wasn't just a fun coincidence.... Greta did say she'd started writing on Narnia before Barbie, so perhaps Timothee was in on it this whole time....

Or maybe it was just an eccentric outfit with a coincidentally Tumnus-esque top-half. Who knows.

Looking back at my previous comments, I still think he looks too young for Tumnus (who has his own well-established home, and presumably career). This slim, non-hirsute chap looks like he's at high school! 

But suggestions that Tumnus not be played by a white-skinned actor don't immediately make me think South Asian. If fauns are Greek mythological creatures, what about a Greek actor?