The Uncharted movie has had a rocky production run and one of its biggest challenges has been finding the right person to play Nathan Drake with many actors almost being cast in the final production. The film adaptation of the Naughty Dog property has a lot to live up to following on the heels of four main Uncharted games, a spinoff, and a handheld version. Finding the perfect actor for the lead role was the crucial bedrock for ensuring that longtime fans of the series are happy with the result.
The four main games of the Uncharted franchise follow Nathan “Nate” Drake and his mentor Victor “Sully” O’Sullivan as they embark on daring adventures to uncover lost (and often cursed) treasures. Drake is defined by a sort of infectious rugged charm, cocky attitude, and a moral compass that is strong, if not entirely tuned to the laws of any governing body. Comparisons to Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones & Uncharted's Nathan Drake are common and unsurprising.
With so many fans of the original series having strong feelings about the casting, and with the possibility of a larger movie franchise on the line for the person that got the role, there was plenty of interest and competition for the part. Since the film entered production in 2008, several actors were the subject of fan campaigns and rumors, expressed interest in the role, or were actively on board but had to step away. Here are the ones who go closest to hunting for buried treasure under the guidance of Sully, before the part eventually went to Tom Holland.
Nathan Fillion made a name for himself in Joss Whedon’s Firefly playing the charming rogue of a spaceship captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds. Since then, he has played similar characters balancing cocky and charming in the detective series Castle and The Rookie. As playing these sorts of characters seems to come so naturally to him and he bears a physical resemblance to Uncharted’s Drake, it is no surprise that a fan campaign sprung up pushing for him to be in the role.
In 2010, one fan approached then-director David O’Russell and asked him to cast Fillion in the film. O’Russell expressed that he was not familiar with the campaign, or with Fillion himself. As time went on, the campaign continued, and it’s fair to say that Fillion was fully behind this campaign as he went on to star in the 2018 fourteen-minute fan film based on the game. Sadly, with filming already completed with Holland in the role, it seems fourteen minutes will have to be enough for Fillion.
Brett Dalton is best known for his run on Agents of Shield from 2013 through 2017. He portrayed Grant Ward, a HYDRA operative who infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and maintained a rivalry with Phil Coulson. Feeling that Dalton looked and acted the part already, fans set up a social media campaign to have him play Nathan Drake. The hashtag #BrettForNate, a special Twitter account, and a petition to Sony caught enough people's eye that the topic of him playing the role came up in a conversation with Nolan North, the voice behind the character in the games. North agreed that he might be a good fit for the part, which lead to Dalton calling out support for it on Twitter, but the campaign never got any further than that.
Jensen Ackles’ role as Dean Winchester across all fifteen seasons of Supernatural earned him a cult following and a stack of memes tagged “I watch for the plot.” He’s currently preparing to appear in The Boys season 3 as Soldier Boy. Despite being consistently busy with shooting for the series, fan rumors began to spread that he might have been secretly cast in the role. Fans got particularly excited when it was revealed that he was filming season 11 of Supernatural in Vancouver, the same location that contained production work for Uncharted. However, it seems this was mostly just wishful thinking on the part of fans.
Chris Pine is no stranger to action movies or playing the roguish love interest, whether in Star Trek as Captain James T. Kirk, or Wonder Woman as Steve Trevor. Nolan North weighed in on who should take over the mantel of Drake in Uncharted, and this is one of them. After watching Pine on the set of Star Trek: Into Darkness, North told Screen Junkies that he said to Pine “Hey, if a script called Uncharted ever comes across your agent’s desk, you should take a good hard look at it, because I think you’d be the perfect character for it.” It seems that Sony never sent Pine a script though, or if they did, the advice went unheeded.
Mark Wahlberg has done a little bit of everything across his career, from fronting the hip-hop group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, to serious acting roles such as Dignam in The Departed. While he’s currently thought of for his roles in later Transformers movies and his recent sci-fi flick Infinite, Uncharted would not be his first video game adaptation as he played the eponymous character in the 2008 adaptation of Max Payne.
Wahlberg was one of the very first people attached to the Uncharted movie adaptation, dating back to 2010 when David O’Russel was set to direct and Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci were attached as main characters. Wahlberg eventually had to drop out as production timelines dragged on and other opportunities became available. However, when the film pivoted to focusing on a younger Drake, Wahlberg returned to the project as a young Sully, acknowledging that he had aged out of the Nathan Drake role. Nolan North, among others, had previously been vocally outspoken against Wahlberg taking the lead role, feeling that he was not a good fit. It is a testament to just film has been in development hell that Wahlberg has passed from playing the plucky hero to the aged and wise mentor.
Chris Pratt has successfully made the transition from comedy actor in Parks and Rec to action hero with franchises like Jurassic World and the MCU. When looking for a cocky, confident actor who can pull off roguish charm, minds might easily drift to Chris Pratt, particularly after his portrayal of Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy. Nolan North apparently has one of those minds, and recommended Pratt for the role, noting that he had the right blend of funny, cocky, and vulnerable.
However, Hollywood Reporter announced that he turned the role down when offered, but Pratt has done plenty since Parks and Rec. Once Tom Holland had been cast as Drake, he reportedly expressed wishes that Pratt might take up the role of Sully instead, but the role went to Wahlberg without appearing to be offered to Pratt.
Zachary Levi gained attention for his comedic turn as the title character in Chuck, and entered the action movie world playing the lead in Shazam! and appearing as Fandral in Thor: Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. Despite Tom Holland already being cast in the role for a full two years, Levi cheekily threw his hat in the ring speaking on a panel saying he would love the part if Tom Holland drops out. His desire to play the role apparently started early, as after playing the first game he says he called Naughty Dog to find out who had the rights.
Ultimately, all of these actors could have been strong contenders for a certain version of Nathan Drake. However, with the move to do a prequel focusing on a younger Drake and explore some of the untold parts of his history, Tom Holland is a clear choice for an established actor to lead the adaptation. We also know that he has the support of Nolan North and that the two worked together on set. After over a decade of waiting, February 2022 will finally show whether the right choice was made.
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