"To those people who have read the book and enjoyed the book, loved the book, I assure them that Karellen is Karellen," Graham said. "He is the Karellen of the book. He has not been taken figuratively or metaphorically in any way. It would be crazy to deviate from what Arthur C. Clarke had envisioned. And actually, having seen Karellen on screen a lot in the last few months, it's lost none of its iconic power as an image.
It wasn't really about casting a Brit. It was about casting Charles Dance."
"I mean, it's quite something to be fixed by Charles's stare like that," Graham continued, "and his voice. You needed somebody who felt like a global voice, a strong intergalactic leader, but somebody who was also a philosopher, who was also a teacher, who was also a friend, had passion but was very stern in the consistency of his plan. And there really aren't many actors who could convey all of that, and Charles is at a point in his career where he could, and more so."