Hermia
Played by: Natalie Portman, age 19. Hermia is described as being short in the play, which means Natalie Portman aligns well with this role. Furthermore, her appearance closely resembles how I imagined Hermia to appear
Description: Hermia is in love with Helena. She hopes to escape to London together with Helena because her father, Egeus, is extremely conservative and does not approve of their relationship. However, her plans are ruined when she finds out that Demetrius and Lysander followed them onto the train. During the train ride, once the train is stopped by the labour union, Titania makes Hermia fall in love with Lysander. Once the plot is resolved, Hermia remains in love with Helena after Titania undoes the magic on Hermia.
Motivations: Hermia is motivated by her love for Helena and little else.
Dispositions: Hermia is confident and brave, and willing to give up her whole lifestyle and home to be with Helena in London.\
Helena
Played by: Elizabeth Debicki. Helena is described as being rather tall in the original text, making Elizabeth Debicki a suitable actress for this role. Additionally, her appearance seems to amplify the “fierce but gullible” traits emphasized in this adaptation.
Description: Helena is in love with Hermia, and decides to escape to London because her parents, Theseus and Hippolyta, do not approve of her relationship. Before she and Hermia get on the train, she tells Lysander about their plan. During the train ride, Titania does not use any magic on her. As a result, she becomes angry at Hermia for abandoning her for Lysander. Once the plot is resolved, she remains in love with Hermia.
Motivations: Helena is motivated by her love for Hermia and desire to escape from her parents, Theseus and Hippolyta. However, she is also motivated by loyalty to her friends, which is why she tells Lysander about their plan and becomes angry when Hermia and Demetrius fall in love with him.
Dispositions: Helena is fierce and loyal, but also gullible and trusting.
Lysander
Played by: Napoleon Bonaparte. In this adaptation, Lysander is desperate and pitiful. Napoleon’s appearance and facial structure perfectly communicate these two character traits.
Description: Lysander is in love with Demetrius, but Demetrius doesn’t care for him. When he finds out about Hermia and Helena’s plan, he informs Demetrius, hoping to win his favor. When Demetrius follows Hermia onto the train, he tags along. When Titania makes both Hermia and Demetrius fall in love with him, he believes the other three lovers are teaming up to mock him. Once the plot is resolved, he remains in love with Demetrius.
Motivations: Lysander is motivated by his love for Demetrius; he will do anything for his love, even betraying his close friend Helena.
Dispositions: Lysander is desperate and somewhat manipulative. He is willing to sacrifice friendships to get what he wants.
Demetrius
Played by: Julius Caesar. In Ancient Rome Julius Caesar overturned existing political structures. That makes him an excellent symbolic choice for the lovers, who subvert the existing power structure between parents and children.
Description: Demetrius begins the play in love with Hermia. When Lysander informs him that she’s escaping with Helena, he follows them onto the train. Once the train stops, Titania makes him fall in love with Lysander, who thinks he’s mocking him. Unlike with Hermia, Titania does not undo the magic on Demetrius, leaving him in love with Lysander at the end of the film.
Motivations: Demetrius is motivated by his love for Hermia. He will follow her wherever she goes, stalking her onto the train after getting information from Lysander.
Dispositions: Demetrius is cunning and persistent in his chasing of Hermia.
Theseus
Played by: Jake Gyllenhaal. He has a regal, powerful appearance, which aligns with the message of Theseus representing power. The more powerful the rulers/parents appear, the more impactful their defeat becomes.
Description: Theseus is Helena’s father. He does not approve of Helena’s relationship with Hermia, and wants Helena to be in a relationship with either Demetrius or Lysander. He does not reappear in the film after the first act, as, in this adaptation, the four lovers do not return home.
Motivations: Theseus is a conservative and traditional father, and rejects the fact that his daughter is in love with a woman. He wants her to marry a man, be it Demetrius or Lysander, he doesn’t care.
Dispositions: Theseus is a homophobic and uncompassionate father. He cares about his daughter’s public image more than her happiness.
Hippolyta
Played by: Laura Dern. Hippolyta only has a minor role in this adaptation, and is intended to stand united with Theseus against their daughter. I chose Dern because she is a similar height to Jake Gyllenhaal, which helps them appear united when they appear together.
Description: Hippolyta plays only a minor role in this adaptation as Helena’s mother, since there is no wedding between Theseus and Hipployta in this adaptation. She is Theseus’s wife, and also disapproves of Helena’s relationship with Hermia.
