Actors who were totally miscast, all wrong for the role, and yet did a wonderful job with it.

[Annie-Xmas]

Giving credit where credit is due: I am so totally ripping this question off from Talkin' Broadway's All That Chat

All the Stephen King threads make my first choice Sissy Spacek in the role of Carrie White. She was too thin, too pretty, and at 26 possibly too old, yet she made ethe character come alive.

[CalMeacham]

Lee J. Cobb was totally unlike what Miller had in mind for the lead role of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. Miller himself has said so, but he created the role on Broadway and made it his, so he's pretty much the default image (even though they got Fredric March for the film version).


Miller himself later said, when Dustin Hoffman took the role on Broadway, that he was more of what he had in mind.

[Gyrate]

Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd. He was too young, too slight, too pretty and not a strong singer - but by the end he had won me over anyway. Unlike HB-C who faced the same problems and never really became Mrs Lovett (a role definitely played by Angela Lansbury IMHO).

[RealityChuck]

Everyone thought Michael Keaton was miscast as Batman -- too lightweight and hard to believe as the Dark Knight. But he was probably the best of all the Batmans.

[smiling bandit]

In an odd way, Keanu Reeves as John Constantine. Aside from the fact that the entire movie was completely transplanted and kept much fo the feel, but none of the detail of the original, Keanu was surprisingly good as a depressed, sick son-of-a-gun with few redeeming qualities, but who steps up to be the hero anyway.

[Lobohan]

In an odd way, Keanu Reeves as John Constantine. Aside from the fact that the entire movie was completely transplanted and kept much fo the feel, but none of the detail of the original, Keanu was surprisingly good as a depressed, sick son-of-a-gun with few redeeming qualities, but who steps up to be the hero anyway.Yeah, it's weird. I love Constantine the film but hate the liberties they took with the characters. It totally stands on its own, but is a pretty faithless translation of the comic book John Constantine.

Like you said, they nailed the feel of the film.

[kunilou]

I remember when Robert Altman's film Nashville came out, one of the local critics thought it was the best movie of the year, while another despised it. The paper ran their two columns side by side.

One review included the line "Henry Gibson, stunningly cast against type. . ."

The other said "Henry Gibson, woefully miscast. . ."

[Serenata67]

Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married. Now, she's branched out a bit, but at the time, she was the sweet girl-next-door. Ella Enchanted, Princess Diaries, etc. had been her previous experience, but in Rachel, she was disturbed, addicted, etc.

Also, Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction. He's usually the jerk or the man-child, but in this movie, he was subdued, confused, frightened... and he pulled it off.

And while we're talking about comedians who can pull off drama, I loved Dane Cook as Mr. Smith in Mr. Brooks. He was so sly, so manipulative, so disturbed. Totally unlike his stand up where he's flailing around as a goofy idiot.

[Swallowed My Cellphone]

Yeah, it's weird. I love Constantine the film but hate the liberties they took with the characters. It totally stands on its own, but is a pretty faithless translation of the comic book John Constantine.

Like you said, they nailed the feel of the film.In my head, I always pictured John Constantine to be a lot more like Gregory House, but my mental image would not fit that film.

[Annie-Xmas]

Harry Solomon was supposedly to be a fat couch potato, but when the producers saw French Stewart they rewrote the role.

Silimarly, T-Bag on Prison Break was supposedly to be an ignorant reneck type. But Robert Knepper's interpretation of the role as cultured evil personified won them over.

[MTCicero]

By all rights, the casting of Tom Cruise as Lestat in Interview with the Vampire should not have worked. But damned if he didn't perfectly embody the wicked, bisexual vamp.

[PunditLisa]

In the Sookie Stackhouse ("True Blood") books, Bill Compton was a Confederate soldier with young kids, which would put him in his mid-to-late 20s. Stephen Moyer is 40-something, not to mention a Brit. When he first appeared on screen, it was jarring because he wasn't what I pictured, but I've come to love him in the role.

