Mis-Casting Major Roles

jpfahy

I'm starting a thread here for your opinions on big roles in cinema history that were miscast.

My own vote goes to Dustin Hoffman in 'The Graduate'. This film was a huge success and is well regarded but I believe Hoffman was a terrible choice for the lead. He was however nominated for an Oscar.
Plot Synopsis: A disillusioned college graduate is seduced by a friend of his parents (Ann Bancroft - superb casting). He subsequently falls in love with this woman's daughter (Katharine Ross - great casting again). True love triumphs - iconic final scene as the bride runs from the altar into Hoffman's arms and they run off together
Apparently Robert Redford tested for the role and in my opinion would have done a better job as I believe the role called for a good looking All-American type. Hoffman just isn't believable as a guy who a married woman would try to seduce and a beautiful girl would give up all for.
Opinions please

speedboatchase

Good idea for a thread OP:

Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia already looks like a major misfire.
Julia Roberts in Michael Collins was all-demographic-conquering nonsense.
Will Smith should not have been a black cowboy in a PG13 Wild Wild West.
Tarantino as himself in Pulp Fiction is always a moment that takes you completely out of the film. Everybody gives incredible performances and then... then he shows up talking about his coffee
Keanu Reeves in Dracula. And nearly everything else to be fair
Mos Def in 16 Blocks. The most incredibly irritating accent in film history - that actually isn't hyperbole, go on YouTube
Scwarzenegger in Batman and Robin. As bad as that film is, Uma Thurman comes out unscathed with a pretty good villain performance, not so for Arnie

A lot of people will probably mention Tom Cruise in Valkyrie but I thought he did a good job.

MikeC101

DiCaprio in The Aviator - not a reflection on his acting skills, just he looks too young for the role. Which is something he's cursed with really. Even in the trailers for the upcoming Shutter Island he looks like a kid dressed up in his dads suit. (I've also heard he was going to play Bateman in American Psycho, which might have been a contender for this thread).

John Wayne in The Conqueror. John Wayne playing John Wayne, but meant to be Genghis Khan. Say no more.

Sofia Coppola in the Godfather Part 3. Fairly obvious reasons, not much of an actress, and only in it because of who her dad was. I'm not sure this counts as a "major" role though, but I think it's a common choice when discussing miscast roles.

Orlando Bloom in Kingdom of Heaven. I like the film, and what Scott tried to do with it (shame it was promoted as a Gladiator style action movie) but Bloom as Balian was a horrible choice. He just wasn't credible as a tough blacksmith, or a hardened crusader.

Every single major role in Alexander. Which is more a reflection on the director, and my hatred of the film I suppose.

Keanu Reeves in *throws dart*....Dracula. Or maybe Constantine. Then again the whole decision to make Constantine an American gun toting ass kicker was woeful, so it's likely I'd be listing anyone who played that role.

mike65

Laurence Olivier - Mohammad Ahmed in Khartoum
Chuck Heston as Michelangelo (though aparantly he did a decent job)

thorbarry

George Clooney - Batman Forever

humanji

I always felt Hoffman was a little out of place in the Graduate, but it did let me believe that if it could happen to him, it could happen to me! I heard Hoffman was also going to play Rambo, so that could of been interesting especially if they kept him for the sequels.



I didn't think Keanu Reeves was too bad in Constantine, to be honest. Since it was converted to an American action film, he kind of fit the role. And I kind of liked Mos Def in 16 Blocks. His accent was annoying, but other than that he was pretty good in the role.

Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker was just a terrible choice. And this will probably be an unpopular choice but I didn't like Anthony Hopkins as Hannible Lector. I much prefered Brian Cox who was a much more menacing character, where as Hopkins version was a cartoon supervillain type which I felt made the character a whole lot less believable.

Decuc500

James Cromwell as tough Irish cop Dudley Smith in L.A. Confidential. Too old, too weedy, not tough enough. Brendan Gleeson would have been perfect.

Vegeta

humanji wrote: »

Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker was just a terrible choice.

Ding ding ding Jackpot!

Also Tom Hanks in the Dan Brown movie adaptations.

Penn

Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane in Superman Returns

Otacon

Decuc500 wrote: »

James Cromwell as tough Irish cop Dudley Smith in L.A. Confidential. Too old, too weedy, not tough enough. Brendan Gleeson would have been perfect.

