Why Ben Mendelsohn's 'Ready Player One' Baddie Won't Be Faithful to the Novel

“Ready Player One” is a book that celebrates fandom of nerd culture and is obsessed with even the tiniest details, so it’s surprising that Ben Mendelsohn — who plays villain Nolan Sorrento in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film adaptation — says his performance won’t try and mimic the novel.

“I’m not trying to be faithful to the book Sorrento at all,” Mendelsohn told TheWrap. “So, anyone that’s coming at it wanting a faithful re-creation or transposing of the written Sorrento is not gonna get it. I would rarely do that because my feeling about written literature characters is you don’t get to better them. My basic preference is to just try and wipe that slate, and to try and do it in context of what is going on around the film. I treat them as very different entities in that way.”

“I sort of see that stuff as playing a song live,” Mendelsohn elaborated. “And part of the joy of playing a song live is re-interpreting it, or switching it up, or giving it a newness or an alternative. Because I think the books are their own kind of perfection, and I don’t try to fall short of them.”

Also Read: 'Bloodline' Star Ben Mendelsohn Tells Us Why He Offered to Have His Teeth Pulled for a Role

“Ready Player One” is a futuristic adventure following characters who live and work within a virtual reality world called the OASIS. Hidden within the OASIS is an “Easter Egg” — originally a gaming term for a secret included in the game by its developer — that will offer anyone who discovers it a massive fortune.

Mendelsohn’s Sorrento is a high-ranking official of an evil corporation and the head of the bounty hunters the “Sixers” with a goal to find the Easter Egg and take control of the OASIS. In the novel, he’s described as “having blonde hair and a hawkish nose,” according to a “Ready Player One” Wiki.

Giving the “Bloodline” star a long leash creatively isn’t the only liberty Spielberg is taking with Ernest Cline’s source material. T.J. Miller recently explained that his character i-Rok, who gets commissioned by Sorrento to hunt down the hero, has a much larger part in the film than in the book.

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“Ready Player One” also stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Mark Rylance and Simon Pegg, and will hit theaters March 30, 2018.

10 'Bloodline' Characters Ranked From Least to Most Horrible (Photos)

Netflix's "Bloodline" takes the idea of skeletons in the closet to the next level. This dark family drama is full of secrets and mysteries. The biggest secret, revealed in Season 1, is the death of Danny Rayburn. Now that the third and final season is streaming on Netflix, we're throwing open doors of the Rayburn family closet. Here are the worst characters, ranked from not that bad to straight up horrible.
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Nolan Rayburn (Owen Teague)

The son of Danny (Ben Mendelsohn) carries around a lot of guilt, believing that the fire he set at his dad's restaurant set off a chain of events that led to his father's death. But viewers know the kid is innocent.
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Diana Rayburn (Jacinda Barrett)

The wife of John (Kyle Chandler) is definitely not the biggest Danny fan. She encourages John several times throughout the series to cut ties with his scalawag sibling. But she has good reason: Danny threatened their daughter Jane (Taylor Rouviere). Still, Diana welcomes Danny as part of the family when she needs to.
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Meg Rayburn (Linda Cardellini)

Although Meg is a huge player in the cover-up of Danny's death, she didn't play a huge role leading up to it. In a recent interview with TheWrap, Mendelsohn said that while there are strong arguments to be made for the awfulness of other Rayburns, when it comes to Meg he doesn't see it. "It’s tough to make that argument for Meg — the sister — and perhaps Kevin, to a lesser degree," he said.
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Eric O'Bannon (Jamie McShane)

Eric seems like Danny's only true friend, and in the finale of Season 2 he says as much to John. "He was my friend, John. He was my best friend," Eric says. But Eric did pressure Danny into getting into the drug business in the first place, landing him a closer spot to being the worst on this list.

Also Read: ‘Bloodline’ Star Ben Mendelsohn Tells Us Why He Offered to Have His Teeth Pulled for a Role
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Evangeline (Andrea Riseborough)

It's hard at times to tell what the best interests of Danny's baby mama are. It's clear from flashbacks that the couple had some good times. But just some. While Eve didn't even show up until after Danny's death, she's clearly out to milk his family for all the money she can get, and was doing that even before he died.

Also Read: Emmy Quickie: ‘Bloodline’ Star Andrea Riseborough Praises Co-Star Sissy Spacek (Exclusive Video)
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Wayne Lowry (Glenn Morshower)

Although Danny is definitely responsible for his own actions, drug and human trafficker Wayne readily involves Danny, putting him and the Rayburn family inn in danger.
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Kevin Rayburn (Norbert Leo Butz)

In the last moments of Season 2, Kevin ends up killing Marco (Enrique Murciano), when he was supposed to be talking him into helping him, Kevin, and Meg. Kevin is constantly abusing drugs and alcohol and rides high on emotion, landing him high on our list.
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Sally Rayburn (Sissy Spacek)

In his interview with TheWrap, Mendelsohn said, "There’s an argument for dad, there’s an argument for mom," when it comes to the worst character on "Bloodline." As for Sally, she ignored the abuse Danny endured at the hands of her husband, and even left the family at one point. Even after Robert's death, she defends his transgressions.

Which brings us to...
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Robert Rayburn (Sam Shepard)

Father Rayburn was king at keeping family secrets, including perhaps the most ugly secret of all (pre-Danny's death). Robert abused Danny while all the kids were growing up because he blamed Danny for their younger sister's death. The other kids and Sally let it slide under the rug, leaving Danny to feel more and more alienated from the family.

Also Read: ‘Bloodline': 9 Questions We Need Answered In Final Season (Photos)
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John Rayburn (Kyle Chandler)

We love you, Kyle Chandler, but John Rayburn is definitely the worst on this show. He kills his brother, then continually covers it up, and gets other family members involved. By the beginning of Season 3, he's spiraling out of control. When Mendelsohn was asked who was the better person -- the seemingly squeaky clean John or the black sheep Danny -- he said "In terms of the scale of transgressions — he murders his brother."

Season 3 of "Bloodline" is now streaming on Netflix.

Also Read: ‘Bloodline’ Trailer: Blood, Tears, Explosions and Somebody Stuffed in a Trunk (Video)
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Beware of spoilers

Netflix's "Bloodline" takes the idea of skeletons in the closet to the next level. This dark family drama is full of secrets and mysteries. The biggest secret, revealed in Season 1, is the death of Danny Rayburn. Now that the third and final season is streaming on Netflix, we're throwing open doors of the Rayburn family closet. Here are the worst characters, ranked from not that bad to straight up horrible.

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