harry potter

Life Lessons from Harry Potter

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I was on my way to work a few weeks ago, the traffic gods mercifully smiling down on me (they don’t always), when the driver in front of me suddenly swerved to avoid something in the middle of the road. In a few seconds, it was my turn to veer sideways as I came upon a beautiful tabby cat lying motionless across the center line. Dead. My heart cracked a little.

Then, right as I passed the animal, just as he was leaving my line of sight, came the slightest twitch at the tip of his tail.

It took my brain several seconds to process what I’d seen, and another one to slam on the brakes.

So there I was, stopped on the thankfully not very busy highway, the cat by this point looking distant in my rear-view mirror. I could see no further movement from the animal, and I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I’d seen it in the first place.

For an instant, indecision pulled me in two different directions:

Option One: Assume the cat was already dead. The slight tail-twitch I saw could’ve easily just been the wind ruffling the fur.

This notion held appeal for numerous reasons. It would mean the cat was no longer in pain. It would mean me being on time to work, and not having to make any difficult, complicated decisions.

And then there was Option Two:

Go check on the cat, see for sure if it was alive or dead, and then deal with the situation accordingly. If it had passed away, at least I could move the body off to the side of the road. But if it was alive, then things would get complicated. Messy. I would have to get involved.

All of these thoughts flashed through my brain in the span of a blink, maybe two. And then came the words, the ones that always come at times like these. The quote I’ve repeated in my head more than any other:

“Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort.” ~Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I was already making my U-turn before the old wizard’s voice had even finished speaking.

I raced back to the cat and put my emergency blinkers on. The rest happened in an anxious blur:

The cat was still alive but in very bad shape. I pulled some gloves on and opened the back hatch of the car. Another driver stopped, also on his way to work, and I felt a rush of gratitude not to be completely alone in the situation anymore. I told him my plan to take the cat to the vet, and he thought I had the situation well in hand (I didn’t feel so sure, but I appreciated the vote of confidence).

I carefully wrapped the cat in an old jacket and laid him on a blanket in the back of the car, apologizing profusely for any further pain I was causing. I called in to work and left a message for the administrators, relaying what had happened. I probably talked a bit louder than necessary in my adrenaline-charged state but hopefully I didn’t yell.

Then we were pulling into a driveway to turn around, and zooming off to the nearest vet.

It took less than ten minutes. As soon as I arrived, I rushed around back to check on the cat. He didn’t look like he was still breathing, but the vet kindly let me bring him in just to double check. Sadly, he had passed on. I wasn’t surprised, but still felt a prickle of tears and a stab of grief for the person whose cat was not coming home that night, or ever again.

The vet promised to check the cat for a microchip and notify the owner if one was found. If not, they would take care of his remains with their stray cat cremation service. I left the jacket with him – a tangible sign that someone had cared for him at the very end – and slowly made my way back to the car and onward to work.

I was only fifteen minutes late – a small miracle, considering – and everyone was very kind and supportive about my decision to help the cat. Most of them probably thought I just naturally did the right thing, that I didn’t even consider doing anything else.

I wish I could say I’m that good of a person, but I’m not. The reason I love that quote from Dumbledore is because it helps me easily distill a hard decision down to its bare essence:

Is this the easy choice, or the right choice? It kinda sucks how often those two are not one and the same.

Sit by the TV with a beer and veg out after a long day at work, or drag yourself off the couch, inject some energy into your voice, and read the kids a bedtime story despite barely being able to keep your eyes open.

Throw your empty yogurt cup in the trash or rinse it out, crush it, and put it with the recycling.

Easy vs. Right. Whether a big decision or a tiny one, the advice works just as well.

Even with the choices laid bare, I still don’t always make the right one. The easy choice is often deliciously tempting because, well, it’s easy. And like I said, I’m not that good of a person. But with a little help from my favorite book series, I am trying to be a better one.

Recasting Roles Through the Years

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How I Met Nathan Fillion

“The part of Joey Buchanan is now being played by Nathan Fillion.”

I remember that moment so clearly, sitting there watching One Life To Live with my mom. Being diehard soap fans, we were more than familiar with recasts – they happened about as often as hummingbirds flap their wings (i.e., constantly). And unless you kept up with Soap Opera Digest or one of the other magazines, you could really be caught off guard. Sometimes it hurt – a beloved favorite suddenly gone, and a new face thrust in front of us with the expectation that viewers should simply accept the change and adjust. Other times, a role had been recast so many times, or the character just wasn’t that memorable to begin with, so a new actor meant nothing aside from a brief eye roll (Another recast? Oy.).

OLTL’s Joey Buchanan fell into the second category. As viewers, we didn’t really care about the character…until that fateful day mentioned above. Right from the first scene, Nathan had his hooks in us. Joey’s playful interactions with his family members felt funny and warm and natural. Mom and I looked at one another and decided, “We like him.”

Of course, little did we know that Nathan Fillion would go on to become the very definition of a megastar, ruling genre television and police procedurals alike with starring roles in Firefly, Castle, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, The Rookie, and many more. He also voices the character of Octopus on my current favorite series, Resident Alien (if you haven’t seen it yet, go stream it on Peacock right away!). Nathan is the perfect example of how a talented actor can make a previously bland character into one audiences can’t get enough of.