Olivia Newton-John was way too old to play a high school senior, yet I can't imagine anyone else in the role of Sandy in "Grease"

The part of Gareth Keenan in the UK "The Office" series was written to an overweight yet vulnerable guy. It took awhile for Gervais and Merchant to realize that young, skinny Mackenzie Crook would be the right choice.

And, of course, we have the fact that Angel on "Buffy" had a face of an angel. David Boreanaz was way too beefy for the role, but he worked for me.

[PSXer]

Gregory Peck did a pretty good job in Moby Dick but he is too pretty to play a mangled sea captain

[Little Nemo]

Charlize Theron, who was generally regarded as a lightweight beauty, did an amazing job playing Aileen Wournas in Monster.

[Robot Arm]

Eli Wallach usually strikes me as cultured and well-spoken. He was totally wrong for Tuco in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and he absolutely stole it.

In my head, I always pictured John Constantine to be a lot more like Gregory House, but my mental image would not fit that film.Speaking of which, who thought a foppish, English, comic actor could play an acerbic, drug-addicted, American doctor?

[pravnik]

Daniel Craig as James Bond. Everybody was saying he was totally wrong for Bond, he's not good looking enough, you can't have a blond Bond, he'll be terrible, etc., until Casino Royale came out and squelched the naysayers.

[Bijou Drains]

Anne Hathaway did a topless scene a the movie Havoc before she did Rachel Getting married. Havoc was really bad but it was nice to see her hooters.

[Sam A. Robrin]

Randle Patrick McMurphy is one of my favorite fictional characters, and my personal image of him was so strong, when Jack Nicholson portrayed him in the movie version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I was disappointed by his portrayal. Eventually, I came to accept that there was no one right way to play the role, and that it was a spectacular performance, but it had a lot of prior imagery to overcome before I could admit that.

[etv78]

Also, Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction. He's usually the jerk or the man-child, but in this movie, he was subdued, confused, frightened... and he pulled it off.

Similiarly, Bill Murray in Lost in Translation

[ToeJam]

Micheal Cera in Scott Pilgrim was a total miscasting at first.... But watching the film, he truly made the role his own, and it worked.

[Bryan Ekers]

By all rights, the casting of Tom Cruise as Lestat in Interview with the Vampire should not have worked. But damned if he didn't perfectly embody the wicked, bisexual vamp.

Yes, he does, but what about his acting?




I wouldn't have thought Humphrey Bogart, quntessentially cool and cynical, could play a pathetic paranoid nutcase, but here you go. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zgeQmzV9kk)

[Crawlspace]

If I told you during the hay-day of Friends that David Schwimmer would be cast as a hard ass Lt/Cpt of one of the most venerated companies of the 101st Airbore Division you would have laughed in my face. He's too nervous, neurotic, and nebbish, you would have said. But in Band of Brothers his portrayal of Sobel was brilliant because of all those things.

[Linty Fresh]

Lord of War is one of my favorite movies over the past ten years, but casting Nicholas Cage as the title character has always bothered me just a bit.

The main character, Yuri Orlov, supposedly escaped from the Ukraine with his family. His parents look, sound, and act like Ukrainians. They are swarthy with Slavic accents and even if Yuri could escape from the neighborhood often enough to develop an American accent of his own, it would have been a New York accent, because, well, they live in fucking Brighton Beach.

He should not look and act like a guy from the Valley complete with a SoCal accent. They could have dug up John Belushi's corpse and just parade it around in front of the cameras, and that would have been a better casting decision than hiring Nicholas Cage.

And yet, Nick stole the show. He was fantastic in that role. Nick does "haunted" very well, and he really has turned into a good actor over the years. I didn't even think to question the casting until an hour after the credits rolled.

