We Won’t Kill You, Sam
For some, this was their first glimpse of Sam as Finnick.
This has been a big week for Sam Claflin. We, of course, have obviously known for months that he is playing Finnick Odair. After all, to say we’d been invested in who was going to play this beloved character is an understatement. And the paparazzi photos have already clued us in on his look so we’ve been able to sit with it for a while. But for many the casual fan, the Entertainment Weekly cover was the debut for Sam’s Finnick.
I had taken my copy of the magazine to work, and I was bombarded by opinions on Finnick by my coworkers. Some liked what they saw, some didn’t, most were skeptical. Me, I’d already been pretty much sold on him. But that was a lesson for me in “Everyone’s going to have their opinions.”
I have to hand it to Mr. Claflin. He’s got a lot of pressure on him. We’ve been quoting “Don’t mess this up, or we will kill you” quite a bit this week. Granted, I’ve seen some very supportive tweets to Sam as well, but I can only imagine the tweets from those bound to hate anyone who isn’t their Finnick. But he’s taken it all in stride, keeping a relatively low profile except to thank the Hunger Games fans, support Jennifer and complain about London traffic.
To Mr. Claflin, I feel confident in saying that we are rooting for you, if that’s any consolation. Your dimples just about knocked us out this week, and that’s a good start. We know you feel the pressure, so there’s no point in trying to add to it. We’ve got you for three movies, so we better make sure you survive to film them. You said you’re prepared to do anything, and we’re prepared to show you some support.
We’ve found Finnick Odair, let’s not scare him away
Twiffidy
Posted on January 13, 2013, in Actors, Film and tagged Catching Fire, Catching Fire Film, Entertainment Weekly, Finnick Odair, Sam Claflin, The Hunger Games. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
I think Sam will play a “different” Finnick than the one in my head. But from the glimpses I’ve seen, I think it has the potential to be very, very good. I read my copy of EW too and was encouraged by things Nina said about hiring Sam, as well. Finnick is this wonderful sex god, but also this swirl of humor, loyalty, strength, and etc. I would rather Sam captures those inner qualities t
Than be a 7ft tall Amazon without that inner Finnick “soul”.
I had enormous trepidations about the casting of Jennifer as Katniss–I look back on it now and think I must have been out of my mind. Not only is she the only Katniss I can imagine now, but we are so lucky to have her. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that she may just turn out to be THE actress of her generation.
Consequently, I now have complete faith in Nina and all those involved in the casting process with the franchise. I’ve always liked Sam, though he wasn’t the first actor who came to my mind as Finnick. But I know they saw in him the important aspects needed to make Finnick work as a character onscreen.
There was no one they could have picked who would have pleased everyone–but I’m convinced HE will convince the majority of THG fans that he is the right Finnick.
People should just accept Sam Claflin as Finnick by now. Its ridiculous having comments saying “hes not hot enough to play Finnick” which is just stupid. Even if he is not your ideal “sex god” image, Finnick does have other qualities to him, which could be the reason they hired Sam Claflin based on his acting performance that we have not seen yet.
I have to say I’m reserving judgement on Sam’s Finnick until we see him on screen. I will admit I love the still with him and Katniss better than the EW cover. The cover isn’t bad but the still shows him closer to a Finnick I believe we’ll all like. I can’t really say what it is but maybe I’m already seeing the sexiness that is Finnick in that particular scene just from that picture.