Watch Nathan’s first scene as Joey, courtesy of Jasmine on YouTube:

Lois & Clark (& Jimmy 2.0)

Mom and I had a much stronger – and more negative – reaction when we heard that same cheesy voiceover announcing that the character of Jimmy Olsen on Lois & Clark would now be played by Justin Whalin. While recasts are a dime a dozen on daytime television, they are far less frequent when you enter the realm of prime time and movies. So, no eye rolls this time. We were attached to Michael Landes’ portrayal of Jimmy and didn’t understand the change. My mom theorized that Michael looked a little too similar to Dean Cain, who was playing Clark Kent. A brief internet search indicates she may have been right (go, Mom!), but it does raise the question: if he looked too much like Clark’s little bro, why cast him in the first place? It’s not like Michael suddenly started resembling Dean. Maybe there were other reasons we’ll never hear about.

In any case, the Jimmy Olsen recast was a rough one. All recasts take the viewer out of the reality of the fictional world, reminding us that we are just watching a show or movie. And since this was my favorite show – the marvelous escape that helped me cope with the real stuff going on in my life – I definitely didn’t appreciate the interruption. Justin (AKA Jimmy 2.0) acknowledged on the special features portion of one of the L&C DVD sets that he didn’t get the warmest welcome from fans, receiving a lot of negative letters in the first part of his initial season. However, by about halfway through, the tides were turning and he was getting about a 50-50 mix of good and bad fan mail.

Personally, I think I started to warm up to him around episode seven, “That Old Gang of Mine.” Jimmy’s heartbroken grief after Clark Kent is “murdered” in that ep really tugged on my teenage heartstrings. If he was that devastated after losing a friend, my young mind reasoned, then he must be a pretty good guy. 🙂

Iron Man and Rhodey: The Missing Bond

Unlike my initial dismay over the new Jimmy on L&C, the recast of James Rhodes in Iron Man 2 was just plain confusing for me. Admittedly, I am not great with names, so it took me a beat (and a rewatch of the first film) to realize that this newcomer, Don Cheadle, was supposed to be playing the same character that had previously been portrayed by Terrence Howard. Another rocky transition for me, since I thought Terrence was great in Iron Man. The writers really took the time to show the bond between Rhodey and Tony in that initial movie, and with a new actor, the relationship between the two characters just didn’t feel the same. Of course, Don Cheadle ROCKS as War Machine, so he eventually won me over, but if I were a writer working on that franchise (I wish, LOL!), I think I would have added a bonding scene between Tony and Rhodey 2.0 early in Iron Man 2 to help audiences get over the hump and begin to form that connection to the new actor.

A Tale of Three Carlys

When it comes to recasts, it’s cool to acknowledge the different strengths each actor brings to the role, rather than just trying to forget any previous incarnations of the character ever existed. Michael Landes was charming and hilarious as Jimmy, while Justin Whalin was sweet, sincere, and boyishly innocent. Terrence Howard’s Rhodey had a memorable bond with Tony Stark, while Don Cheadle’s version kicked all kinds of butt fighting side-by-side with Iron Man against Whiplash (and added some great humor when his suit’s tech malfunctioned).

General Hospital did something really interesting a few years back, where they paid homage to all of the actresses to ever play the role of Carly through the years, bringing back each performer for a single, memorable scene alongside costar Maurice Benard. It was a little bit weird, but also a really nice touch to see a show so boldly acknowledge (rather than shy away from) the uncomfortable but sometimes necessary issue of recasts.

In Loving Memory

Recasts can happen due to a variety of circumstances – financial disagreements, personal issues, an actor no longer being available – but the very worst reason is, of course, that the actor has passed away in real life. Such was the case with Michael Gambon replacing Richard Harris as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies. I loved Harris’s Dumbledore for the sweet, grandfatherly affection he showed Harry, and the sparkle in his eye. Gambon brought more quirkiness and mystery to the role. Together, they made the perfect wise old wizard.

While Dumbledore had to be recast for the pre-written storyline to work, there are other times when replacing a deceased actor just wouldn’t feel right. After Christopher Reeve passed away, Smallville decided to have his memorable and magnetic character, Dr. Swann, also perish. The grief on the show mirrored our grief in real life. The same goes for the character of Dr. Kroger on Monk. After the loss of actor Stanley Kamel, Monk paid tribute to its fallen cast member in the best way possible – by showing Adrian Monk grapple, and eventually make peace, with the death of his beloved psychiatrist, Dr. Kroger.

Superman and Lois (and Jon Kent 2.0)

Over the summer, while searching for the premiere date of my other current favorite show, Superman and Lois, I stumbled across the news that Jon Kent would no longer be played by Jordan Elsass. The news was upsetting, but at least I had ample time to adjust before the show actually began airing its third season. Still, I was nervous as I sat down to watch the premiere. Elsass was memorable, and I could tell from the amount of fanfiction written about his version of the character that he really made an impact on viewers.

So far, despite my reservations, I am happy with how Superman and Lois has handled the difficult situation of replacing one of their main actors. They didn’t shove the change in our faces, but they didn’t sweep it under the rug either (and very thankfully, they did not make that super cheesy voiceover announcement!). Over the course of S3’s first several episodes, we are gradually getting to know Michael Bishop’s version of Jon. I feel like he has the right vibe for the character. He’s sweet and earnest, funny yet serious when he needs to be. As Nathan Fillion showed us almost twenty-nine years ago, recasts do not have to be horrible. As Justin Whalin, Michael Gambon, and others have demonstrated through the years, a new actor can make a role special in their own way, without taking away from what came before. I’ll always look back fondly on what Elsass brought to the character of Jon Kent, and I can’t wait to see how Bishop grows into his own version of the fair-haired Kent brother.