TBH when I was watching it, I didn't think there was anything wrong with Cromwell, but when you mention Gleeson, I can now see where it could have been at least improved.

foxyboxer

Decuc500 wrote: »

James Cromwell as tough Irish cop Dudley Smith in L.A. Confidential. Too old, too weedy, not tough enough. Brendan Gleeson would have been perfect.

Hmm, it was because he was old and weedy that

You are so shocked when he shoots Spacey's character Jack Vincenze. If it was Brendan Gleeson then the shock wouldn't have the same impact

Decuc500

Otacon wrote: »

TBH when I was watching it, I didn't think there was anything wrong with Cromwell, but when you mention Gleeson, I can now see where it could have been at least improved.

I was just too big a fan of James Ellroys books and had a different picture of the character in my head. Always a problem with movie adaptations of books you like.

uncleoswald

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane in Superman Returns

Absof*ckinglutely! What were they thinking? It made so little sense I always wondered if it was a studio decision? Felt the same about Brandon Routh but he won me over.

I think DiCaprio also suffers for looking too young in everything he is in.

Stuart Townsend as Aragon in Lord of the Rings. Luckly he felt the same and quit.

monkeyfudge

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane in Superman Returns

Yeah. The main problem there was that she was way too young. She would have had to have been about 18 years old when she had the kid.

humanji

monkeyfudge wrote: »

Yeah. The main problem there was that she was way too young. She would have had to have been about 18 years old when she had the kid.

And since you'd assume she and Clark dated for a few years before, you kind of understand why he had to leave town!

krudler

Halle Berry in X-Men, cast purely because they probably couldnt think of another black actress for the role, the worst thing in all 3 movies

Josey Wales

humanji wrote: »

I didn't like Anthony Hopkins as Hannible Lector. I much prefered Brian Cox who was a much more menacing character, where as Hopkins version was a cartoon supervillain type which I felt made the character a whole lot less believable.

I think your right about Hopkins performance but only in relation to his appearances in the sequels Hannibal and Red Dragon. I thought in Silence of the Lambs he was very effective.

cashback

Kevin Spacey in The Shipping News. I only saw half of the film and didn't read the book, but he just did not seem to fit the role at all.

uncleoswald

krudler wrote: »

Halle Berry in X-Men, cast purely because they probably couldnt think of another black actress for the role, the worst thing in all 3 movies

Worse then Vinnie Jones?

jasonbourme.cs

Christian Bale in terminator salvation , thought he spent the whole movie using his " batman voice " :rolleyes:

krudler

uncleoswald wrote: »

Worse then Vinnie Jones?

Yup:) I hate Halle Berry, one of the most untalented actresses to ever win an oscar, thankfully Catwoman pretty much killed her career, and good riddance

homerun_homer

Not that this would have saved the movie but Matthew Goode as Veidt/Ozymandias in Watchmen was a terrible choice. The comic book had a big buff character who oozed intelligence and then the film brings in this weedy, school boy looking actor. He didn't look right at all.

jaykhunter

Damn, there's some great examples in here!

Jack Black in King Kong. Wow.

I personally hate Shia leBouf. I can't help thinking someone else could've done a much better job in Transformers. The guys 'get' Megan Fox but the girls 'get' Shia lePuff. Something about his face makes me want to punch him! Especially in Indiana Jones 4. Maybe that's the character though...rat-faced Greaser with a sword :pac::pac::pac:

Shryke

homerun_homer wrote: »

Not that this would have saved the movie but Matthew Goode as Veidt/Ozymandias in Watchmen was a terrible choice. The comic book had a big buff character who oozed intelligence and then the film brings in this weedy, school boy looking actor. He didn't look right at all.

I thought he fit the role well. He wasn't all that buff, more athletic and clean cut which is what his character was. All super heroes look buff in comics, it's just default.

I might as well say I thought Keanu Reeves was great in Constantine but I hadn't read the comics before I saw it.

I'll add Orlando Bloom in the Pirates films, as well as Kiera Knightly. To say nothing of the later films the first one was brilliant. They were the only bad things about it. I also agree with Kingdom of Heaven, which I liked in spite of the lead which says something. I've been meaning to watch the directors cut which is meant to be a great improvement on the theatrical release.