[kittenblue]

Everyone thought Michael Keaton was miscast as Batman -- too lightweight and hard to believe as the Dark Knight. But he was probably the best of all the Batmans.Oh, thank you! For years I've felt all alone in this belief....convinced that I must be wrong about what I felt because "experts" told me I was wrong. But I really, really liked Keaton's interpretation the best.

[congodwarf]

My sister and I were just talking about Michael Keaton as Batman the other day while watching the Machinist. We both love Christian Bale and agree he's a wonderful actor. BUT, he's not Batman and we don't care what anyone says. I'm not even going to talk about the others.

[digs]

Yeah, it's weird. I love Constantine the film but hate the liberties they took with the characters. It totally stands on its own, but is a pretty faithless translation of the comic book John Constantine.

Like you said, they nailed the feel of the film.In my head, I always pictured John Constantine to be a lot more like Gregory House, but my mental image would not fit that film.

You are correct.

The film is not. Keanu played Some Guy Who Happened To Be Named John Constantine, not THE John Constantine.

John Constantine was originally patterned after Sting (true story) with uncombed hair and a cigarette jones... on a bad day.

So, since Mr. Reeves had neither a Brit accent, blonde hair, wrinkles, or depth, he's just A John Constantine.

[lawoot]

Randle Patrick McMurphy is one of my favorite fictional characters, and my personal image of him was so strong, when Jack Nicholson portrayed him in the movie version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I was disappointed by his portrayal. Eventually, I came to accept that there was no one right way to play the role, and that it was a spectacular performance, but it had a lot of prior imagery to overcome before I could admit that.
How about the original Broadway McMurphy, in 1963? Kirk Douglas!

[Nava]

Viggo Mortensen does not look like a Dunedain at all. They're supposed to have long faces, not square ones. I'm not complaining either about the eye candy or about his performance, mind you, nor about having noticed him as an actor and gone looking for other movies of his, but he does not fit the description.

[Equipoise]

Anne Hathaway did a topless scene a the movie Havoc before she did Rachel Getting married. Havoc was really bad but it was nice to see her hooters.She also did a topless scene, and played a cynical, bitter woman, in Brokeback Mountain before playing Rachel.

[Grumman]

Speaking of Brokeback Mountain, who would have thought Heath Ledger could pull off the Joker?

[Annie-Xmas]

Eli Wallach usually strikes me as cultured and well-spoken. He was totally wrong for Tuco in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and he absolutely stole it.

In my head, I always pictured John Constantine to be a lot more like Gregory House, but my mental image would not fit that film.Speaking of which, who thought a foppish, English, comic actor could play an acerbic, drug-addicted, American doctor?

Hugh Laurie's audition tape for House is one of my favorites. One minute he's the proper Engilshman apologizing for his scruffy appearance; then he starts reading the script and just becomes House.

The casting people must have fallen off their chairs.

Jerry Orcbach was a song-and-dance manbefoefore being cast as a tough deetective in Prince of the City, which led to his Law & Order gig.

[Omi no Kami]

For me, Summer Glau as the terminator in Terminator: the John Connor Chronicles. She has a massive amount of emotional depth and I thought it was a big disservice to give her a character who had no emotions, but by the end of the show I thought she'd done a phenomenal job at eliciting sympathy and compassion for an emotionless character.

[Chefguy]

Charlie Sheen in Platoon. The guy is basically a comedic actor, but did an excellent job as the naive n00b.

[Minnie Luna]

Charlie Sheen in Platoon. The guy is basically a comedic actor, but did an excellent job as the naive n00b.

I swear on all that is holy, Sheen stopped "acting" around 1990. Ever since then, he has done nothing but play a bad caricature of himself.

I also loved Micheal Keaton as Batman. Kilmer wasn't bad, Clooney was ok, Bale was crappy, but Keaton nailed it.

[pravnik]

Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg in pretty much everything. If you'd told me twenty years ago that the musclehead rapper who intentionally pantsed himself onstage would someday be one of my favorite actors, I would have found it difficult to believe.