Motivations: Hippolyta is motivated by the same homohoibic values as her husband, Thesues. She wants to end Hermia and Helena’s relationship at all costs, even if it destroys their familial relationship.
Dispositions: Hippolyta doesn’t have many lines, and is mostly just subservient to Theseus. She doesn’t aspire to her own hopes or dreams, and essentially just accompanies Theseus.
Egeus
Played by: Ian McKellan. Egeus is meant to representent traditional power roles in father-daughter relationships. McKellan’s age and appearance work in concert to amplify this representation.
Description: Egeus is Hermia’s father (her mother does not make an appearance). He is the oldest of the characters, extremely conservative, and despises the fact that Hermia is in love with Helena. He demands that Hermia end her relationship with Helena, and instead marry Lysander. He only makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the film, as this adaptation does not include any scenes with Egeus at the end of the story.
Motivations: Egeus, like Theseus and Hippolyta, does not approve of Hermia and Helena’s relationship. He is motivated by a desire to separate them in order to maintain his high status in his conservative social circles.
Dispositions: Egeus is a stern and strict father. He is extremely self-centered and egotistical.
Philostrate
Omitted for plot purposes. Since Theseus is no longer a ruler, it doesn’t make sense for him to have Philostrate as a servant.
Nick Bottom
Played by: Kevin Hart. Bottom is one of the primary sources of comedy in this play, and believe that Kevin Hart will be best equipped to utilize this major source of entertainment.
Description: Nick Bottom is the most important member of the Rude Mechanicals, and is a major source of humor throughout the play. From wanting to take on multiple roles to avoiding frightening the audience, he is shown, on several occasions, to be rather unintelligent and incompetent. During the train ride, Titania turns his head into a donkey head, and Oberon falls in love with him. He plays Pyramus in Pyramus and Thisbe.
Motivations: Nick Bottom is motivated to put on a good show due to his misplaced belief that the Rude Mechanicals are a competent theater company. He wants to impress an audience.
Dispositions: Bottom is overconfident but passionate and hard-working.
Peter Quince
Played by: Johnny Depp, early 20s. Johnny Depp just has an actor-like appearance. He will be well suited to play one of the actors in this adaptation.
Description: The leader of the Rude Mechanicals. He’s the most competent in the group, and has to try to organize the amateur actors into something presentable. He gets annoyed when the actors mess up their lines or don’t listen to him.
Motivations: Quince wants to avoid (or rather, minimize) the embarrassment he expects to come when the Rude Mechanicals put on their first public performance in London.
Dispositions: Being desperate to improve the company’s acting abilities, he is a strict and focused director. He does not tolerate many mistakes or distractions.
Francis Flute
Played by: Oliver Thorn. Like Johnny Depp, Oliver Thorn simply has an appearance that is suited for playing an actors, which is why he was chosen for this role. In truth, there is little difference between the minor roles in the Rude Mechanicals, so he could probably play any of them other than Bottom.
Description: Flute plays a minor role in the film, as a member of the Rude Mechanicals. Quince assigns him to play Thisbe, and this upsets him as he doesn’t want to play a female character.
Motivations: Flute doesn’t have much motivation of his own. Rather, he is mostly following along with whatever Quince instructs him to do.
Dispositions: Flute is docile and obedient, and, although he sometimes complains, he quickly accepts the role he is assigned.
Tom Snout
Played by: Miguel Herrán. His performance in Money Heist leads me to believe he is excellent at playing characters that are highly motivated and excitable but not necessarily competent. This is a great fit for the role of Snout in this film.
Description: Snout is another minor character and part of the Rude Mechanicals. Quince assigns him to play the wall through which Pyramus and Thisbe speak.
Motivations: Snout is motivated to put on a good show for the audience, despite recognizing that he is not a particularly skilled actor.
Dispositions: Snout is persevering and a hard-worker. However, he is a slow learner and has some difficulties while rehearsing.
Snug
Played by: Unidentified Early Modern European Peasant #1. Snug is a minor character with very few lines, so any Early Modern peasant should be able to play the role adequately.
Description: Snug is a minor character and part of the Rude Mechanicals. Quince assigns him to play the lion, since Snout says he’s not good at remembering or memorizing lines.
Motivations: Snug is motivated to minimize his role in the play, as he recognizes he’s not a great actor and wants to avoid being placed in a particularly difficult role.
Dispositions: Snug is calm and collected, and, unlike Bottom he is acutely aware of the reality of the company’s acting quality.
