Empire has learned today that Kristen Scott Thomas has joined the cast of The Golden Compass. The British actress will voice Stelmaria, the daemon of Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig). We have also had it confirmed by director Chris Weitz that Kathy Bates will voice Hester, the daemon of Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott); Freddie Highmore will voice Pantalaimon, Lyra's (Dakota Blue Richards) daemon; and Ian McKellen is the new voice of Bear King Iorek Byrnison. The latter role had been voiced by newcomer Nonso Anozie, but New Line wanted a bigger name for the part.
"It was a studio decision...You can understand why you would cast Ian McKellen for anything," Weitz told us. "But letting go of Nonso was one of the most painful experiences on this movie for me. I need to say about Nonso that he is one of the most promising and soulful young actors I have encountered in England and I’ve worked here for quite a bit now and he’s actually in the next Mike Leigh...But it was, uh, that was kind of a dark day for me. I kinda wanna go out of my way to point out how much I love Nonso’s work. And that’s that".
As much as we feel sorry for Anozie missing out on his big break, these all seem like excellent choices. Scott Thomas has the right cutglass tones for the imperious Stelmaria; Highmore has the determined sweetness needed for Lyra's best friend; Kathy Bates is just 'down on the Prairie' enough for Hester; and, really, what can't McKellen do?
What do you think?
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