Screenwriting : I aim to someday write a script with characters that Natalie Dormer or Lupita Nyong'o would be interested to play. by Alexandr Khlopenko

I always have a few actors in mind, The script I'm writing now can be played by Will Smith, Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton or Ben Foster. I switch them out regularly just for the hell of it. It's a fun thing to think about.

I have a script that I wish Ben Stiller and Jack Black would play the leads. I wish it could be a reality. Most of the time though I have made up faces playing the characters.

No. I think of the characters.

When writing Time Bandits, Terry Gilliam specifically referenced Sean Connery in the script - something about a guy of Sean Connery's stature. Sean Connery ended up playing the part. Never say never. :-)

Jack Black. Jack? Are you reading????

I'd say it's fine for characterization of speech and mannerisms. However, I'd guess that the more you write characters specific and unique to one certain individual actor, the less playable the character would be by other actors. So, I'd say it's fine to write with a specific actor in mind, but don't write anything that only that one, specific actor can play. The hottest stars are booked years in advance on projects, especially now. You want your characters to be playable by anyone who is a good enough actor, even though the character was inspired by one particular actor.

I once had a particularly tough scene to figure out. I thought of a specific actor and how he would react if he was acting in it. It was the only time I thought of how a specific actor would act it out, and have since rewritten that scene to make it more like the character. Earlier in my quest for a writing career, I would combine aspects of people I knew to make an original character, and I suppose you could do that with actors. But as I rewrote my scripts, the characters developed their own personalities. But I suppose if a script get sold, it can be rewritten to be more suitable to a specific actor. And I do have ideas of who I'd like to play my characters, I just don't write it that way.

also I meant that these two particular actresses have constantly stressed that they take roles that challenge them, so after watching a better half of their filmography, I can get the idea of what might challenge some seasoned actresses/actors.

I use Clooney all the time. Two schools of thought: a) helps you picture and write the character, b) prevents you from writing an original character.

Nope. I consider characters themselves, working from imagination. :)

Guys I don't think picturing a certain actor is going to translate much to the screenplay and cause it to be restrictive in regards to casting. It doesnt impact on the story at all. I'll wager other people who read such scripts don't end up picturing the same actor as the writer did. So it really doesnt matter if people imagine an actor or not.

I don't think that writing to a face would alter the story much. Actors are supposed to be able to act (see that?) to fit the character's...character. I would take the Fifty Shades casting debacle for example (sadly). I think Ian Somerhalder was a big pick because of his vampire character in The Vampire Diaries. His character there is very much resemblant of the possessive Grey. And much forward, as Grey. It's all about the person and who they see when they read/write. I don't think it matters. Whoever comes along and does a good enough/best portrayal is going to get the part. The only thing you can hope is that they do the character justice.

I will differ with others here and say that picturing an actor, or a combination of actors in your head when working on a character can help you find that character's voice. I borrow and mix together traits from people around me to form my characters, why not actors? It can help you find their unique voice so your characters don't all sound like you.

I use the actor as a tool. If I say a piece of dialogue I wrote out loud and it doesn't sound right, I ask Tom Cruise, Ryan Gosling and Anthony Mackie what it sounds like. If it doesn't sound right coming out of their mouths, then I'll probably change it. I'm not creating a character around the actor, but I'm using the actor to guide me in the right direction every once in a while.

@JPC - Nicely said. Finding a character's voice is like listening to the uniqueness of a musical instrument. When I hear just a few notes from The Edge or Eric Clapton's guitar or Paul Desmond's saxophone, I know the identity of the 'speaker'. Over the course of your script, each character should have a unique voice like that, however you may build it.

I've pictured a specific actor playing a character I'm developing, but that's just to help me conceptualize what that person is like. Sometimes I even put a picture of a typical reader or viewer in front of me to get a feel of who I'm talking to.

As well as being a literary editor, I also write lyrics and songs, my musical taste is pretty eclectic and depending on the style of lyric/song I'm writing, depends on who I imagine singing them. I ask myself if certain artists would like whatever it is I'm doing and if the answer comes back to me "yes" then great... if not... re-write :)