We have hit award season, and this has me thinking about movies. One of the films with the most buzz is A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers. This got me thinking about other actors who could take on iconic people. Why not have a little fun and cast some actors as saints!
Joe Mantegna as Padre Pio
This is more than just fan casting. The Criminal Minds actor is actually working on making a movie on the life of St. Pio of Pietrelcina.
Meryl Streep as Mother Teresa
Hollywood would butcher Mother Teresa’s story, but I could totally see Meryl in this role.
Harry Connick Jr. as St. John Bosco
Call me crazy, but I think there is something to this. I think the jazz singer/actor/talk show host could nail St. John Bosco.
Leonardo Defilippis as St. Maximillian Kolbe
You have probably never heard of him, but Leonardo Defilippis has toured the country as St. Maximillian Kolbe in his one-man play about the saint of Auschwitz. Of all of the saints Defilippis has portrayed in his career, he most looks like Kolbe.
Sir Anthony Hopkins as Pope St. Pius X
Let’s be real here, Anthony Hopkins would nail almost any pope role. But, there is a resemblance between the two.
Brendan Gleeson as St. Thomas Aquinas
In this picture of St. Thomas Aquinas, I see a bit of Brendan Gleeson. Plus, I think Gleeson, who played Mad-Eye Moody in Harry Potter, could nail Aquinas’s sense of humor.
Liam Neeson as Venerable Fulton Sheen
If he did an American accent, Neeson would look fantastic as Fulton Sheen.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Saint Michael the Archangel
This may have been more fitting earlier in his career, but wouldn’t you love to see the Terminator casting Lucifer out of Heaven?
Jim Caviezel as St. John Henry Newman
Like I was going to leave Jim Caviezel off of this list! The only bit of logic I have behind this casting choice is the similarity of their noses.
Me as Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati
I’m not saying I look like Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati, but if you were to say I look like any saint, it would probably be Frassati. I’ve done a bit of acting in my time. I could pull it off. Any producers out there want to give me an audition?…Come on…PLEEEEEEEASE!
