I love dream casting my books, but I’ve discovered that the actors and actresses I picture are usually too old! I think of the ones that I’ve grown to love over the years, and they don’t work well for characters in their twenties and thirties. Maybe their parents. But BRATVA DARLING is easy for me to dream cast since Top Gun: Maverick just came out. A whole cast of hot young people to consider.
Since Maksim Kutsenko is the oldest and the one who carries the heaviest burden of responsibility running the Ivankov bratva, I would pick Tom Hardy for that role. I think Tom would bring the right amount of grittiness while still being a loving partner to Laura Doyle.
Aleksei, the second brother, is the hardest one to cast. He’s the quietest of the four brothers and four cousins. He’s observant and reserved, but he’s as fierce as the rest of them. I think I’d like Miles Teller to play him. There were moments in Top Gun: Maverick where I think he would get the nuances that Aleks’s character possesses.
Nikolai, the third brother, is more outgoing than his older brothers since he doesn’t bear the same burden of command that Maksim does, and Aleks does as second-in-command. I would choose Glen Powell. There was an air of arrogance to his character in Top Gun: Maverick that’s stronger than Niko’s, but there’s a humor that goes along with Niko that can be self-deprecating and mocking.
Bogdan is the youngest brother, so I would pick Timothée Chalamet for his character. Young looking but able to shoulder his share of responsibility in the NYC underworld. He might be the baby brother, but he’s all man.
The four cousins play important figures in The Ivankov Brotherhood. They grew up with the Kutsenko brothers in a Moscow and live alongside them in NYC. More like four additional brothers than just cousins, Anton, Sergei, Misha, and Pasha have central roles in the series. Misha and Pasha will have their own stories. Anton and Sergei have been in a relationship for years. Confused how that can be if they’re cousins? It’s the Kutsenko brothers who connect them. Anton and Pasha are cousins to the Kutsenko brothers through their father. Sergei and Misha are cousins through their mother.
I would cast Jack Schumacher as Anton, who’s a senior member of the bratva. The character needs the broodiness of the others, while being more of a silent enforcer. His partner, Sergei, would be cast with Chris Pine. Only Sergei and his younger brother, Misha, have blond hair and blue eyes. The rest are dark-haired. The Kutsenko brothers have blue eyes too. Chris Evans would be Misha since there’s a more laid-back aura to Misha than with Sergei. Anton’s younger brother, Pasha, would be Taylor Lautner. Pasha is the one women flock to, despite his general disinterest in dating. He’s known as the hot one in the family, but there isn’t a single bad looking one in the bunch.
As for the heroines, I think there are some much easier casting calls for them. I think there are several versatile actresses who can be determined and independent while being willing to submit to a more dominant partner. It would have to be the right balance, so they aren’t insipid or too rigid to believe that they could have one personality in the bedroom and another in public.
I would cast Emily Blunt as Laura. She needs to be a quick-witted attorney, who’s able to go toe-to-toe with Maksim when needed but will call him Daddy in private. Emily and Tom Hardy would set the tone for the series since they’d depict the first couple. I think she would do well shifting between being a badass lawyer who can shoot a gun and one who can be vulnerable in private with Maks.
You meet all but Pasha and Misha in BRATVA DARLING. They’re traveling, and you’ll find out why in book two, BRATVA SWEETHEART. I won’t introduce you to the other heroines in this series. You’ll have to discover them for yourself. Book two releases on August 2nd, so the wait won’t be very long.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on who should be cast as the Kutsenko brothers and their cousins, and who you think would make a great Laura. You can DM me on Instagram or you can shoot me an email.
The Ivankov Brotherhood #1
I wasn’t prepared for her…
She just got me to pay three times as much as I wanted for a company I’ll buy and destroy.
She knows who I am. The bratva doesn’t scare her.
Intelligent, brave, and unstoppable.
I’ll make her mine.
She doesn’t know it yet, but we’re soulmates.
I’ll take her to her limits. Then give her all her heart desires.
The Bratva Darling is an interconnecting, standalone Dark Mafia Romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger. It contains extra-steamy scenes that will make your toes curl and your granny blush. This is book one in The Ivankov Brotherhood, a six-book series that’ll keep you warm at night.
Romance Suspense [Oliver-Heber Books, On Sale: June 28, 2022, e-Book, ISBN: 9781648392559 / ]
Sabine Barclay, a nom de plume also writing Historical Romance as Celeste Barclay, lives near the Southern California coast with her husband and sons. Growing up in the Midwest, Sabine enjoyed spending as much time in and on the water as she could. Now she lives near the beach. She's an avid swimmer, a hopeful future surfer, and a former rower. Before becoming a full-time author, Sabine was a Social Studies and English teacher. She holds degrees in International Affairs (BA), Secondary Social Science (MAT), and Political Management (MPS). She channels that knowledge into creating engrossing contemporary romances that will make your toes curl and your granny blush.
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