Robin Starveling
Played by: Unidentified Early Modern European Peasant #2. Starveling is a minor character with very few lines, so any Early Modern peasant should be able to play the role adequately.
Description: Starveling is a minor character and a member of the Rude Mechanicals. Quince assigns him to play Moonshine. He does little other than stand with a lantern to represent the moon.
Motivations: Starveling is a minor character, and is driven by wanting to satisfy both Quince and himself.
Dispositions: Starveling will generally do whatever he is told without much resistance.
Oberon
Played by: Oliver Chris. His performance in the National Theater Live adaptation of the play demonstrated that he is excellent at playing a powerful character, conveying a sense of self-importance through both verbal and nonverbal cues.
Description: Oberon is the owner of the rail transportation company. He is on the train when the rail workers decide to go on strike and stop the train. During this time, Titania makes him fall in love with Nick Bottom. He ultimately agrees to raise the workers’ wages, letting Titania remove the magic on him and allowing the train to continue to London.
Motivations: Oberon is driven by money. His drive to maximize the profit he can extract from his company is the root cause of the rail workers’ strike.
Dispositions: Oberon will sacrifice anything (workers’ rights, pride, his relationships, etc.) in order to extract more profit from his business. He is the quintessential greedy CEO.
Titania (Puck)
Played by: Sarah Hyland. In this adaptation, Titania takes the role of a leader fighting on behalf of those who cannot fight for themselves. In this sense, she’s rebellious and subverting the existing power dynamics. I believe that Sarah Highland best fits this role, as any audience could easily project this idea onto her.
Description: Titania (merged with Puck) is the leader of the rail workers’ union. When the workers first begin to strike, she demands that Oberon raise their wages. While the train is stopped, she makes both Demetrius and Hermia fall in love with Lysander. She also makes Oberon fall in love with Bottom, and turns Bottom’s head into a donkey head. Later, she reverses the magic on Bottom, Oberon, and Hermia, but leaves Demetrius in love with Lysander.
Motivations: Titania is motivated to improve union members’ working conditions and pay. She is a staunch defender of human rights and equal treatment of workers.
Dispositions: Titania will do whatever it takes (including morally questionable methods) to achieve her goals. She justifies this by believing it’s for the greater good of the many workers she represents and defends. She is mischievous and cunning.
Played by: Natalie Portman, age 19. Hermia is described as being short in the play, which means Natalie Portman aligns well with this role. Furthermore, her appearance closely resembles how I imagined Hermia to appear
Description: Hermia is in love with Helena. She hopes to escape to London together with Helena because her father, Egeus, is extremely conservative and does not approve of their relationship. However, her plans are ruined when she finds out that Demetrius and Lysander followed them onto the train. During the train ride, once the train is stopped by the labour union, Titania makes Hermia fall in love with Lysander. Once the plot is resolved, Hermia remains in love with Helena after Titania undoes the magic on Hermia.
Motivations: Hermia is motivated by her love for Helena and little else.
Dispositions: Hermia is confident and brave, and willing to give up her whole lifestyle and home to be with Helena in London.\
Helena
Played by: Elizabeth Debicki. Helena is described as being rather tall in the original text, making Elizabeth Debicki a suitable actress for this role. Additionally, her appearance seems to amplify the “fierce but gullible” traits emphasized in this adaptation.
Description: Helena is in love with Hermia, and decides to escape to London because her parents, Theseus and Hippolyta, do not approve of her relationship. Before she and Hermia get on the train, she tells Lysander about their plan. During the train ride, Titania does not use any magic on her. As a result, she becomes angry at Hermia for abandoning her for Lysander. Once the plot is resolved, she remains in love with Hermia.
Motivations: Helena is motivated by her love for Hermia and desire to escape from her parents, Theseus and Hippolyta. However, she is also motivated by loyalty to her friends, which is why she tells Lysander about their plan and becomes angry when Hermia and Demetrius fall in love with him.
Dispositions: Helena is fierce and loyal, but also gullible and trusting.
Lysander
Played by: Napoleon Bonaparte. In this adaptation, Lysander is desperate and pitiful. Napoleon’s appearance and facial structure perfectly communicate these two character traits.
Description: Lysander is in love with Demetrius, but Demetrius doesn’t care for him. When he finds out about Hermia and Helena’s plan, he informs Demetrius, hoping to win his favor. When Demetrius follows Hermia onto the train, he tags along. When Titania makes both Hermia and Demetrius fall in love with him, he believes the other three lovers are teaming up to mock him. Once the plot is resolved, he remains in love with Demetrius.
