Surprising Casting.

grohlisagod

There have been many occasions when I've seen a person cast in a role that really took me by surprise, but turned out to be an excellent choice.

One that stands out for me is Henry Fonda in Once upon a time in the West. Seeing Fonda as a villain goes against the grain of films like 12 Angry Men, but he really makes a cool bad-guy.

Another is David Schwimmer in Band of Brothers as Captain Sobel. A far cry from Ross but he is excellent in the role.

I hope I can say the same thing about Anne Hathaway as Catwoman!:)

ziedth

I'm going to admit it when I heard about Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight I all but gave up on the film. Not that I didn't rate him as an actor I just didn't think he'd have the range to pull it off and I went on many rants to the lads about how **** he'd be.

Needless to say I was very wrong and I honestly think had he not tragically died he could have been an absolute star.

That or Will Smith as Ali. Again I wrote him off very early on but he was worth his Oscar nod.

bnt

I'm not quite sure why casting would be "surprising". There are many cases of actors going out of their way to play against typecasting: e.g. after many romcoms, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan both played serious military roles (Saving Private Ryan, Courage Under Fire) before being tempted to do one more romcom (You've Got Mail). I wouldn't call those really "surprising", since they are both good actors who can extend themselves beyond their typecasting - and they did so again (Road To Perdition, In The Cut).

The casting of Sofia Coppola in The Godfather Part III was a surprise to me, since several established actresses were up for the part. I accept her Dad's explanation of events - Winona Ryder pulling out at the last minute - and (unlike some critics) I don't have any real complaints about the results.

scico rocks

I laughed when i heard that Michael Keaton was going to be Batman. He pulled it off admirably and would probably prefer him over Christian Bale.

Mickeroo

I thought Brad Pitt in snatch was fairly out of the ordinary, turned out to be hilarious too.

Speaking of unlikely casting, has Mark Strong ever had a role where he wasn't a villain?

ziedth

^ I was actually thinking for a good 5min(I refuse to IMDB these things) but baring a fairly obvious example the only thing I can think of is RocknRolla.

He suits the role so well in all fairness.

Mickeroo

ziedth wrote: »

^ I was actually thinking for a good 5min(I refuse to IMDB these things) but baring a fairly obvious example the only thing I can think of is RocknRolla.

He suits the role so well in all fairness.

What role he play in that again? Can't for the life of me remember.

I don't count Sinestro in Green Lantern as a good guy if that was the fairly obvious example?

ziedth

He was like the henchman for the badguy I think his name was Archie. He wasn't good per se but not the villain by any means. It's close enough for me.

I can't see him leading a Rom-Com anytime soon.

DjFlin

Justin Timberlake was great in The Love Guru. As a matter of fact, he was the only good thing about it.

Tom Cruise is also quite funny as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder and the MTV Movie awards.

Andre80Johnson

On Mark Strong, he had a bit part in Damian O'Donnells Heartland where he was actually a nice guy, and in love too.

For me, I would say Mark Wahlberg in The Departed. Was different and refreshing to see. But that's me.