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Dan Dreiberg, aka Nite Owl II, is without a doubt my favourite character in WATCHMEN. I know many would disagree, but I think Nite Owl is the heart and soul of the comic, and he’s easily the most identifiable character by virtue of not being completely freaking nuts. Something about this impotent, runt-of-the-litter loser is incredibly endearing, and in classic underdog fashion you can’t help but root for him.
So it was with much trepidation that I waited to hear who would be cast as Nite Owl. You can mess up Ozymandias, you can screw with the Comedian, but if you go wrong with Nite Owl, you don’t have much of a movie.
So what do I think about Patrick Wilson as Dan Dreiberg?
At first I wasn’t sold. I hadn’t seen much of his work, and his pictures on imdb didn’t immediately scream retired superhero.
But as soon as the publicity material started circulating, I pulled a 180. In fact, Wilson as Nite Owl might just be my favourite casting choice. For starters, more than any other actor in the film, Wilson looks exactly like his character is drawn in the comic. I’ve talked about how closely Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jackie Earle Haley resemble the Comedian and Rorschach respectively, but neither of them hold a candle to Wilson’s Nite Owl. He’s got the perfect early-middle-aged comb-over, he’s got the “I used to work out, but now I just eat donuts” physique, and those 80s aviators look right at home on his face. The guy even sounds like Nite Owl. I don’t know how it’s possible to sound like a comic book, but Wilson does it. Bottom line: unlike just about everybody else in the film, Wilson actually looks like a middle-aged, broken-spirited retiree who longs for the glory days.
He’s so good that Patrick Wilson will forever be Nite Owl to me. In fact, I have to go rent Lakeview Terrace, because I’m pretty sure it’s about Nite Owl fighting Samuel L. Jackson.
I wish I had something more insightful to say, but I got nothing – Wilson is just plain awesome, and I urge anyone to suggest a better choice.
i also had some reservations regarding wilson before i saw the movie. but after seing the movie earlier i definitely think that it’s a great choice. the emasculation of dan dreiberg post keene-act was very palpable in his performance. he definitely became dan.
I agree. Night Owl was my favorite character in the novel. I hope you’re right about his casting, I’m not lucky enough to have seen the movie early. I’ll have to wait… 8 more hours to find out!
I totally agree with you, even though i’ve never read the comic, before i watched the movie i read some to get a feel of the characters and i can honestly say i cannot picture a better Dan Dreiberg then the one portrayed by Patrick Wilson, i mean, i dun usually go for the geeky guys like Dan in movie, usually it’s bad boys that get to me, but i absolutely ADORED Dan, he was just…i can’t find words to describe it, he was really the heart of the whole film to me. Rorschach and The Comedian were the other too characters i felt were played excently by their respective actors.