Pygmalion One of the Best

Pygmalion

One of the best actors to play the role of Professor Henry Higgins would be Clive Owen. Owen is relatively close in age to Kate Winslet, who would play an amazing Eliza Doolittle. Michael Caine could then play Colonel Pickering. Eliza's father Alfred Doolittle would best be played by John Cleese. Prunella Scales would be an apt cast for the role of Mrs. Higgins, who is integral to adding depth to Act Five. Freddy Eynsford-Hill could be played well by Hugh Grant. Because the housekeeper and Nepommuck are relatively one-dimensional and thin characters, unknown actors would be well-suited for those roles.

Clive Owen possesses some of the same screen presence as Michael Caine, and the two would work well together on the big screen. Henry Higgins is overly serious, almost cantankerous. One of his main character traits is pride; he remains thoroughly unable to treat Eliza as an equal throughout the story.

However, if the producers want to create chemistry between Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins, Higgins has to retain some degree of charm. The audience must sympathize with Eliza's budding attraction for Doolittle and vice-versa. Higgins' personality can be attributed to a deep-rooted sense of his own inadequacies, and also to his having never been loved by a woman like Eliza Doolittle. Owens' good looks allow him the ability to look charming even while being stiff and serious.

Eliza Doolittle is spunky and smart: she also possesses a striking sense of humor that Henry Higgins lacks. While he barely breaks a smile throughout the film, Eliza smiles frequently. She tells bawdy jokes and gossips when she slips back into her old ways, a trait that especially emerges in Act Three. Kate Winslet also has the ability to transform her look from shabby to chic: an essential feature for anyone playing the role of Eliza Doolittle. Winslet will appear ambitious and independent while also soft enough to fall in love with a man such as Higgins. Eliza becomes increasingly emotional as the story progresses. Because the producers want to build the on-screen chemistry, Act Four is crucial. Eliza loses her temper with Higgins, who reacts with his characteristic coldness. Their mutual anger reveals an underlying tension that can only be resolved by suggesting that the two will be married. The ring offers potent foreshadowing for the resolution of the film. However, Eliza's kissing Freddy (played by a bumbling Hugh Grant) introduces an added dimension of conflict. Hugh Grant is well suited for the one-dimensional character of Freddy: someone not nearly as bright as Eliza. His dullness is offset nicely by the emotional complexity and arrogant intelligence of Henry Higgins. Higgins will begin to appear as being the natural match for Eliza in spite of the degrading way he treats her.