Who is your favourite Rochester?

I'll give my opinion:

- Orson Welles: though he is the least attractive Rochester, I thought he was excellent. He looks decidedly unconventional and radiates a kind of brutish sexuality- the kind of thing that Jane hates by principle. If we're seeing things through Jane's eyes, his coarseness may well be magnified. It's much easier to see why Jane would be repelled and conflicted by this man.

- Timothy Dalton: certainly the dreamiest Rochester for those who like him as a romantic hero. In some respects I think he's too nice but he conveys passion very nicely. He's clearly far from not being handsome but Jane wouldn't fall for conventional beauty. As played here, I think it's meant to be surprising that she doesn't fancy him.

- William Hurt: he looks gruff and weary, clearly a man with history. I think he does bring something to the role; here Rochester looks like a man who's on his last legs and sees Jane as his only chance of redemption. His need for Jane, beyond love, is apparant.

- Toby Stephens: again, going for a softer approach like Dalton. Convincingly less attractive so we don't end up shouting at the screen in the way we do with Dalton. His performance is quite faithful on a surface level but I think Rochester should be more of a loose gun.

- Michael Fassbender: I thought he was all right. Yet again, it is a more diluted costume drama approach where Rochester appears grumpy rather than tortured. More Austen than Eyre me thinks.

So I believe the performances fall into two camps; Rochester as a Darcy-esque romantic hero and Rochester as a psychological wreck of a man. Although I don't mind either interpretation, I think the latter is closer to the book and would like to see more versions of that.

No no no!

You forgot Michael Jayston - the perfect combination of brooding, sarcastic, and dreamy...

I didn't mind Dalton, though he was definitively too handsome for the role (he later played James Bond for goodness sake). He was good at being brooding and gruff, but the part when he was happy the morning after the proposal scene was just weird. He also shouted too much, I feel like Rochester might raise his voice, but would never yell at Jane. But he makes up for it with his clear passion and love for Jane. Overall, not bad.

After Dalton might be Toby Stephens, but I think that his acting was a bit to modern. I mean, the entire time you knew that he liked Jane and he treated Jane too much like an equal, while Jane is supposed to be his employee. If Ruth Wilson hadn't been calling him sir the whole time, I would have forgotten that he was her master. Still, his love Jane was pretty real, so it "atones" :).

So what are feelings on Jayston? I feel like everyone forgets about him...

Ciarán Hinds - despite the dual obstacles of a most, um, remarkable script and some ... unique directorial choices.

On the latter alone, I could write a book: The Time Father Did NOT Know Best.

Were I also to hold forth on that script, and the production as a whole, I fear it would exceed the bandwith capacity of the Internets.

But through it all, Ciarán Hinds would be then, today, and for all eternity, The One True Mr. Rochester.

Nah, really? I mean, don't get me wrong, I liked Ciaran Hinds in some parts, but I think he (or at least the directors) flubbed one of the two most important parts of the story. a) When Rochester begs Jane not to leave him - Hinds seems more angry than desperate. b) The ending. I think he goes too quickly from "Jane, you're back!" to "I don't want a companion."

But he wasn't awful. I'd probably rank him 4th on my list.

Nah, really? I mean, don't get me wrong, I liked Ciaran Hinds in some parts, but I think he (or at least the directors) flubbed one of the two most important parts of the story. a) When Rochester begs Jane not to leave him - Hinds seems more angry than desperate. He could have definitely shown more emotion - he seems to just shout his lines
b) The ending. I think he goes too quickly from "Jane, you're back!" to "I don't want a companion." Actually, now that I think about it, Dalton did something similar in his version. Strange, I don't remember the book containing anything remotely similar to this - Rochester was completely grateful and overjoyed at Jane's return, only becoming slightly negative when he became jealous. Weird.

But, Ciaran Hinds was not too bad (Oh, and that adorable scene when Jane returns to Thornfield after visiting her Aunt Reed... I actually can't stop smiling when I think about it) I'd probably rank him 4th on my list. I appreciate that he definitely was not conventionally handsome, but still won me over in the end.

Oops. I was editing my original post, and I guess I sent the new one as a separate post. My bad :)