[Chefguy]

Charlie Sheen in Platoon. The guy is basically a comedic actor, but did an excellent job as the naive n00b.

I swear on all that is holy, Sheen stopped "acting" around 1990. Ever since then, he has done nothing but play a bad caricature of himself.

I also loved Micheal Keaton as Batman. Kilmer wasn't bad, Clooney was ok, Bale was crappy, but Keaton nailed it.

Keaton was also very good in Pacific Heights as a Very Bad Man.

[Bob Ducca]

Speaking of Brokeback Mountain, who would have thought Heath Ledger could pull off the Joker?

"Pull off" is understating things a bit. Ledger took an iconic role and absolutely owned it to such a degree that his portrayal is now the icon.

And yes, hardly anybody thought he was the right choice. How many people on here complained about him getting the role? Dozens, at least.

[Bob Ducca]

When Alec Baldwin got cast on "30 Rock" I remember thinking, "Well, he's been pretty funny on SNL... but I don't see him as being a very successful comedic actor." Boy was I wrong.

[foolsguinea]

Ok, they're dumb movies based on silly comics, but--
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Wolverine is supposed to be short, burly, Canadian, & arguably a bit smelly. They went for a tall, lanky, Aussie dancer. But the dancer can act.

[Annie-Xmas]

Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg in pretty much everything. If you'd told me twenty years ago that the musclehead rapper who intentionally pantsed himself onstage would someday be one of my favorite actors, I would have found it difficult to believe.

Nitpick: If he's proved his mettle once, he's hardly "miscasted" in subsequent roles.

[jayjay]

Andy Griffith as Lonesome Rhodes in A Face in The Crowd.

[astorian]

How about the original Broadway McMurphy, in 1963? Kirk Douglas!


With Gene Wilder as Billy Bibbitt. Yeah, that must have been a great production.

For ages, Kirk Douglas tried to get a movie version made, and couldn’t do it. After 15 years or so, his son Michael said, “Give me the rights, and let me take a crack at it.”

Michael Douglas WAS able to get the financing. He then had to tell Kirk, “Dad, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is, we’re going to make a movie of Cuckoo’s Nest. The bad news is… you’re way too old to play McMurphy.”

[Colophon]

Speaking of Brokeback Mountain, who would have thought Heath Ledger could pull off the Joker?
I dunno, after that movie I could see him pulling anyone off.

:o

[Tom Scud]

For me, Summer Glau as the terminator in Terminator: the John Connor Chronicles.

Really? I never watched the show, but when I heard about it, my thoughts were:

1 - What a perfect casting decision.
2 - I hope Glau gets to play some characters closer to human-normal at some point in her career.

[banjoDavid]

Randle Patrick McMurphy is one of my favorite fictional characters, and my personal image of him was so strong, when Jack Nicholson portrayed him in the movie version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I was disappointed by his portrayal. Eventually, I came to accept that there was no one right way to play the role, and that it was a spectacular performance, but it had a lot of prior imagery to overcome before I could admit that.
How about the original Broadway McMurphy, in 1963? Kirk Douglas!

Steppenwolf Theatre company in Chicago did Cuckoo's Nest maybe 7-8 years ago. Gary Sinese was BRILLIANT in it.

[Gyrate]

Christian Slater recently did Cuckoo's Nest in London's West End, once again standing in the shadow of Jack Nicholson's eyebrows. Didn't see it so can't comment on the performance.

I hope Glau gets to play some characters closer to human-normal at some point in her career.Well, she got to play herself on "The Big Bang Theory". That's probably the best she can hope for right now.

[kbear]

Christian Slater recently did Cuckoo's Nest in London's West End, once again standing in the shadow of Jack Nicholson's eyebrows. Didn't see it so can't comment on the performance.


I saw it and was actually pretty impressed with his performance. Slater does a great Nicholson impression but to his credit, he didn't fall back on it in the same role.

