Cast
- Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as Wilhelm "Will" and Jakob "Jake" Grimm: Johnny Depp was Gilliam's first choice for Will Grimm, but producer Bob Weinstein believed Depp was not commercially famous enough for the role. Damon joked that Weinstein "was kicking himself because half-way through production, Pirates of the Caribbean came out and Depp was all of a sudden a big sensation." Ledger met Gilliam in November 2002 when Nicola Pecorini recommended the actor to the director, comparing him to Depp. Gilliam intended to cast Ledger opposite Depp. Damon and Ledger were originally cast in opposite roles before they petitioned to have their characters switched. Damon had wanted to work with Gilliam for years and actively campaigned to land the role of Will Grimm. The actor "grew up loving Time Bandits, the way that movie created this weird but totally convincing world". Gilliam elected to have Damon wear a prosthetic nose, but Weinstein said "it would have distracted audiences from Damon's star-studded good looks". Gilliam later reasoned that "it would have been the most expensive nose job ever".
- Peter Stormare as Mercurio Cavaldi, Delatombe's Italian associate. Cavaldi originally has a grudge against the brothers, but eventually has a change of heart. Robin Williams was cast in the role before dropping out.
- Lena Headey as Angelika: Her father is a woodsman transformed into a werewolf by The Mirror Queen's spell. Gilliam's first choice for the role was Samantha Morton.
- Jonathan Pryce as General Vavarin Delatombe, a cruel French military commander. Delatombe attempts to burn down the forest and kill the brothers.
- Tomas Hanak as Woodsman
- Julian Bleach as Letorc
- Monica Bellucci as The Mirror Queen, a beautiful, evil queen who experimented with black magic before being struck by the Bubonic plague, her spell giving her eternal life but not the eternal youth she had expected. Nicole Kidman turned down the role over scheduling conflicts.
- Mackenzie Crook and Richard Ridings as Hidlick and Bunst: Duo sidekicks for the Grimms; they are eventually beheaded by French soldiers.
- Roger Ashton-Griffiths as the Mayor, who is duped into employing the Grimms to rid his village of its haunting.
Read more about this topic: The Brothers Grimm (film)
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“‘Tis weak and vicious people who cast the blame on Fate. The right use of Fate is to bring up our conduct to the loftiness of nature.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—Gérard De Nerval (1808–1855)
“If you are cast in a different mould to the majority, it is no merit of yours: Nature did it.”
—Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855)