Since January 26th is canonically Esmeralda’s birthday (from the novel) let’s do a Hypothetical casting for the dancer herself.
Very often when I do these Fan-cast posts I tend to ground them in some kind already establish movie take for an adaptation. Like either a Live action Disney version (which is selfed) or Notre Dame de Paris (which is never going to happen). But for this post let’s just take more by the novel interpretation and consider Bruna Marquezine for the role of Esmeralda.
A Lovely Leading Lady
Typically with film versions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Esmeralda’s characterization is re-contextualizes so that she is a 100% Romani. This both simplifies her backstory as well removes very harmful stereotypes from the story.
This means for casting actresses an actress should at least be in some demographic that at least looks she could conceivably be at part of a Romani community. Marquezine being Brazilian and part Italian would work to this requirement.
Overall she has great look and vibe. She has blend of delicate features mix with a real warm that would work well for the role but what about acting?
Her Acting Chops
Marquezine began her career as child however she is most known for playing the villain on Deus Salve o Rei which is a medieval fantasy show. She also played Jenny Kord in the DC movie Blue Beetle.
She is a very capable actress who has a great intensity in her role as Catarina of Lurton in Deus Salve o Rei and a sensitivity as Jenny. So there is no really question that she could handle any time of Esmeralda.
But what about Dancing? An Esmeralda actress should have some prowess dancing?
Can She Dance?
While there is no doubt that an Esmeralda should dance for the role it’s not a very hard thing for an actress to train for the role, so Marquezine training the role is not outside the realm of possibility. However Marquezine wouldn’t even need to train that much. As she has played a dancer in the series Nada Será Como Antes as well being a dance show Dança dos Famosos, which is part of The Dancing with Stars franchise. She was the runner-up so it’s safe to say she can dance.
If she ever were cast as any type of Esmeralda, Bruna Marquezine would be great choice. She has the right look, acting chops and she is already a proficient dancer. It’s a win-win on the casting end.
