Blindness (film) - Cast

Cast

• Julianne Moore as doctor's wife, the only person immune to the epidemic of blindness. Her sight is kept a secret by her husband and others, though as time goes on, she feels isolated in being the only one with sight. Moore described her character's responsibility: "Her biggest concern in the beginning is simply her husband. But her ability to see ultimately both isolates her and makes her into a leader." The director also gave Moore's character a wardrobe that would match the actor's skin and dyed blond hair, giving her the appearance of a "pale angel".
• Mark Ruffalo as Doctor. The doctor also becomes something of a leader; in an early scene, he reveals that he has been elected as his ward's official representative to the rest of the community. Meirelles originally sought to cast actor Daniel Craig as Doctor, but negotiations were not finalized. Ruffalo said that his character loses the illusion of his self-perspective and perceives his wife as being a person he could aspire to. Ruffalo said, "That's a very difficult moment for anybody, to have all their perceptions completely shattered, but I think the Doctor finally comes to a peace about his inabilities and his downfall, and admits to an admiration for his wife's strengths." The actor wore a layer of makeup to appear older and also wore contact lenses to be blind while having his eyes open. The actor said of the experience as a blind character, "At first it's terrifying and then it's frustrating and then it gets quiet... we're tormented by our eyesight... you don't know this until you go blind... As an actor I suddenly felt free."
• Danny Glover as Man with Black Eye Patch. Glover described his character: "The Man with the Black Eye Patch comes into this new world of blindness already half blind, so I think he understands where he is within his own truth, within himself. I did feel like this character was very much like Saramago because he is completely unapologetic — he is who he is and he accepts who he is." Glover explained his involvement with the role, "When you are blind you try to adopt another kind of sensitivity, so this role is definitely a challenge from a physical point of view."
• Gael García Bernal as Bartender/King of Ward 3, one of the film's villains. In defiance of the doctor's democratic election as leader of Ward 1, the bartender immediately declares himself "King of Ward 3" and gains immediate popularity from his "subjects" by prioritizing food over his ward's community responsibilities such as burying the dead. He somehow obtains a revolver (and more than six bullets) and uses it to bully the other wards by controlling the food supply. Meirelles followed the advice of Brazilian stage director Antunes Filho and changed the character from the novel by making him more ambiguous, explaining, "In the book, he is really a mean guy, terribly evil from the beginning... but I thought it was more interesting to have him be not evil but more like a child with a gun." Bernal described the result of his character, "I think the King is just very practical, very pragmatic. He appears cold because he is not an idealist and does not see hope, but he is a survivor, the same as all the others." The Doctor's Wife kills him with a pair of medical scissors to the neck. His death marks the point when Ward 1 takes back control, with the Doctor's Wife's threat to kill one of the men from Ward 3 for every day her ward goes without food.
• Maury Chaykin as Accountant, who helps the King of Ward 3 bully the members of the other wards. Because he has been blind since birth, the Accountant is much more used to relying on his other senses, which gives him a major advantage over the other prisoners; he assumes control over Ward 3 and the food supplies for the community after the King is murdered.
• Alice Braga as Woman with Dark Glasses. Braga described her character as mysterious, believing, "While she does sleep with men because it is easy money, I did not want to treat her purely as a prostitute. She starts out quite tough, but she develops very strong maternal feelings." Meirelles explained that the character's glasses and cascading hair gave her a cold appearance, but through her scenes with the orphaned Boy with the Squint, she develops warmth.

Secondary characters include:

• Don McKellar as Thief. McKellar, who wrote the screenplay for the film, had also acted in the past and was cast as the character. The screenwriter described the Thief, "I like the trick where you think the Thief is a bad guy. He's a pathetic character you first believe is the villain of the piece and then you realize that, no, he's not even close to that. There's something charming about his desperation because, after a point, you meet the King of Ward Three and learn what real desperation is."
• Sandra Oh as Minister of Health.
• Yusuke Iseya as First Blind Man.
• Yoshino Kimura as First Blind Man's Wife.
• Mitchell Nye as Boy.
• Susan Coyne as Receptionist.
• Martha Burns as Woman with Insomnia.
• Joe Pingue as The Taxi Driver.
• Douglas Silva as Onlooker #1 in the opening scenes. Silva has previously acted in many Meirelles films: he starred in Meirelles' short film Golden Gate (Palace II) in 2000; the 2002 film City of God; its 2002 to 2005 spin-off television series Cidade dos Homens (English translation: City of Men); and the movie City of Men in 2007.

Meirelles chose an international cast. Producer Niv Fichman explained Meirelles' intent: "He was inspired by great masterwork to create a microcosm of the world. He wanted it cast in a way to represent all of humanity."