I'll also add that Christopher Lee and Iain McKellen should have had each others roles in LotR.

Katie Holmes in Batman. She was like a child play acting. Her scenes would have sat a little bit more comfy with me if she had been wearing clothes ten times too big for her.

Penn

monkeyfudge wrote: »

Yeah. The main problem there was that she was way too young. She would have had to have been about 18 years old when she had the kid.

Younger. I think the kid was 5, which means you're talking nearly 6 years from conception. She was 22 when she was in Superman Returns. No wonder Superman is all emo in that film, he's been hanging round with teen girls.

Shryke wrote:

I'll also add that Christopher Lee and Iain McKellen should have had each others roles in LotR.

Really? I dunno, while I think Ian McKellen could have played Saruman brilliantly, I think Christopher Lee was more suited to that role, and far less suited to Gandalf. He just looks old and sinister.

I agree with you on Holmes, Bloom and Knightly though. Especially Holmes

irishwarrior

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane in Superman Returns

Huge superman fan,she just wasn't up to the part...big big let down:(

Clare_Guy

Will Smith in ''Legend of Bagger Vance'' I actually liked the movie, it was shot beautifully and had a good cast. Ok it was a bit twee but what really ruined it for me was the casting of a twenty-something Will Smith in a role that was made for Morgan Freeman...

cabrwab

My problem with halle berry in xmen is she's just not clever enough.
In my eyes the perfect person to play that role was always angela bassett, i think her tougher more mature storm would have being perfect.

Vinne jones as juggernaut was the first thing that popped into my head about a bad casting decision.

fitz0

jasonbourme.cs wrote: »

Christian Bale in terminator salvation , thought he spent the whole movie using his " batman voice " :rolleyes:

Definitely. Lets leave aside how sh*t the film was for a second. If you switched CB with the fella playing the man-terminator then it would have vastly improved the film. FFS Christian Bale did a better job of robotic acting than all the feckin robots put together!

bnt

I keep hearing about how bad Sofia Coppola was in The Godfather Part III, and while I agree she was no professional actress, I thought she was an awkward teenager playing an awkward teenager, and not miscasting at all. It was a bit of last-minute casting after Winona Ryder dropped out.

Here's a classic example, from Paint Your Wagon (1969):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh2UzWgSw3Q

MikeC101

bnt wrote: »

I keep hearing about how bad Sofia Coppola was in The Godfather Part III, and while I agree she was no professional actress, I thought she was an awkward teenager playing an awkward teenager, and not miscasting at all. It was a bit of last-minute casting after Winona Ryder dropped out.

She's poor in it, that's hard to deny, but then again I always thought it must have been tough for someone with little experience to be in so many scenes with Pacino, and be judged against that.

To be fair to her it's not really her fault, it's Francis Ford Coppola whose to blame really. I know Ryder dropped out at short notice, but it's hard to believe they couldn't have gotten a more experienced, proven actress.

That's why I think she's perfect for a thread like this, she was miscast more than anything.

storker

John Wayne as Ghengis Khan.

(You really have to see it to appreciate it.)

Stork

faceman

I agree that Lois Lane was badly cast in Superman Returns.

Katie Holmes wasnt the right fit in Batman Begins. Shes too plankish anyway.

George Clooney was an awful Batman although the film sucked something awful anyway.

I disagree about the OP's comment on the graduate. I dont believe Redford could give as convincing a performance as Hoffman when it came to capturing the naivety that Hoffman did. He was too much of a sexy symbol to pull it off.

Jon Voight in The General. He was clearly there to appeal to American audiences.

Mark Hamill in Star Wars. cant act, cant sing, cant play.....

Arnold Layne

Linda Fiorentina in Ordinary Decent Criminal, I believe they had to dubb her voice to get a Dublin accent

JP Liz

Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith and Tom Hanks in The Bonfire of the Vanities

Driver 8

Matthew Broderick in Glory

and I haven't seen it yet, but judging from the trailer, Mark Wahlberg in the Lovely Bones. Hopefully I'm wrong

indough

Driver 8 wrote: »

Matthew Broderick in Glory

yep

MagicMarker

Christian Bale - Batman, he's the perfect Bruce Wayne, but not a very good Batman.

Ben Affleck - Daredevil, I didn't even watch it just because of this.

Colin Farrell - Alexander, yep, I didn't watch this either.