Motivations: Lysander is motivated by his love for Demetrius; he will do anything for his love, even betraying his close friend Helena.
Dispositions: Lysander is desperate and somewhat manipulative. He is willing to sacrifice friendships to get what he wants.
Demetrius
Played by: Julius Caesar. In Ancient Rome Julius Caesar overturned existing political structures. That makes him an excellent symbolic choice for the lovers, who subvert the existing power structure between parents and children.
Description: Demetrius begins the play in love with Hermia. When Lysander informs him that she’s escaping with Helena, he follows them onto the train. Once the train stops, Titania makes him fall in love with Lysander, who thinks he’s mocking him. Unlike with Hermia, Titania does not undo the magic on Demetrius, leaving him in love with Lysander at the end of the film.
Motivations: Demetrius is motivated by his love for Hermia. He will follow her wherever she goes, stalking her onto the train after getting information from Lysander.
Dispositions: Demetrius is cunning and persistent in his chasing of Hermia.
Theseus
Played by: Jake Gyllenhaal. He has a regal, powerful appearance, which aligns with the message of Theseus representing power. The more powerful the rulers/parents appear, the more impactful their defeat becomes.
Description: Theseus is Helena’s father. He does not approve of Helena’s relationship with Hermia, and wants Helena to be in a relationship with either Demetrius or Lysander. He does not reappear in the film after the first act, as, in this adaptation, the four lovers do not return home.
Motivations: Theseus is a conservative and traditional father, and rejects the fact that his daughter is in love with a woman. He wants her to marry a man, be it Demetrius or Lysander, he doesn’t care.
Dispositions: Theseus is a homophobic and uncompassionate father. He cares about his daughter’s public image more than her happiness.
Hippolyta
Played by: Laura Dern. Hippolyta only has a minor role in this adaptation, and is intended to stand united with Theseus against their daughter. I chose Dern because she is a similar height to Jake Gyllenhaal, which helps them appear united when they appear together.
Description: Hippolyta plays only a minor role in this adaptation as Helena’s mother, since there is no wedding between Theseus and Hipployta in this adaptation. She is Theseus’s wife, and also disapproves of Helena’s relationship with Hermia.
Motivations: Hippolyta is motivated by the same homohoibic values as her husband, Thesues. She wants to end Hermia and Helena’s relationship at all costs, even if it destroys their familial relationship.
Dispositions: Hippolyta doesn’t have many lines, and is mostly just subservient to Theseus. She doesn’t aspire to her own hopes or dreams, and essentially just accompanies Theseus.
Egeus
Played by: Ian McKellan. Egeus is meant to representent traditional power roles in father-daughter relationships. McKellan’s age and appearance work in concert to amplify this representation.
Description: Egeus is Hermia’s father (her mother does not make an appearance). He is the oldest of the characters, extremely conservative, and despises the fact that Hermia is in love with Helena. He demands that Hermia end her relationship with Helena, and instead marry Lysander. He only makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the film, as this adaptation does not include any scenes with Egeus at the end of the story.
Motivations: Egeus, like Theseus and Hippolyta, does not approve of Hermia and Helena’s relationship. He is motivated by a desire to separate them in order to maintain his high status in his conservative social circles.
Dispositions: Egeus is a stern and strict father. He is extremely self-centered and egotistical.
Philostrate
Omitted for plot purposes. Since Theseus is no longer a ruler, it doesn’t make sense for him to have Philostrate as a servant.
Nick Bottom
Played by: Kevin Hart. Bottom is one of the primary sources of comedy in this play, and believe that Kevin Hart will be best equipped to utilize this major source of entertainment.
Description: Nick Bottom is the most important member of the Rude Mechanicals, and is a major source of humor throughout the play. From wanting to take on multiple roles to avoiding frightening the audience, he is shown, on several occasions, to be rather unintelligent and incompetent. During the train ride, Titania turns his head into a donkey head, and Oberon falls in love with him. He plays Pyramus in Pyramus and Thisbe.
Motivations: Nick Bottom is motivated to put on a good show due to his misplaced belief that the Rude Mechanicals are a competent theater company. He wants to impress an audience.
Dispositions: Bottom is overconfident but passionate and hard-working.
Peter Quince
Played by: Johnny Depp, early 20s. Johnny Depp just has an actor-like appearance. He will be well suited to play one of the actors in this adaptation.