[Larry Mudd]

Kiefer Sutherland as William S. Burroughs (http://reckon.tumblr.com/post/88582372/fishtits-mudwerks-suyhnc-william-s) in Beat. ((YouTube trailer) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCSbjqjcwZg)

This was definitely "You're kidding, right?" casting -- but he actually did a pretty good job of it.

[CalMeacham]

I (and a lot of other people) thought that Jack Black was a terrible choice to play Carl Denham in Peter Jackson's King Kong. But I love the way Jackson re-interpreted the character and the way Black played it.

[pravnik]

Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg in pretty much everything. If you'd told me twenty years ago that the musclehead rapper who intentionally pantsed himself onstage would someday be one of my favorite actors, I would have found it difficult to believe.

Nitpick: If he's proved his mettle once, he's hardly "miscasted" in subsequent roles.Sure, but my larger point is that it's pretty amazing in retrospect that he's had not just a great one-off or a couple of successful roles, but that he's had a very successful acting career post Funky Bunch.

[Sattua]

Nastassja Kinski as Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Tess is supposed to be... well... zaftig. Kinski did a good job with the wounded ingenue part of the role, though.

Hugh Laurie being cast as House knocked me off-kilter badly enough that I still haven't watched a single episode. I remember snickering along with Diana Rigg when she said that he was looking for serious dramatic roles.

[Annie-Xmas]

You are really missing some fine acting--not just House, but all the other actors in the show.

House is so un-Laurie that he is almost a different person.

[Maiira]

The Prestige: Who'd have thought that David Bowie (http://www.morethings.com/music/david_bowie/david-bowie-138.jpg) could play Nikola Tesla (http://www.electronicsandyou.com/electronics-history/Nikola%20Tesla.jpg)? And yet not only did he pull it off, I didn't even recognize him as Bowie until I saw the end credits.

[Maus Magill]

In my head, I always pictured John Constantine to be a lot more like Gregory House, but my mental image would not fit that film.

You are correct.

The film is not. Keanu played Some Guy Who Happened To Be Named John Constantine, not THE John Constantine.

John Constantine was originally patterned after Sting (true story) with uncombed hair and a cigarette jones... on a bad day.

So, since Mr. Reeves had neither a Brit accent, blonde hair, wrinkles, or depth, he's just A John Constantine.Reeves played John Constantine (rhymes with BEAN) - a very interesting character in a fun, exiting film. I'm still waiting for a movie about John Constantine (rhymes with WINE)

I (and a lot of other people) thought that Jack Black was a terrible choice to play Carl Denham in Peter Jackson's King Kong. But I love the way Jackson re-interpreted the character and the way Black played it.

Thank you, I was afraid I was the only one.

I think physically, Oliver Reed is all wrong for Athos. He looks more like he would be suited for Porthos. He owned the role, though.

[Miller]

There's only ever been one case of good casting for a live-action Batman, and that was Adam West, who was perfect as the campy, silver age Batman. The best you can say about the others is that a few of them did a pretty good Bruce Wayne.

If you include voice actors, though, nobody owns the role more than Kevin Conroy.

[phreesh]

All this Batman talk and nothing about Nicholson? The joker is supposed to be this younger, thin crazy dude. Jack's an older, thicker, admittedly crazy person. But he was great.

Ed Norton as a crazed skinhead? Didn't see it. But he pulled it off in American History X.

Tom Hanks as a dying AIDS patient? I did not imagine he had the range, but he earned his Oscar in Philadelphia.

[FlyingDragonFan]

I hope Glau gets to play some characters closer to human-normal at some point in her career.
I know someone who was around Glau for a short spell, and to hear him tell it, human-normal might be a miscasting for her. <hearsay> He said she was every bit as spacey as River Tam. </hearsay>

[The Surb]

When my wife told me I was going to a movie with Sandra Bullock in it, I thought I had better be getting laid later for having to sit through this crap.

