Alan Rickman…David Morrissey…Robert Swann…Richard Owens…who is the best Colonel Brandon of them all? ( and I had to look the last two names up, (1981 and 1971 respectively) being not familiar with the adaptations, though I have watched them.)
It is not fair to compare Rickman and Morrissey; the latter had a lot more time to become his character. Having said that, Rickman was a great Eamon de Valera in Michael Collins, and that is who he is for me. Morrissey is – more my Brandon. There is something about his face. there is a depth and a soulfulness - .
But who is Brandon? Jane doesn’t even give him a Christian name. Neither does she really explore his character very deeply; there is no necessity for the story. We know certain things about him, and it is so fun to build on that, and fill him out, and make it fit – and be true to the original as much as possible!
Brandon was a Colonel. So he was in command of 1,000 men. What kind of commander was he? Autocratic? Just? Was he liked by his officers and men? He was in India when he was young – maybe an ensign. No - an ensign was the most junior officer, and after a couple of years, he would have been made a lieutenant. In which Presidency of British India did he serve? How did he like it there? How did this experience affect his future thinking?
Did he want a military career?
Did he want a military career?
Did he retire upon being made a Colonel and inheriting Delaford? In France, a charismatic General is on the rise…will this affect his plans for his own (and Marianne’s) future?
I’ve done a lot of work on this already. Besides the research –(‘the Dawning of the Raj’, Berstein, Jay. A fascinating read)…I’ve written the chapter where we get to know him most. I have had to invent another character to get to know his background, his character, his fears and hopes, better.
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