I'd actually prefer if they were fans so they can push back on bullshit their character wouldn't do. Henry Cavill is a huge Witcher fan and he absolutely killed it as geralt, and when he left the series over creative differences, I knew it wouldn't be worth watching anymore. Too many directors think they can diverge from the source material and not piss people off.

I mean obviously it's best if the actual creator is involved in the process, but dedicated fans are a good guardrail too.

[–] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

That makes sense for characters in shows or movies adapted from books or games or existing franchises with established fandoms. My comment pertains to new characters that aren’t established like that, so actors have the job of developing the character themselves rather than conforming to a pre-existing character.

These are very different skillsets for an actor and I would consider it a casting mistake to choose an actor who specializes in one style to play a role meant for the other, and vice versa.