New Zealand-born actor Martin Henderson was cast as Noah, and Parkes notes that it was more than acting ability that made him right for the role. "Martin is so at ease, with a natural charisma and an ability to occupy a role effortlessly. What was also great about him for the part of Noah was that his natural exuberance and charm is a great counterbalance to Naomi's intensity on screen. The two of them were fantastic together. I thought it was interesting that Martin is from New Zealand and Naomi's from Australia, but you'd never know it to hear them do American accents. When Martin came in for the role, you would have thought he was a kid from Long Beach or something."

Naomi and Martin's dueling accents led to some good-natured ribbing on the set. "Between takes, we'd joke around with each other's accents and play into the whole New Zealand-Australia rivalry," Henderson smiles.

Long before he came to the set, however, Henderson recalls reading Ehren Kruger's screenplay and being immediately hooked. "I thought it was extremely scary, and every time I read it I became more aware of the little subliminal things that you don't notice at first. I think that's the beauty of this movie; you don't know where the evil is coming from. There are images on the tape, and as the movie progresses, you begin to see the connection and understand the origin. Hopefully, the audience will be taken on that ride."

In many ways, the characters of both Rachel and Noah are along for that same ride, though, Henderson acknowledges, Noah is decidedly reluctant to be taken in. "There's this very sarcastic attitude to my character at first. His expertise is in the world of cameras and videos, which is why Rachel enlists his help, but it makes him very disbelieving. He thinks, 'It's a videotape, a piece of plastic, get over it.' But as things start happening to him, he starts to wonder if there may be some truth to the story, and when it becomes irrefutable, he pretty much freaks out and jumps on the train and they're off. The stakes get higher and higher as they go on."

The stakes reach their breaking point in one devastating turn when, to Rachel's horror, her son Aidan watches the tape. Child actor David Dorfman plays Aidan, and Verbinski says he had an understanding of the role that belied his years. "David really is brilliant. He was smart enough to know what his character was thinking and to understand the emotional core of the role. It didn't blow his mind when we talked about things on that level, and that is really wonderful when you're working with someone so young."