Ask anyone about Prince Edward Island and they won't describe a map. They'll describe a face. For millions, that face belongs to Megan Follows, the definitive red-headed orphan who redefined what it meant to be a "heroine" in the mid-1980s. Finding the right actors in Anne of Green Gables wasn't just a casting call. Honestly, it was a cultural miracle. Kevin Sullivan, the producer who essentially bet his career on a Canadian miniseries, knew that if he missed on Anne, the whole thing would collapse like a poorly baked liniment cake.
He didn't miss.
But it's weird, right? We talk about these performances as if they happened yesterday, even though the definitive 1985 production is now forty years old. There’s a specific magic in how these actors inhabited Lucy Maud Montgomery’s world. They weren't just playing parts; they were capturing a very specific, polite, yet fiercely emotional Edwardian Canadian spirit.
The Megan Follows Gamble
Casting Anne Shirley was a nightmare. Over 3,000 girls auditioned. Think about that for a second. Three thousand. Sullivan originally thought Megan Follows was too old. She was seventeen, and Anne starts the story as a scrawny eleven-year-old. But when she got in front of the camera, something shifted. She had this specific "spark" that Montgomery wrote about—that combination of high-drama vocabulary and deep-seated vulnerability.
Megan didn't just play Anne; she survived her. The role required massive emotional swings. One minute she’s screaming at Mrs. Lynde, and the next she’s weeping over a dress with puffed sleeves. If an actress is 10% too theatrical, the character becomes annoying. If she’s too subtle, she’s not Anne. Follows found the "sweet spot" of being utterly exhausting and completely lovable. It’s why, despite dozens of adaptations since, her face is the one people see when they close their eyes and think of Green Gables.
Jonathan Crombie: The Boy Next Door Who Never Left
Then there's Gilbert Blythe.
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Jonathan Crombie didn't even have a headshot when he was cast. He was just a kid in a high school play whom casting director Diane Polley (mother of filmmaker Sarah Polley) spotted. That’s the kind of "lightning in a bottle" luck you can’t manufacture. Crombie’s Gilbert was the blueprint for the "sensitive guy" trope before it was a cliché. He didn't play Gilbert as a bully or a heartthrob. He played him as a boy who was genuinely impressed by a girl’s brain.
When he called her "Carrots" and got a slate smashed over his head, you could see it in his eyes. He wasn't mad. He was hooked. That chemistry between Follows and Crombie is the engine of the entire series. It’s genuinely heartbreaking to remember that Jonathan passed away in 2015. To fans, he’s frozen in time—the boy on the bridge, waiting for Anne to notice him.
The Pillars: Colleen Dewhurst and Richard Farnsworth
You can't talk about the actors in Anne of Green Gables without bowing down to the elders. Colleen Dewhurst was already acting royalty—the "Queen of Off-Broadway." Bringing her in as Marilla Cuthbert gave the production instant gravitas. Dewhurst’s Marilla is a masterclass in repression. She uses her mouth like a thin line, barely letting a smile through, yet you can feel the tectonic plates of her heart shifting as she falls for this orphan.
And then... Richard Farnsworth.
Farnsworth was a former stuntman who became a late-in-life Oscar nominee. As Matthew Cuthbert, he barely speaks. He doesn't have to. Every shrug, every "Well now," and every shy glance toward Anne communicates a lifetime of loneliness being healed. There’s a specific scene where he buys Anne the dress with the puffed sleeves. He goes to the store, gets terrified of the female clerk, and ends up buying twenty pounds of brown sugar just to avoid asking for the dress. It’s funny, but Farnsworth makes it ache.
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The contrast between Dewhurst’s sharp edges and Farnsworth’s soft silence created the perfect environment for Anne to grow. Most people forget that Schuyler Grant, who played Diana Barry, was actually the niece of Katharine Hepburn. She brought a grounded, "kindred spirit" energy that kept Anne’s flights of fancy from floating off into space.
Why Other Versions Struggle to Compete
We've had Anne with an E on Netflix, and we’ve had the 1934 talkies, and the 2016 TV movies. Amybeth McNulty was fantastic in the Netflix version—she brought a gritty, trauma-informed realism to the role that was actually very true to the books. But for many, it felt too "dark."
The 1985 actors in Anne of Green Gables struck a balance that feels impossible to replicate now. They captured the "Golden Age" feel without being cheesy. When Patricia Hamilton (Rachel Lynde) gossips, she isn't a caricature; she’s that neighbor we all have who is "judiciously" judgmental.
The casting succeeded because it focused on theatrical talent rather than "star power." Aside from Dewhurst and Farnsworth, these were largely Canadian stage actors. They understood the rhythm of the language. They knew how to wear a corset or a stiff collar without looking like they were in a costume.
The Lingering Legacy of the Cast
What’s really wild is how this group of people stayed connected to the material. Many of them returned for the sequels, even as the scripts drifted further away from Montgomery’s original books. They became guardians of the characters.
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If you look at the career trajectories after the 1985 series:
- Megan Follows became a powerhouse director and starred in Reign.
- Jonathan Crombie spent years on Broadway and at the Stratford Festival.
- Colleen Dewhurst continued her legendary run until her passing in 1991.
- Richard Farnsworth gave one of the greatest late-career performances ever in The Straight Story.
They didn't just "do a TV show." They built a monument. For a lot of people, these actors represent a specific kind of Canadian identity—one that is rugged, poetic, and deeply sentimental under a layer of frost.
The 1985 production remains the gold standard because the actors didn't try to be "modern." They didn't wink at the camera. They treated Anne’s "depths of despair" as life-and-death stakes. When Anne loses her best friend or loses her "scope for imagination," these actors play it with the intensity of a Shakespearean tragedy. That’s why we’re still talking about them.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you want to experience the work of these actors beyond the surface level, there are a few specific ways to dive deeper into their performances and the history of the production.
- Watch the "Restored" Blu-ray: The original 16mm film was painstakingly restored a few years ago. Seeing the nuances in Colleen Dewhurst’s expressions in high definition changes the experience. The grainy DVD versions don't do justice to the cinematography or the subtle acting.
- Track Down the "Cast Memoirs": Kevin Sullivan’s book Looking for Anne provides the real-world grit behind the casting process. It details the tension, the near-misses, and why certain actors almost didn't get their roles.
- Visit the L.M. Montgomery Institute: Located at the University of Prince Edward Island, they often host retrospectives on how the actors influenced the global perception of the books.
- Compare the "Acting Eras": Watch the 1934 film starring "Anne Shirley" (the actress actually changed her name to the character's name) and then watch the 1985 version. Pay attention to how the 1985 cast moved away from "melodrama" toward "naturalism." It’s a fascinating study in how acting styles evolved.