The Blind Side actually turned out to be a pretty good movie and I thought SB did a very good job. I never would have guessed I would like anything with her in it.

[Annie-Xmas]

Pretty Boy Leonardo DiCaprio as Arnie Grape? The kid is supposed to be an ugly total retard.

He got raves and the first realizations of his amazing acting ability.

[Annie-Xmas]

And who'd have thought that Gordon Jump could play a child molester one time that would be remembered thirty years later?

[Krokodil]

Nicholas Cage as Big Daddy in Kick-Ass. The comic had some pretty specific physical characterization, and Big Daddy seemed more like a Kevin Smith role, plus Nic has been hitting the action blockbusters a bit too much lately. But he nailed this.

[smiling bandit]

Nicholas Cage as Big Daddy in Kick-Ass. The comic had some pretty specific physical characterization, and Big Daddy seemed more like a Kevin Smith role, plus Nic has been hitting the action blockbusters a bit too much lately. But he nailed this.

Well, a Kevin Smith role if he lost 150 ounds maybe,

[jackdavinci]

Pretty Boy Leonardo DiCaprio as Arnie Grape? The kid is supposed to be an ugly total retard. He got raves and the first realizations of his amazing acting ability.

Is this a retroactive assessment? Other than a small stint on Growing Pains, this was pretty much his premiere performance, wasn't it? Not ties to any kind of baggage or expectation...

[multimediac17]

In the mid-nineties, Madonna's acting career was a joke (and would be again in the future), despite some performances that got good reviews, like Desperately Seeking Susan, Dick Tracy and A League Of Their Own. She was considered pretty poisonous to a movie, apart from those three (and her documentary Truth Or Dare) none of her films had done well.

Who would have thought she could be so amazing as Evita? A pop singer who couldn't act with a voice many thought was weak, or at least nothing special, playing a classic Broadway character? She owned the performance, made what could have been (and sort of still was) a very boring movie watchable, and sang with a voice nobody knew she had. She even won a Golden Globe! Bet nobody saw that coming after Body Of Evidence or Shanghai Surprise.

[Quercus]

I know someone who was around Glau for a short spell, and to hear him tell it, human-normal might be a miscasting for her. <hearsay> He said she was every bit as spacey as River Tam. </hearsay>
Are you sure you aren't just remembering XKCD (http://www.xkcd.com/579/)?

[Annie-Xmas]

Pretty Boy Leonardo DiCaprio as Arnie Grape? The kid is supposed to be an ugly total retard. He got raves and the first realizations of his amazing acting ability.

Is this a retroactive assessment? Other than a small stint on Growing Pains, this was pretty much his premiere performance, wasn't it? Not ties to any kind of baggage or expectation...

Leonardo was seen as a lightweight pretty-boy, and Arnie was a very serious role.

[Dan Norder]

"Pull off" is understating things a bit. Ledger took an iconic role and absolutely owned it to such a degree that his portrayal is now the icon.

The only people Heath Ledger's the iconic Joker for are the ones who are too young to have seen another version.* In fact I can't think of an actor who played the Joker and was less iconic than Ledger.

*Well, and the ones who felt bad about him dying so much that they let it affect their judgment.

[xenophon41]

"Pull off" is understating things a bit. Ledger took an iconic role and absolutely owned it to such a degree that his portrayal is now the icon.

The only people Heath Ledger's the iconic Joker for are the ones who are too young to have seen another version.* In fact I can't think of an actor who played the Joker and was less iconic than Ledger.

*Well, and the ones who felt bad about him dying so much that they let it affect their judgment.

