Ram Sweeney is not a man of substance. The quarterback of the high school football team, Sweeney's interests include punching geeks, lusting over various Heathers, drinking, and cow tipping with his best friend Kurt Kelly. We think he'll have a bigger role to play in the TV adaptation and would like to offer the role to Jonny Weston.
Photo by Christian Ferretti, Interview, July 2012
Jason "J.D." Dean made Christian Slater's career. He's got a rogue, bad-boy appeal with his dark clothes, biting wit, and motorcycle. J.D. and Veronica's attraction is instant—and they seem like the perfect couple. Unfortunately, J.D. is a bit psychotic. Logan Lerman has the off-kilter looks and charm that make J.D.
Photo courtesy of Oyster magazine.
Originally played by a young Shannen Doherty, Heather Duke is particularly bullied by Chandler—she even belittles Duke's eating disorder ("Grow up, Heather. Bulimia is so '87"). Duke has head-Heather aspirations—she just needs Chandler out of the way to fulfill them. We think Katie Findlay, whom you may recognize as the face of Rosie Larson in The Killing, should play Duke.
Heather Chandler, aka Heather No. 1, is the head of her clique. While Heather Duke is relegated to envious emerald green, Veronica to blue, and Heather McNamara to cowardly yellow, Chandler dresses in scarlet red. She's scary, and a little bit sad herself, and Veronica's social ascension depends on Heather's approval. We nominate Saoirse Ronan of Hanna (2011) and The Lovely Bones (2009).
"I don't really like my friends... it's just like they're people I work with, and our job is being popular and shit," Veronica Sawyer tells J.D. The intelligent protagonist rapidly realizes that popularity is not going to satisfy her existential discontent. Veronica's hobbies include writing in her diary while wearing a monocle, eating pâté with her parents, and telling people that they are "beautiful" when they disgust her. The story relies on Veronica's ability to be sympathetic, but not innocent, a tricky balance. We suggest Willa Holland as Veronica.
Heather McNamara is the most innocuous Heather. She's pretty and a cheerleader, but too insecure to be threatening—as evidenced by her pale yellow outfits. We nominate Zoey Deutch, an actual 17-year-old who appeared on the short-lived series Ringer.