Cast This: Danny Torrance (Doctor Sleep)

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The events of "The Shining" would certainly be enough to drastically change anyone's mental state, let alone a young child, and who knows what form that psychological trauma would take later in life. Years after writing the classic novel, Stephen King would return to the story of Danny Torrance with "Doctor Sleep" in 2013, which found the now adult Danny struggling with the same issues which plagued his father all those years ago. The past year has seen the release of a number of well-received Stephen King adaptations, including IT, 1922, and GERALD'S GAME, prompting studios to fast-track all of their Stephen King projects, one of which is, you guessed it, a big-screen adaptation of "Doctor Sleep."

Warner Bros. moved forward on the project earlier this year and tapped GERALD'S GAME director Mike Flanagan to helm the film, and given how many Stephen King projects are in various stages of development at this point, I can't imagine that they'll waste any time getting DOCTOR SLEEP off the ground. The thought of where Danny Torrance's life might lead always interested King, who told The Guardian, "Take Dan Torrance, who is the child of an alcoholic, child of a dysfunctional family, abusive father, and he says, as people do, 'I'm never going to be like my father; I'm never going to be like my mother.' And then you grow up and find yourself with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, and maybe you're walking the kiddies around. And I wanted to see what would happen with that."

After spending years embodying his father's legacy of anger and alcoholism as he was haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel, "Doctor Sleep" finds Danny Torrance finally settling down in a small town where he quits drinking. Getting a job at a nursing home, Danny uses his abilities to ease the passing of the terminally ill, all while forming a telepathic bond with Abra Stone, a young girl whose shining is growing more and more powerful. It's then that Danny and Abra become aware of a group of quasi-immortal people called the True Knot who travel across America living off of the "stream" that children with the shining produce as they are slowly tortured to death. Charming. With Abra now targeted by the True Knot, Danny's own demons are reignited as he battles for the survival of Abra's soul.

There are plenty of actors out there who would be able to successfully bring the tortured Danny Torrance to life, but if we're going to be following in the footsteps of Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING, we'll need someone truly spectacular. So while you're considering just whose shining is powerful enough to pull off the role of Danny Torrance, here are a few suggestions to get you started. Sam Rockwell (THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI) is an actor who, if I'm being perfectly honest, I would cast in just about everything. The man can do it all, and I can absolutely see him rocking the hell out of Danny. Another actor who has the chops to bring the necessary anguish to the role is Michael Shannon (THE SHAPE OF WATER), which is a quality Guy Pearce (ALIEN: COVENANT) shares as well.

Remember, you're free to suggest anyone in the comments, so let your inner casting director run wild!

Previously on Cast This, you were asked to fill the role of Albert Francis Simmons, aka Spawn, who will soon be making his return to the big-screen in Todd McFarlane's upcoming reboot. It's hard to cast a character who McFarlane has said will be almost entirely silent in the film, but that didn't stop you from offering up a few great suggestions, including Sterling K. Brown, Idris Elba, and Jamie Foxx.