I was a kid for Cesar Romero, a mature adult for Jack Nicholson, and a disinterested occasional viewer for Mark Hamill's voice acting. There are high points to each portrayal, and the actors' respective interpretations are well drawn and well executed. Heath Ledger elevated the character in a way that even Jack couldn't have accomplished (had he gone that direction), and it's not in the least misplaced posthumous adulation to admire Ledger's intellectualized distillation. It was a tour de force portrayal rooted in a thorough understanding of the character's philosophical basis that will continue to stand out from all previous and probably most subsequent interpretations for its quality and depth.

All IMHO as someone old enough to have seen other versions.

[Face Intentionally Left Blank]

The only people Heath Ledger's the iconic Joker for are the ones who are too young to have seen another version.* In fact I can't think of an actor who played the Joker and was less iconic than Ledger.

*Well, and the ones who felt bad about him dying so much that they let it affect their judgment.

I was a kid for Cesar Romero, a mature adult for Jack Nicholson, and a disinterested occasional viewer for Mark Hamill's voice acting. There are high points to each portrayal, and the actors' respective interpretations are well drawn and well executed. Heath Ledger elevated the character in a way that even Jack couldn't have accomplished (had he gone that direction), and it's not in the least misplaced posthumous adulation to admire Ledger's intellectualized distillation. It was a tour de force portrayal rooted in a thorough understanding of the character's philosophical basis that will continue to stand out from all previous and probably most subsequent interpretations for its quality and depth.

All IMHO as someone old enough to have seen other versions.

I started watching the movie interested to see what all the fuss was about, and by the end of the movie, I knew. I agree entirely with your assessment, to the point where I wonder if dissenters had seen the same movie I had. I think we need to give some credit to the writing as well, but clearly there were different directions an actor could've taken the role as written. Ledger took one I'd never seen - really the first characterization I thought of as real, as opposed to a best-estimate of a cartoon character. Jack Nicholson's Joker was Jack Nicholson in whiteface, and Jack himself hardly seems real anymore. Ledger's Joker will influence the Joker character in multiple mediums for years to come.

/I saw the 60's camp series in reruns as a child, was a DC comic-book geek in the 80's, and saw all the movies from Adam West on.

[xenophon41]

I started watching the movie interested to see what all the fuss was about, and by the end of the movie, I knew.
Same. It was an astounding thing; I was essentially skeptical of the whole enterprise, having seen Batman Begins and having formed the opinion that the film makers had no real sense of the potentials of the story. (Not that previous film makers had realized those potentials, but my expectations were not raised by the current franchise.)

Ledger treated the Joker as if he were portraying an historical character, with documented motivations and a recorded viewpoint. This may be Acting 101 as far as I know, but it goes way beyond the comic book villain I expected to see.

[BrotherCadfael]

Olivia Newton-John was way too old to play a high school senior, yet I can't imagine anyone else in the role of Sandy in "Grease" EVERYONE in that movie was waay too old to play high schoolers (except possibly Eve Arden). "Grease" is the poster child for Dawson Casting. ONJ did well in the part, though

Anne Hathaway did a topless scene a the movie Havoc before she did Rachel Getting married. Havoc was really bad but it was nice to see her hooters.Is this post misplaced from the "Actors known only for two things" thread?

I swear on all that is holy, Sheen stopped "acting" around 1990. Ever since then, he has done nothing but play a bad caricature of himself.Nicholson, too.

[RickJay]

The only people Heath Ledger's the iconic Joker for are the ones who are too young to have seen another version.* In fact I can't think of an actor who played the Joker and was less iconic than Ledger.
I'm quite old enough to remember the Romero (in reruns, granted) and Nicholson versions, and I just could not disagree more.

What's more, I'll bet very good money that time will prove you completely wrong.
Ten, twenty, and thirty years from now, Ledger's interpretation will still be the gold standard not only of The Joker, but of comic book movie villains in general.

[A Dodgy Dude]

I thought the producers of Dexter were nuts to cast John Lithgow as a serial killer, but...

I was wrong and they were right. Lithgow was sensational as Trinity.

