Casting
Realisation of character is the essential element of Minghella's work. Over many months, he met each prospective actor individually to assess how they would fit into the troupe that would have a mountain to climb together.
Jude Law ('The Talented Mr Ripley' 1999, 'A.I.' 2001, 'Road to Perdition' 2002) was cast in his first romantic lead role as Inman – 'very much the eyes and ears of the audience'. As Odysseus' faithful Penelope, or rather Frazier's stoically stranded Southern belle Ada Monroe, Minghella cast Nicole Kidman ('Moulin Rouge' 2001, 'The Others' 2001, 'The Hours' 2002). Given that the ethereal Ada can only develop with help from the earthy pragmatic Ruby Thewes character, the latter part was inspirationally offered to Renée Zellweger ('Jerry Maguire' 1996, 'Bridget Jones' Diary' 2001, 'Chicago' 2002).
By April 2002, having cast just three of some 50 speaking parts and with production scheduled to begin in July, Minghella worked tirelessly to assemble a truly multi-national all-star ensemble, which included:
Jude Law (Inman)Nicole Kidman (Ada Monroe)
Renée Zellweger (Ruby Thewes)
Donald Sutherland (Reverend Monroe),
Ray Winstone (Teague), the murderous leader of the trigger-happy Home Guard
Charlie Hunnam (Bosie), Teague's villainous associate
Brendan Gleeson (Stobrod), Ruby's itinerant, fiddle-playing father
Ethan Suplee (Pangle), good-hearted but simple companion of Strobrod
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Veasey), disgraced preacher who travels briefly with Inman
Natalie Portman (Sara), a grief-stricken young Confederate widow
Kathy Baker (Sally Swanger) & James Gammon (Esco Swanger) elderly, kindly neighbours
Giovanni Ribisi (Junior), a scheming mountain farmer
Melora Walters (Junior's lusty wife)
Eileen Atkins (Maddy), a mountain woman healer
Jena Malone (Ferry Girl on the Cape Fear River),
Lucas Black (Oakley), young Confederate of Cold Mountain regiment
Jack White (Georgia), making his film debut.
Casting director David Rubin argues that though 'Cold Mountain' is an essentially American story, 'The casting process today, ideally, should involve a global perspective, especially given the increasing ability of English-speaking actors worldwide to adopt an American dialect and vernacular.' The Australian Kidman, British Law, Irish Gleeson and others had dialect coaches on hand to teach them how to clip consonants into approximations of US southern dialect. As a native Texan, Zellweger's yammering proved most convincing.
