Audrey Niffenegger wrote a book that was essentially a trap for actors. It’s a beautiful, messy, heart-wrenching trap. When you look at the cast of The Time Traveler’s Wife, you aren't just looking at a list of names on an IMDb page. You’re looking at performers trying to solve a logistical nightmare: how do you play a relationship where one person is constantly aging out of sync with the other? It’s a story about Henry DeTamble, a librarian with a genetic disorder that flings him through time, and Clare Abshire, the woman who has to wait for him.
The casting choices for both the 2009 film and the 2022 HBO series tell two very different stories about how we view fate. Some people swear by the chemistry of the movie stars. Others think the TV adaptation finally got the "weirdness" of the book right. Honestly, it’s a bit of a toss-up depending on whether you prefer your romance polished or a little more chaotic.
The 2009 Big Screen Duo: Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams
In 2009, Hollywood did what it does best. It put two of the most charismatic people on the planet in a room and hoped for magic.
Eric Bana played Henry. Fresh off Munich and Troy, Bana brought a certain grounded, heavy masculinity to the role. He looked like a man who was physically exhausted by his own life, which is exactly what Henry is. He’s a guy who gets beaten up in alleys because he teleports there naked and confused. Bana’s performance is subtle. He doesn’t lean too hard into the sci-fi; he leans into the frustration of a man who can’t stay still long enough to raise a child or keep a job.
Then there’s Rachel McAdams as Clare.
If the 2000s had a queen of longing, it was McAdams. Coming off The Notebook, she was the logical choice. She has this specific ability to make "waiting" look like an active, painful choice rather than a passive one. In the film, her chemistry with Bana is undeniable, but the movie suffers from a compressed timeline. You don’t really get to see the decades of yearning that Niffenegger wrote about. It feels a bit like a highlight reel of a marriage.
Supporting Players in the Film
The movie also featured Ron Livingston as Gomez, the best friend who is secretly in love with Clare. Livingston plays it with that "nice guy" edge that makes you uncomfortable but also makes you pity him.
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Jane McLean played Charisse, and Arliss Howard took on the role of Richard DeTamble, Henry’s grieving father. The father-son dynamic in the film is actually one of its strongest points. It grounds the "time travel" as a hereditary curse, something passed down through blood like a heart condition or a bad temper.
The HBO Pivot: Theo James and Rose Leslie
Fast forward to 2022. Steven Moffat, the man who spent years running Doctor Who, decided he wanted a crack at the story. This version was a series, which meant the cast of The Time Traveler’s Wife had a lot more room to breathe.
Theo James was cast as Henry. This was a different Henry. James played him with a frantic, almost kinetic energy. He’s fast-talking, sarcastic, and a bit of a jerk in his younger years. It felt more like the book’s version—a man who is deeply traumatized by seeing his mother die over and over again. James had to play multiple versions of himself, often in the same scene. One minute he's a 28-year-old punk, the next he’s a 40-year-old husband trying to give his younger self advice. The prosthetic work was heavy, but James’s voice acting—changing the register and pace of his speech as Henry aged—did most of the heavy lifting.
Rose Leslie, famous for Game of Thrones, took on Clare.
Leslie brought a fire to the role that was missing in previous iterations. Her Clare isn't just a victim of Henry’s disappearances; she’s often angry about them. She’s stubborn. She yells. It’s a much more modern take on a woman trapped in a "soulmate" loop that feels more like a prison than a fairy tale.
The Problem of Casting Young Clare and Henry
This is where things get tricky. Because the characters meet at different points in their lives, the production has to cast children and teenagers who actually look like the leads.
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In the 2009 film, Brooklynn Proulx played the young Clare. She had to carry some of the most iconic scenes from the book—meeting Henry in the meadow for the first time. It’s a difficult thing for a child actor to convey: that sense of "I know this man, but I don't know him yet."
The 2022 series used Caitlin Shorey and Everleigh McDonell to play Clare at various ages. The series leaned much harder into the "creepy" factor of an adult man visiting a child in the woods, even if he is her future husband. The cast had to navigate that fine line between destiny and discomfort.
Why the Casting Matters for the Story's Success
People often argue about which version is better. The reality? They both succeeded and failed in different areas because of who was on screen.
- The Movie (Bana/McAdams): This was a romance first. The cast was chosen to make you cry. It worked because they were beautiful and the music was swelling, but it skipped over the darker, grittier parts of the book's "Genetic Chrono-Impairment."
- The Series (James/Leslie): This was a character study. The cast was chosen to show the friction of a relationship. It felt more like a real marriage, full of arguments and resentment, but it struggled to find the same mainstream "dreamy" appeal that the movie had.
There’s also the matter of Henry’s mother, Annette. In the film, she’s a fleeting memory. In the show, Kate Siegel (a horror veteran) plays her with a haunting grace. Her death scene in the car is the pivot point for Henry’s entire life, and Siegel’s performance makes you understand why Henry keeps traveling back to that specific, horrific moment. It’s not just a plot point; it’s a wound.
Navigating the Supporting Cast
The friends, Gomez and Charisse, are vital. They are the only "normal" people in the story.
In the HBO series, Desmin Borges (Gomez) and Natasha Lopez (Charisse) provide the necessary comic relief. But more than that, they provide perspective. They represent the world that Henry and Clare are missing out on—a world where time moves in one direction and you don't have to worry about your husband vanishing during dinner. Borges, in particular, captures that specific frustration of being a friend to a "superhero" who can't actually do anything useful with his powers.
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The Legacy of These Roles
Playing Henry DeTamble is a bit like playing The Doctor or Batman. You’re stepping into a role that has a massive, dedicated fanbase with very specific expectations.
Eric Bana gave us the romantic icon.
Theo James gave us the broken man.
Rose Leslie and Rachel McAdams both had to tackle the "waiting wife" trope, which is notoriously difficult to make interesting. McAdams did it with light; Leslie did it with heat.
The interesting thing about the cast of The Time Traveler’s Wife is how the actors handled the nudity. Henry arrives in new times with nothing. Both Bana and James had to deal with the vulnerability of that—literally and figuratively. It’s a metaphor for the character: he is always exposed, always at the mercy of the clock.
Essential Takeaways for Fans
If you're looking to dive into either of these adaptations, here is the "vibe check" for what you’re getting:
- Watch the 2009 Film if: You want a classic, tear-jerker romance. You want to see the chemistry of two of Hollywood's most reliable leads. You want a story that fits neatly into two hours with a beautiful, if bittersweet, ending.
- Watch the 2022 HBO Series if: You want the grit. You want to see the complexity of the "grooming" debate that the book sparked. You want to see Theo James do some of the best acting of his career across multiple ages.
- Read the Book if: You want the internal monologue. Neither cast can fully capture the way Niffenegger describes the "smell" of time or the specific ache of Henry’s displacement.
Ultimately, the cast of any version of this story has a mountain to climb. They have to make us believe in a love that defies physics. Whether it’s Bana’s soulful eyes or Leslie’s sharp wit, each actor brought a piece of that impossible puzzle to life.
To truly appreciate the performances, start with the 2009 film for the emotional foundation, then move to the HBO series to see how the story expands when given more time. Compare how James and Bana handle the "older Henry" scenes—it's a masterclass in how different actors interpret aging and trauma. If you're a student of acting or just a fan of the book, seeing these two different sets of casts tackle the same impossible script is one of the best ways to understand how much a performer's energy changes the DNA of a story.