Brien

Arnold Layne wrote: »

Linda Fiorentina in Ordinary Decent Criminal, I believe they had to dubb her voice to get a Dublin accent

Yeah, and again in Dogma.

I loved Robin Hood and enjoyed Daredevil though I agree with most other names mentioned

Denzel Washington in Inside Man. a less cocky guy would have made it a lot different, maybe better. (I liked it though, Clive Owen was spot on there)

Magic Eight Ball

faceman wrote: »

Jon Voight in The General. He was clearly there to appeal to American audiences.

Seriously? Regardless If he was there to appeal to American audiences or not, he did a fine job in the role.. and nailed the accent!

Roaster

Jennifer Lopez in anything.

irish_bob

colin farell in alexander
jack black in king kong
samuel L jackson in the star wars trilogy
andie mcdowell in anything
jonathan price as the bond villian in tommorow never dies
clive owen in sin city

qwertplaywert

Roaster wrote: »

Jennifer Lopez in anything.

She gets a lot of stick, but she'll always be alright in my books for Out of Sight

Duggy747

Mos Def in 16 Blocks, the most annoying bastard character on film.

Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince Of Persia, I just don't see him as a franchise action hero, though he buffed up well for the part. Imagine if he was chosen for Batman which he very nearly got. (Might've worked but I couldn't see Batman as a sour ol' cùnt)

Will Ferrell in anything. Seriously, how many times can you play the man-child and get away with it.

Katie Holmes in Batman Begins. Ooooooooh, such an irritating bitch. Bruce Wayne is seeking vengence on criminals and she walks around with a fierce scowl on her face.

Matthew Broderick - I just can't stand him and his face and his voice and even the thought of him!!!!

gucci

Duggy747 wrote: »

Mos Def in 16 Blocks, the most annoying bastard character on film!

I think the idea of him being annoying was what they wanted in the film, but he was so irritating after a while that it almost made the film into a Lethal Weapon/Die Hard copycat movie, which I wouldnt think was what they were going for.

Vegeta

faceman wrote: »

Mark Hamill in Star Wars. cant act, cant sing, cant play.....

Mark Hamill is a fantastic voice actor/artist

Kess73

MagicMarker wrote: »

Christian Bale - Batman, he's the perfect Bruce Wayne, but not a very good Batman.

Ben Affleck - Daredevil, I didn't even watch it just because of this.

Colin Farrell - Alexander, yep, I didn't watch this either.

You did not watch the film, yet you can say Affleck was miscast in the role?


I suggest you watch the directors cut of Daredevil, and then decide whether or not Affleck was a good Matt Murdock/Daredevil.

For me, Affleck did a good job in the role, and was a convincing Murdock with the right build for when he was in costume.

Cactus Col

Gonna choose from films I do quite like...

Maggie Gyllenhall in Dark Knight.
Never had a problem with Katie Holms ... but Maggie Gyllenhall (an actress I quite like) was just wrong for the part. Among other things she moved too much like a catwalk model.

Bruce Willis in Sin City.
He did fine in the role, but he didn't quite fit the figure I had in my mind for Hardigan. I think Brendan Gleeson would have done much better in that role.

Was tempted to say Kirsten Dunst in Spiderman ... but then I realised it was the character I didn't like, rather than the actress playing her.

jArgHA

Some have already been mentioned:

Keanu Reeves in Dracula:
I really like Oldman in this and quite like the film overall but Keanu's accent/wooden acting is brutal

Not exactly a major role but deserves a mention:
Miley in Alexander

Mark Wahlberg in The Departed:
He just didn't work for me in the role, the performance seemed too forced

Marlon Wayans & Tom Hanks in The Ladykillers
OK the remake was pants but WTF!

Handsome Bob

Katie Holmes in Batman Begins - Completely out of her depth among the big boys.

Chris O'Donnell in BF and B&R - About 6 years too old to play Robin, they might as well have called him Nightwing.

Christian Bale in Terminator Salvation - With a better director it may have worked.

Keanu Reeves in Dracula - I actually thought he was okay at first but he horribly regressed as the film went on. That Californian accent was there in all its' painful glory by the end of the film.

The entire cast of Queen of the Damned was miscast.

Duggy747

Vegeta wrote: »

Mark Hamill is a fantastic voice actor/artist

Damn right: