page_title: Pilot (V)
section_title: Casting
hierarchical_section_title: Pilot (V) / Production / Casting
caption_attribution_description: English: Elizabeth Mitchell at the 2010 Comic Con in San Diego Deutsch: Elizabeth Mitchell auf der Comic Con 2010 in San Diego
context_page_description: "Pilot" is the series premiere of the 2009 reimagining of the 1983 miniseries V created by Kenneth Johnson. The episode's teleplay was written by Scott Peters, with story credit going to Johnson and Peters. Yves Simoneau directed the episode, which originally aired in the United States on ABC on November 3, 2009. The episode sees spaceships appear over 29 of the world's major cities. Though the alien "Visitors" claim to come in peace, it transpires that they have been infiltrating the planet for decades, and are planning on enslaving the human species.
  Parallels have been drawn between the Visitors and US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, though Peters and co-producer Jeffrey Bell refute that they were intentional. Bell feels that while the original series was more of a military show with a clear enemy, the reimagining focuses more on the paranoia of not knowing who can be trusted. The episode incorporates aspects of the original series, including the Visitors' giant spaceships, but is quick to reveal the Visitors' true motivations, as Peters felt awareness of the original story was already high.
context_section_description: The cast of V features a number of actors from other science-fiction series, including Lost, Firefly and Smallville. Peters has stated that the casting of so many actors from a science-fiction background was coincidental, explaining: "Obviously, we went for the best actors we could possibly find. It's a nice bonus that a lot of these folks have appeared in genre shows in the past, but it was not designed that way. We also wanted to make sure that as we moved forward, we honoured and respected the characters and the themes that the (original) show envisioned, while introducing brand new characters and brand new themes that make sense in a post-9/11 world." Mitchell was a fan of the original series as a child, recalling: "I liked the escape of it; I liked the entertainment of it. It was a fun night for me. I was allowed to watch an hour of television with my parents, and we made a kind of celebration of it. I hope that other teenagers will do that with their parents with this show." Mitchell's role in V sees her play an FBI agent with traits traditionally assigned to males. She commented: "I like playing a traditional hero. I don't think I've ever done it before. Sigourney Weaver said she always chooses male roles because they are meatier." Mitchell characterizes Erica as having "a little bit of a hero complex", but "her joy and her love and her true affection is with her son, and the fact that he is in imminent danger (makes it) fun to play."
  Fifty to sixty actresses auditioned for the role of Anna. Baccarin was initially rejected following her audition, as Peters did not believe she had the right look for the role. He reconsidered, however, and believes that Baccarin brings a seriousness and "commanding presence" to the part. Baccarin has said of her role: "being, I guess, the face of what people want to see... I think there's an aspect of politicians: You need to embody what everybody wants to see, and at the same time you have your own agenda." Laura Vandervoort plays the Visitor Lisa. Vandervoort is unaware of Lisa's ultimate agenda, which she believes makes the creative process more exciting. She explained: "My direction is to play her as honestly as possible, so I'm playing her as a human with a secret. I'm playing a young 17-year-old who is possibly in love."
  Scott Wolf spoke of his role as journalist Chad Decker: "Part of the fun will be that relationship between his ambition and his journalistic integrity." David Richmond-Peck who plays Georgie has deemed his character: "A really dark, multi-layered complex character with a past. It's an extremely demanding role because of the weight this character carries. Even just doing a scene in an office, at the end of the day your neck is cramped up — to maintain that intensity in the performance is an extreme amount of mental and physical work even while standing still. You’ve got to have that on you at all times." Joel Gretsch was cast as Catholic priest Jack Landry. The character was originally scripted as being much younger, in his late twenties to early thirties. When the production team cast Mitchell as Erica, they began to consider making Jack "a little bit more man's man", and cast Gretsch in the role when he coincidentally contacted Peters immediately after this alteration had been made. Peters characterized Jack's motivation in the pilot episode as attempting to reconcile the reality of arriving spaceships with his religious beliefs, finding his faith shaken.
caption: Elizabeth Mitchell plays Erica Evans, a "traditional hero"[5]
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