Archetypal Casting – the results are in!

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I often use movie and television references in my consultations.  They are one of the best ways to really see archetypal patterns in action.  We all have an instinctual sense of archetypes and can usually spot them pretty quickly – especially when they are on screen.

To make my point, a few months ago I set up a handful of polls asking readers to cast actors into roles based on archetypes.  I had a feeling that the majority of respondents were going to choose the most appropriate actor for the archetypal role.  If I was wrong, then I lose the bet with one of my clients and I would have had roasted wool hat for dinner.  Not to gloat, but I was right! All of the actors that I felt were far and above the best choice for the role based on their archetypal range were cast also by over 200 readers over a three month period.   Some of you wanted to know what my client had to do should he lose the bet and well,   I think it’s fair to say that I am now in possession of a very nice bottle of wine from his collection.

The results from the Archetypal Casting, chosen by readers with over 200 votes May 2010-July 2010:

Who you cast as the Damsel in distress?
Kirsten Dunst 72%
Lucy Liu 16%
Uma Thurman 13%

Who would you cast as the Court Jester (Fool)?
Will Ferrell 97%
Liam Neeson 3%
Daniel Craig 0%

Who would you cast as the King?
Sean Connery 91%
Kevin Costner 6%
Robin Williams 3%

Who would you cast in the role of the Evil Wizard?
Gary Oldman 91%
Tom Hanks 6%
Will Smith 3%

Who would you cast as Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom?
Julianne Moore 83%
Lisa Kudrow 11%
Sarah Jessica Parker 6%

Who would you cast as the Femme Fatale?
Angelina Jolie 95%
Meg Ryan 3%
Resse Whiterspoon 3%