Who should play YOUR favorite detective?
Christmas came early for mystery fans in the form of an announcement that Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes has signed on to adapt Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti series.
For those who don’t know this series, the Deadline article about the adaptation informs us
Leon’s Brunetti franchise, about fictional detective Guido Brunetti, launched with the 1992 novel Death at La Fenice. The book series, noted for its characters and mysteries as well as its authentic portrayal of ordinary Venetian life, has grown to 33 tomes (and counting) over the past 32 years, most recently A Refiner’s Fire,released earlier this year. It was named as one of the Best Mystery Books of 2024 by The Washington Post.
In our Fans of Leon household, we have read every single book in the series. Ok, that’s only partly a lie. My husband finished the most recent entry (A Refiner’s Fire mentioned above), and that very book is sitting on my bedside table for me to treat myself to as my reward for turning in Fall semester grades on Monday night. That’s how timely this Leon-Fellowes news was for us!
As I wrote about in an earlier post, Donna Leon mentioned at a talk we went to that (ok, now I’m just quoting myself) she “finds vexing the German language TV adaptations of her long-running Commissario Guido Brunetti series which not only had German dialogue and sensibilities but also German fashion and—she seemed particularly annoyed at this last bit—German haircuts.”
I absolutely agree, at least about the haircut of the first German actor cast to play Brunetti. It’s also true that my mind’s eye had already made some casting decisions. Years ago—can it really be decades now?—I lamented that my choice to play Guido Brunetti had already aged out of the role. Seriously: Think about how great a younger Giancarlo Giannini would have been as the Venetian detective, married to English professor (Henry James specialist) Paola, herself the daughter of a count.
Savvy, literate, sharp, compassionate, originally of humble origins but now dining at his in-laws’ palazzo wearing cashmere sweaters and well-cut suits.
Coincidentally (or not?), the picture above (pulled from Wikipedia) is of Giancarlo Giannini at the 49th Venice International Film Festival in 1992—the year that Donna Leon’s Guido Brunetti novel debuted.
Alas, since Giancarlo Giannini is now 82—and thus closer to the age of Brunetti’s aristocratic father-in-law—we’ll have to scout around for a different actor, one who can pull off looking early 40s perhaps?
That leads me to wonder about all the other series detectives who haven’t yet been adapted into a TV or film franchise, or ones who deserve a new adaptation. David Suchet and Joan Hickson are just about everyone’s favorite Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, right? Titus Welliver made a convincing Harry Bosch (though I had pictured Bosch being taller), and I have also mentioned that Bertie Carvel was pretty good as Commander Adam Dalgliesh. On the other hand, we could do with slicker and more recent adaptions of Inspector Wexford and Inspector Alleyn. And V.I. Warshawski, and Kinsey Millhone.
So, who do YOU want to be cast to play your favorite detective?
I also just finished A Refiner's Fire and enjoyed it, although I must confess that I don't "get" the title. As for who should play Brunetti . . . Hmmm. How old will Fellowes make his children Rafi and Chiara? They have been in their late teens for much of the book series. Beyond that question, my only vote is against Kenneth Branagh, who made a great Wallander but could never convince me that he's Italian.