[Equipoise]

The only people Heath Ledger's the iconic Joker for are the ones who are too young to have seen another version.*Wrong. Like others, I was an avid watcher of the Batman TV series as a kid, and saw the movies. I was grown up when Nicholson's Batman appeared. I liked both Jokers. Heath Ledger blew them both away. Far far away.

*Well, and the ones who felt bad about him dying so much that they let it affect their judgment.Wrong again. I knew something interesting was going to be seen when the "Why So Serious?" (http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701&va=The+Dark+Knight+Why+So+Serious) ads and website (http://www.whysoserious.com/)appeared. which was incredibly heightened when I saw a sneak preview of the opening bank robbery sequence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rczy5pOq0rM&feature=related) at the IMAX. Even though I was mad that they wouldn't let us stay and see I Am Legend (I even started a lame Pit thread about it) the sequence itself was mesmerizing and I knew then that Heath Ledger had not only pulled it off, he had created what was probably going to be an iconic character. It was confirmed when the movie was released, but I knew it long before Ledger died. He would have gotten the same acclaim, including the Oscar, had he lived.

[Sitnam]

I thought Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the lead for Brick was ridiculous. Yet scene after scene he started to sell me on an entirely different character and when it was over I thought he was perfect for the role.

[ExTank]

Everyone thought Michael Keaton was miscast as Batman -- too lightweight and hard to believe as the Dark Knight. But he was probably the best of all the Batmans.

Oh, thank you! For years I've felt all alone in this belief....convinced that I must be wrong about what I felt because "experts" told me I was wrong. But I really, really liked Keaton's interpretation the best.

Don't feel left out, kitten; if someone had asked me to cast Batman, Michael Keaton would never have occurred to me in a million years, and he's not just the best of a bad-to-mediocre lot, he really nailed the role.

I'm not sure my pick really fits the OP, but I would have never thought of Russel Crowe as Capt. Jack Aubrey in Master and Commander. But even more so, Paul Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin?? Maturin is consistently described as a small, pale, ill-looking fellow. Paul Bettany is too tall, too good looking, and fundamentally just too damned healthy looking to be Dr. Stephen Maturin.

But both he and Crowe nailed the essentials of the characters.

[carnivorousplant]

I'm not sure my pick really fits the OP, but I would have never thought of Russel Crowe as Capt. Jack Aubrey in Master and Commander. But even more so, Paul Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin?? Maturin is consistently described as a small, pale, ill-looking fellow. Paul Bettany is too tall, too good looking, and fundamentally just too damned healthy looking to be Dr. Stephen Maturin.

But both he and Crowe nailed the essentials of the characters.

Yeah, but a young Rutger Hauer and Dustin Hoffman would have been perfect.
:)

[Robot Arm]

Don't feel left out, kitten; if someone had asked me to cast Batman, Michael Keaton would never have occurred to me in a million years, and he's not just the best of a bad-to-mediocre lot, he really nailed the role.Let me once again remind you all of Robot Arm's First Law of Superhero Movie Casting:

Anyone can wear a mask. For the lead role in a superhero movie, cast an actor who can convincingly play the secret identity.

Michael Keaton was good as Bruce Wayne.
Christopher Reeve was good as Clark Kent.
Tobey Maguire was good as Peter Parker.
Does anybody believe Jessica Alba as an astronaut?

[Annie-Xmas]

I thought the producers of Dexter were nuts to cast John Lithgow as a serial killer, but...

I was wrong and they were right. Lithgow was sensational as Trinity.

Lithgow is one of those actors who can do anything so easily most people don't think of him as a great actor.

[CalMeacham]

I thought the producers of Dexter were nuts to cast John Lithgow as a serial killer, but...


Heck, he'd already played a soulless killer (who acts like a serial killer) in Brian de Palma's Blow-out back i 1981:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blow_Out


and he'd been a killer in another film before that


de Palma's previous Hitchcockian outing Obsession