Warwick Davis as Marvin, an android who is clinically depressed Anna Chancellor as Questular, the Vice-President of the Galaxy Alan Rickman as voice of Marvin Helen Mirren as voice of Deep Thought, a super-computer Stephen Fry as Narrator John Malkovich as Humma Kavula, Zaphod's opponent from the planet Vildvodle VI In addition, Bill Bailey voices the whale, Ian McNeice voices Kwaltz, Richard Griffiths voices Jeltz and Thomas Lennon voices Eddie the computer. Simon Jones, who portrayed Arthur Dent in both the BBC radio and BBC television adaptations of Hitchhiker's, makes a cameo appearance as the Ghostly Image. Production Development Bringing The Hitchhiker's Guide to a theatrical version started as early as the 1970s, as documented in The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made by David Hughes. Douglas Adams had been approached by one unnamed producer and separately by the American Broadcasting Company network during the 1970s to turn the book into a film, but Adams refused both offers, as he feared they wanted to turn the work into "Star Wars with jokes". In 1982, Adams signed an option for the film with producers Ivan Reitman, Joe Medjuck and Michael C. Gross, and completed three scripts for them. As part of the rewrites, Medjuck and Gross offered the idea of bringing in either Bill Murray or Dan Aykroyd to play Ford Prefect. However, Aykroyd separately proposed a different story to Reitman, which led to this project becoming the basis for Ghostbusters. This left Adams flustered about the film's development in making sure there was the necessary commitment to the project. However, the event did serve the idea of making Prefect an American as to better draw in that audience. Movement on the film was quiet until around 2001, when director Jay Roach, using the clout he had gained from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and Meet the Parents, secured a new deal with Adams and production through Disney. Adams wrote a new script, and Roach sought talent like Spike Jonze to direct, Hugh Laurie to play Arthur, and Jim Carrey as Zaphod, but then Adams died on 11 May 2001. Neither Roach nor the film's executive producer Robbie Stamp wanted to see their work go for naught after Adams' death. Roach brought in Karey Kirkpatrick to complete the screenplay based on Adams' final draft, submitted just before his death. Kirkpatrick used what notes Adams had left, finding that Adams was willing