Ship Breaker Movie Cast
Mike Bluemel
Jaden Smith for Nailer
Nailer in the the book was the main character and he was raised on Bright Sands beach as a ship breaker where he crawls through cramped ducts in old abandoned ships trying to scrap metal in order to make a living. In order to do this he must be very small or else he wouldn't be able to perform his job and he would starve to death. This is one reason why Jaden Smith would be a great option for Nailer, Jaden is extremely small and short making his appearance perfect for this role. The majority of the characters in Ship Breaker are black which Jaden is as well. The final reason why I believe that Jaden would be perfect for this role is the reason that he has had a lot of experience in this genre of acting in his performances in After Earth and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Both of these movies were dystopian science fiction.
Terry Crews for Nailer's Father (Richard Lopez)
Nailer's father in the book is a skilled fighter and alcoholic who lived with his son at Bright Sands beach, except rather than working light crew like Nailer did, he worked heavy crew because of his large size and strength. Richard Lopez abused Nailer daily and was always under the influence of either drugs or alcohol. I chose Terry Crews for this part because of how he looks like I imagined Richard Lopez to. He is extremely large and muscular, black, and looks tough enough to play a part with as much fighting as Nailer's father does. He also used to be a NFL player and is best known for playing on Everyone Hates Chris and for his appearances in Old Spice commercials, Arrested Development, The Newsroom and for his roles in films like Friday After Next, White Chicks, Bridesmaids, Idiocracy, Gamer, and The Expendables He has starred as Nick Kingston-Persons in the sitcom Are We Threre Yet? and as himself in the reality series The Family Crews. Currently he plays NYPD Sergeant Terry Jeffords in Brooklyn nine nine. Sadly none of those parts were in any dystopian movies but it shows that he has a lot of acting experience.
Coco Jones for Nita
Nita in the book was a rich girl who washed up on Nailer's beach and took him on a wild adventure in order to return her to her family. Nita's "skin was even darker than that of Nailer or Pima"(Bacigalupi 78) and she was described multiple times as extremely beautiful and too soft for hard work that was necessary at Bright Sands Beach. I chose Coco Jones for this part because her looks matched that of being darker skinned and beautiful. She also looks too soft to do hard work just like Nita from the book. She was the lead in the Disney Channel movie Let it Shine and she guest stars on Good Luck Charlie. She's also a singer signed to Hollywood Records.