Description: The leader of the Rude Mechanicals. He’s the most competent in the group, and has to try to organize the amateur actors into something presentable. He gets annoyed when the actors mess up their lines or don’t listen to him.
Motivations: Quince wants to avoid (or rather, minimize) the embarrassment he expects to come when the Rude Mechanicals put on their first public performance in London.
Dispositions: Being desperate to improve the company’s acting abilities, he is a strict and focused director. He does not tolerate many mistakes or distractions.
Francis Flute
Played by: Oliver Thorn. Like Johnny Depp, Oliver Thorn simply has an appearance that is suited for playing an actors, which is why he was chosen for this role. In truth, there is little difference between the minor roles in the Rude Mechanicals, so he could probably play any of them other than Bottom.
Description: Flute plays a minor role in the film, as a member of the Rude Mechanicals. Quince assigns him to play Thisbe, and this upsets him as he doesn’t want to play a female character.
Motivations: Flute doesn’t have much motivation of his own. Rather, he is mostly following along with whatever Quince instructs him to do.
Dispositions: Flute is docile and obedient, and, although he sometimes complains, he quickly accepts the role he is assigned.
Tom Snout
Played by: Miguel Herrán. His performance in Money Heist leads me to believe he is excellent at playing characters that are highly motivated and excitable but not necessarily competent. This is a great fit for the role of Snout in this film.
Description: Snout is another minor character and part of the Rude Mechanicals. Quince assigns him to play the wall through which Pyramus and Thisbe speak.
Motivations: Snout is motivated to put on a good show for the audience, despite recognizing that he is not a particularly skilled actor.
Dispositions: Snout is persevering and a hard-worker. However, he is a slow learner and has some difficulties while rehearsing.
Snug
Played by: Unidentified Early Modern European Peasant #1. Snug is a minor character with very few lines, so any Early Modern peasant should be able to play the role adequately.
Description: Snug is a minor character and part of the Rude Mechanicals. Quince assigns him to play the lion, since Snout says he’s not good at remembering or memorizing lines.
Motivations: Snug is motivated to minimize his role in the play, as he recognizes he’s not a great actor and wants to avoid being placed in a particularly difficult role.
Dispositions: Snug is calm and collected, and, unlike Bottom he is acutely aware of the reality of the company’s acting quality.
Robin Starveling
Played by: Unidentified Early Modern European Peasant #2. Starveling is a minor character with very few lines, so any Early Modern peasant should be able to play the role adequately.
Description: Starveling is a minor character and a member of the Rude Mechanicals. Quince assigns him to play Moonshine. He does little other than stand with a lantern to represent the moon.
Motivations: Starveling is a minor character, and is driven by wanting to satisfy both Quince and himself.
Dispositions: Starveling will generally do whatever he is told without much resistance.
Oberon
Played by: Oliver Chris. His performance in the National Theater Live adaptation of the play demonstrated that he is excellent at playing a powerful character, conveying a sense of self-importance through both verbal and nonverbal cues.
Description: Oberon is the owner of the rail transportation company. He is on the train when the rail workers decide to go on strike and stop the train. During this time, Titania makes him fall in love with Nick Bottom. He ultimately agrees to raise the workers’ wages, letting Titania remove the magic on him and allowing the train to continue to London.
Motivations: Oberon is driven by money. His drive to maximize the profit he can extract from his company is the root cause of the rail workers’ strike.
Dispositions: Oberon will sacrifice anything (workers’ rights, pride, his relationships, etc.) in order to extract more profit from his business. He is the quintessential greedy CEO.
Titania (Puck)
Played by: Sarah Hyland. In this adaptation, Titania takes the role of a leader fighting on behalf of those who cannot fight for themselves. In this sense, she’s rebellious and subverting the existing power dynamics. I believe that Sarah Highland best fits this role, as any audience could easily project this idea onto her.
Description: Titania (merged with Puck) is the leader of the rail workers’ union. When the workers first begin to strike, she demands that Oberon raise their wages. While the train is stopped, she makes both Demetrius and Hermia fall in love with Lysander. She also makes Oberon fall in love with Bottom, and turns Bottom’s head into a donkey head. Later, she reverses the magic on Bottom, Oberon, and Hermia, but leaves Demetrius in love with Lysander.
Motivations: Titania is motivated to improve union members’ working conditions and pay. She is a staunch defender of human rights and equal treatment of workers.
Dispositions: Titania will do whatever it takes (including morally questionable methods) to achieve her goals. She justifies this by believing it’s for the greater good of the many workers she represents and defends. She is mischievous and cunning.