Richard Rawlings, the owner of Gas Monkey Garage and star of Fast ‘N Loud, is known for two things. First, he makes outstanding cars. Anyone who’s seen the show knows you can count on Gas Monkey to put out some genuinely fantastic refurbished and upgraded vehicles. Secondly, he’s also unfortunately known for his attitude. The Gas Monkey himself tends to be as fast and loud as his machines. He’s quick to temper and has been described as spoiled and childish by associates. We don’t know how much of that is accurate and how much is for show, but when you cast for a person-as-a-character, you have to consider what they show the world. It wasn’t easy to compile this list, but we put some serious thought into who we’d cast for a Gas Monkey movie and came up with five actors who have his middle-age good looks and enough bluster to really do the part justice.
1. Jeffrey Dean Morgan
If you’ve seen The Walking Dead or Watchmen, you know this handsome face well. Jeffrey Dean Morgan may not have Richard Rawlings signature silver locks, but he looks great with a beard, and it’s easy enough to dye hair. What’s less easy is pulling off the charismatic charm on the edge of slipping into dangerous temper and entitlement. However, Morgan can undoubtedly pull that off with aplomb. For that reason alone, we’d pick him first if we had an unlimited budget and a script that shows the full depth of both the good and not-so-great parts of Rawlings interactions. Plus, it’s just not hard to see Jeffrey getting his hands greasy while looking great. We’d watch that film anytime.
2. Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen has certainly made his share of mistakes, and he’s always had a great sense of humor about them in the end. We like to see Richard smile. He may do amazing work under pressure, but when he relaxes enough to joke around his charm stands out. It’s never hard to see why people want his cars. Charlie shares some of that charisma and delightfully personable style. Moreover, you have to have more than a great smile to play Rawlings. Charlie has more depth and range than people credit him with, and he shows the ability to get frustrated yet bounce back in a way we think he shares with Richard. Good looks are a must to play the part, and they both wear their age handsomely.
3. Tom Cruise
Tom has been in the news a lot lately because of some of the things that have gone on in his church. However, we’re not here to weigh in on those issues. The fact is he’s a good actor with range. He plays hot-tempered very well, which is essential for the firey Rawlings. While there’s a bit of an issue with the height difference, Richard is 6’1 while Tom is 5’7, we know movie magic can make that disappear in a flash. Furthermore, it’s actually easier to fit a shorter actor in the frames to get excellent shots. Anyone who’s seen Tropic Thunder, where he played the often angry, decidedly spoiled Les Grossman, can tell you he has a sense of humor. His acting has ranged from secret agents to a heartthrob vampire, and from a soldier to a fantasy hero youth in a magical forest full of faeries and unicorns. We don’t doubt he could do justice to Richard Rawlings, though we admit we wouldn’t want to be in the room if they had drinks together in real life.
4. Brad Pitt
A quintessential favorite, Brad has been stealing the screen for decades now. We’ve loved him since he stuck out his thumb and hitched a ride with Thelma and Louise way back in 1991. His portrayal of the slick as oil, yet very polite cowboy hitchhiker thief was all we needed to see to know we’d be keeping an eye on his films for a very long time. If anyone knows what it’s like to watch things fall apart and then turn them around for the better it’s… both Rawlings and Pitt. They probably have a lot in common in some very odd ways. Brad is a little closer to Rawlings in height at 5’11, and we know they both rock the white facial hair stunningly. We’re always happy to hear about a role Brad is working on, and this might just be another of his surprise smash hits if a film about Rawlings ever gets made with him as the lead.
5. Nicolas Cage
Nic Cage is our oddball pick for a Richard Rawlings film. We know he likes cars and Nick has already been in a couple of car-centric movies like Drive Angry and Gone in 60 Seconds. He looks good behind the wheel. However, there’s a strange connection between Rawlings and Cage that super fans of either or both will already know about. In the movie Gone in 60 Seconds, Nick cage’s character was after a whole slew of expensive cars that he had to steal very quickly. However, none was more elusive than the car he dubbed Eleanor. He’d been arrested and almost killed trying to steal her before, but it was his final triumph when he, at last, captured the elusive auto. That car, Eleanor, was bought and remodeled by Gas Monkey earlier this year. Stranger, or more perfect yet, Eleanor isn’t the first Nic Cage movie car they’ve remade and sold. In Drive Angry Cage drove two different ’64 Buick Rivieras. Gas Monkey got their hands on both of them and flipped them. We’re not sure if Rawlings is a Nic Cage fan, but it sure seems like it, and we bet he’d be thrilled to have Nick play him on the silver screen.
Final Thoughts
Richard Rawlings was a tough nut to crack when it came to our fantasy film casting. He has an edge, and he’s clearly more than a little bit of a bad boy, but he’s also got a ton of depth. This was one of our hardest top-fives ever. The world is full of outstanding actors, and we’re sure we missed a few who’d make a killer Richard Rawlings in a film. If you’re sure we missed the perfect match then leave us a comment below and let us know who you think should play the role.
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