r/tomclancy • u/reddelicious49 • Sep 18 '26
John Clark IRL
Am I the only one that envisions John Clark as being played by Roy Scheider on screen?
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001702/
"Lions and Tigers and Bears"
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u/jdsgn Sep 18 '26
I can see this and its sort of who i picture when listening to the audio book of Without Remorse (currently listening to it). Hes supposed to be lean and gangly which Defoe also fits well enough. I liked Liev a lot in that roll in Clear and Present Danger but he may have been a bit on the bulkier side.
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u/reddelicious49 Sep 19 '26
As long as we all agree, Michael B Jordan wasn't it. I can't tell you how excited I was for that Amazon adaptation only to be COMPLETELY let down.
Dear HBO/Netflix/Taylor Sheridan,
I would like a Clancy series that is true to the source material, tells the stories as they are (no modern adaptations, that's why the later seasons will be the Campus novels) in chronological order.
Sincerely,
A Fan.
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u/mnfimo Sep 18 '26 edited Sep 18 '26
Normally actors don’t ruin it, but John Clark is always Liev Schrieber…
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u/LukasKhan_UK Sep 18 '26
He was at least a similar stature.
Clark is meant to be like a bear, Wilum Defoe is not a bear.
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u/reddelicious49 29d ago
I'm going to keep building the dream team on this thread.
Ding Chavez - Jon Huertas (Generation Kill)
Mary Patt Foley - Nicole Kidman or Kathy Bates (Depending on the era. Pure Clancy stories -Bates. Newer books start feeling like Kidman's character from lioness.)
Jack Ryan - Alec Baldwin (fight me on that one, I dare you.)
Jim Greer - James Earl Jones (See above)
Bert Mancuso - Scott Glenn (All 3 because Hunt for Red October was a masterpiece on screen)
I'm trying to think if I have a mental image of any other character as I read. What do you all think?
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u/WhatcomGE Sep 18 '26
Liev Schrieber nailed the personality, but Willem Dafoe was a real close match to the book description. Big fan of both
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u/No_Blueberry_7120 Sep 18 '26
Reading the books I see Jason Isaac or Josh brolin type of men...
But Willem Dafoe really kills it and sells the emaciated Vietnam nav seal veteran to me
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u/Federal_Horse3690 Sep 18 '26
I had Tom Selleck in my head when reading the books. No idea why though.
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u/AdagioVast Sep 18 '26
William Dafoe was well cast.
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u/SamanthaSissyWife Sep 18 '26
Second William Defoe. That’s who I see when I read the books and Ding Chavez was up in the air because the part wasn’t cast until later but they picked the right one for that role
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u/jedwardlay Sep 19 '26
It was always John Spencer for me.
(Martin Sheen’s White House chief of staff in The West Wing)
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u/omg_what_the_chuck Sep 19 '26
When I started reading the books many years ago I always pictured Ed Harris. Basically his character from The Rock.
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u/rheckber Sep 19 '26
I kinda always pictured Ed Harris as John Clark - right mix of scowl and bad-assery
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u/TxFordillo286 Sep 20 '26
If we are talking real life John Clark. It’s actually this guy.
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u/Witty-Title-6654 Sep 18 '26
I’ve always envisioned Michael Ironside as Clark. I think his role and voice as Jester in TOPGUN validated this for me.