The Dark Tower: This Actor Would Make The Perfect Tick-Tock…

Summary

Tick-Tock Man, a key character in Stephen King's Dark Tower series, needs an actor with a wide range to bring his complex villainy to life.
Oscar Isaac, with his captivating presence and intensity, is the perfect choice to embody the Tick-Tock Man's devotion and rage.
Isaac's ability to quickly make an impact, his versatility shown in Moon Knight, and his potential to expand the role make him ideal.

For every great hero or villain, there are secondary characters that either take on a deep presence of their own, or work to lift the primary characters to all new heights. In the acclaimed Dark Tower series by author Stephen King, one such character is found in Books 3 and 4 of the series (The Wastelands and Wizard and Glass respectively). That is the Tick-Tock Man, a secondary villain who proves to be a powerful thorn in Roland’s side and has a hand in two pivotal moments in Roland’s journey. In order to capture Tick-Tock Man properly, the series adaptation needs to bring in an actor with a wide range, who has embodied villainy well in the past and can bring that darkness without stealing attention from the main villains of the series. One such actor is a new Star Wars icon that has the skill to pull this off: Oscar Isaac.

The Star Wars and Marvel star is a popular name these days. He's brought popular characters like Poe Dameron, Apocalypse, and more recently Marc Spector, aka Moon Knight, to life in both film and television series. Between that and roles in sci-fi films such as Ex Machina and the upcoming role of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, and the actor is sure to strike a chord among audiences. Such a captivating actor essential to have a quick and powerful impact on the audience, and possibly even expand on the role as well, becoming another servant of the Crimson King’s goals in the Dark Tower. That is why Oscar Isaac would be the perfect actor to bring The Tick-Tock Man to life.

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By Timothy McClelland

The Tick-Tock Man, Explained

Otherwise known as Andrew Quick, the Tick-Tock Man debuts in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series in the third book of the series, The Wastelands. The character is first introduced after another secondary villain known as Gnasher abducts Jake Chambers, one of Roland’s ka-tet, in the famed city of LUD. The city has become the home of a civil war of sorts. Quick is the leader of a faction known as The Grays, who are at war with the Pubescents. The latter were once the younger generation of LUD and defenders of the city, before they grew old and the Grays became the invading force. Andrew Quick is the great-grandson of the famed outlaw prince of LUD known as David Quick, and furthers the goals of the Grays to conquer the city and destroy the Pubescents once and for all.

Gnasher, having stolen Jake from Roland, gives the boy to Andrew, who plans to brainwash the boy in an effort to use him to destroy his enemies. But Roland and Jake’s pet billy-bumbler, Oy, tracks Jake down, causing confusion in the Tick-Tock Man’s base of operations. This allows Jake to strike, taking a shot at Andrew and leaving him for dead. He and Roland, along with their allies, then travel aboard Blaine the Mono and leave the city behind.

But Andrew Quick survives, with the Man in Black arriving to offer him another chance at revenge against Roland and Jake. The Tick-Tock Man agrees, taking his role as the servant of the Man in Black right away. They are next seen in Wizard and Glass, towards the end of the book in the fictional Emerald Palace that Flagg creates to lure in Roland’s group. Making the Tick-Tock man his version of Oz the Great and Powerful, Flagg uses Andrew Quick as a distraction in an effort to derail Roland’s journey once more. However, the gambit fails and Roland, Eddie, Sussannah and Jake defeat the Tick-Tock Man once and for all.

Oscar Isaac Is the Perfect Choice For the Role

What makes Oscar Isaac such the perfect choice to bring this role to life is just how quick of an impact the actor needs to have, and the level of intensity Isaac brings to his roles. Andrew Quick rapidly turns from a powerful leader of an invading army in a war-torn city with a legacy to live up to, to suddenly being left powerless by a young boy. The hatred and rage he embodies in his survival needs to be felt immediately, as does his reverence for The Man in Black as his savior. The character is often compared to the Trash Can Man in another Stephen King book featuring Randall Flagg, The Stand. Both characters speak of Flagg by muttering the phrase “My Life for You.”

That level of devotion and wrath is the perfect medium for an actor of Oscar Isaac’s caliber to bring to life in a multi-episode arc, perhaps across multiple seasons, depending on the direction director and writer Mike Flanagan plans to take the adaptation of The Dark Tower when the series finally comes to life. Moon Knight was a perfect example of the actor’s range, with his role embodying several characters with varying personalities and traits. The subtle change in Andrew Quick, aka Tick-Tock Man’s, standing in the world of the Dark Tower would suit the actor perfectly.