‘Little House on the Prairie’ the motion picture – who would you want to play the Ingalls family?
The first family of the frontier may be getting a trip to the big screen.
Deadline reported Monday that Sony Pictures was looking to acquire the rights to Little House on the Prairie. The celebrated series of books was turned into a wildly popular TV series in the 1970s into the 1980s, and was also a miniseries in 2005.
With a possible big screen treatment comes the potential for big name stars. So, if the powers that be in Hollywood are reading, we have a few ideas of who they should pick to take on the iconic roles of the Ingalls family, along with the other memorable residents of Walnut Grove:
Laura Ingalls – Chloe Moretz
Melissa Gilbert was charming, adorable and brave in the pivotal role of Laura Ingalls – Chloe Moretz is one of the most talent young actresses working today, and brings with her the right kind of beauty, talent and sincerity that could capture the part just right
Charles Ingalls – Matt Damon
Michael Landon played Charles Ingalls in the TV series – Matt Damon would be a natural fit for the part on the big screen
Caroline Ingalls – Christina Hendricks
Karen Grassle was the matriarch of the Ingalls family on TV – Christina Hendricks has the down-home beauty to serve as Caroline Ingalls, but would also bring some much-needed sexuality to the role
Mary Ingalls – Jennifer Lawrence
Mary Ingalls (played by blue-eyed beauty Melissa Sue Anderson) is the strong-willed eldest sibling of the Ingalls clan – Jennifer Lawrence can express both strength and wisdom with her sultry voice and subtle beauty
Carrie Ingalls – Emily Alyn Lind
The youngest member of the Ingalls family, Carrie, was played by twins Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush – Emily Alyn Lind delivered a strong, charming performance in ‘Won’t Back Down’ making her an actress worth championing
Harriet Oleson – Kathy Bates
‘Little House on the Prairie”s resident villain, played with perfect pitch by Katherine MacGregor – Kathy Bates has the perfect balance of biting wit, cutting glare and sympathetic charm to make the role come alive
Nels Oleson – Bill Murray
Richard Bull played Nels Oleson to perfect as the often tortured husband to Harriet – Bill Murray has the presence and charm to make that role his own
Nellie Oleson – Hayden Panettiere
Alison Arngrim is spot-on perfect as the spoiled brat Nellie Oleson – Hayden Panettiere has the perfect mix of on screen sass and beauty to deliver in the role
Willie Oleson – Joel Courtney
Jonathan Gilbert gave Willie Oleson life on TV – Joel Courtney could make the role into something more, if given the chance
Dr. Hiram Baker – Jeff Bridges
Kevin Hagen made Dr. Hiram Baker the down-home country doctor worth watching – Jeff Bridges could bring life and depth to the role in his sleep
Albert Quinn Ingalls – Jaden Smith
Matthew Laborteaux was both annoying and charming as the Ingalls’ adopted son who often got into trouble, Albert – Bringing in Jaden Smith could add some much needed ethnicity to the story, which is over-populated with white faces, but also add some interesting dynamics to the family tale
Isaiah Edwards – Liev Schreiber
Victor French was brilliant as Isaiah, the troubled yet close friend of Charles Ingalls – Liev Schreiber would wonderfully capture the role with a mix of strong confidence with a dark past
Reverend Robert Alden – Morgan Freeman
Dabbs Greer wonderfully brought some spirit to the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ series – Morgan Freeman could easily make a small role into a commanding presence
8 responses to “We Cast This Movie! ‘Little House on the Prairie’”
Sohaila
If the picture was made at the same time of the series with the same actors, it would make sense. At that era, this series had its own type of charm. The whole family left whatever they were doing and gathered to watch this together. It would not had been so successful as only a movie in 70s either. Both Waltons and The little House on the Prarie were made at the time of energy crisis of 70s aiming to emphasize money did not matter and you could still feel content with the love of family and simple active life; showing business people a tad superficial. All has changed now and programmes like Apprentice and Big Brother promoted selfishness and greed since start of new millinium.
I don’t mind most of the replacements but I’d hate to see Bill Murray as Nels, Matt Damon as Charles, Jayden Smith as Albert & Morgan Freeman as reverent Alden..
These are all terribly annoying (Bill, Matt, Jayden) and/or terribly bad actors (Jayden & Matt) except for Morgan Freeman, but I still think their could be a better fitting actor such as Kevin Spacey.
Yeah, he’s right. The names are wrong for who played Caroline Ingalls.
Karen Grassle played Caroline Ingalls.
Melissa Sue Anderson played Mary Ingalls.
It says Melissa played the role of Caroline, which she did not. Karen did.
The pictures above Melissa Sue Anderson, Karen Grassle) don’t go with the correct names of characters. Is any of this “information”–or just speculation?
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