I Personally always thought that Malcolm McDowell could have played a sinister Captain Kirk on Star Trek. He can definitely overact as well as Shatner, as he did on the silly Fantasy Island remake.
I always wanted John Cusack to play Neo and Samuel L. Jackson to play Morpheus in The Matrix. As long as we’re doing fantasy casting, I would’ve preferred Jeanna Fine as Trinity, too. But if he had lived, Brandon Lee would have been the perfect Neo.
Guy Pearce would’ve made a better Daredevil than Ben Affleck, but Pearce once said something to the effect of him being too good an actor to be in superhero movies. He wasn’t too good for The Time Machine, though! 
When in doubt, I’d usually cast Bruce Campbell, Christopher Walken, or Johnny Depp in anything.
In the mini-series made from Shogun I thought the effete Mr. Chamberlain was a poor choice for Blackthorne. When I read the novel I saw Robert Shaw in my mind’s eye. Michael Cain would have been a great choice, too.
I thought Mike Myers was the worst possible choice for The Cat In The Hat. The movie could have been good, but casting him turned it into yet another stupid Mike Myers movie, instead of a Dr. Seuss movie.
How 'bout Bruce Campbell, Christopher Walken, or Johnny Depp in The Three Amigos?
And/or, I meant…
(… Tum te tum, waitin’ 60 seconds… tum te tum… nipple-nipple-a-bo-bo… la la la… time’s up! Post quickly, so I don’t look like too much of a looney!)
I would be interested to see if Johnny Depp could pull off a Western.
Maybe do the Jack Lemmon role in the old Western Cowboy. And hey, Eastwood could do the Glenn Ford role. Might be good.
He already has. Just not a classic western.
I – and many others, I think – would have given the role of Lestat in “Interview With The Vampire” to Julian Sands.
I would have really liked to have seen Jodie Foster reprise her role as Agent Starling in “Hannibal”.
In my mind I pictured Patrick McGoohan as Denethor in Return of the King. Think of his performance as Longshanks in Braveheart. I also think Patrick Stewart could have been Gandalf, even though I love Ian McKellan in the part.
DesertGeezer I really liked Robert Shaw but I think he would have been too old to be Blackthorne in Shogun. He would have been in his fifties when it was made, if he had lived that long.
I’m one of the few people, it seems, who actually liked Godfather III but Sofia Coppola’s performance really really does have a HUGE negative effect on the film.
I understand that she had to come in as a replacement at the very last minute. I understand that it is very difficult to deal with a principle actor cancelling with practically no advance notice. But as I watch the film I can’t help but think what a shame it was not to have that role cast appropriately.
At first I was appalled when I heard that Colin Firth was to play Darcy in the 1996 A&E version of Pride and Prejudice. I had so enjoyed David Rintoul’s stiff icy rendition (which was so Darcy) from the previous miniseries (late '70s, early '80s). And I thought that Laurence Oliver did a great job in the old movie version, even though the movie itself wasn’t that great. (Didn’t follow the book.)
But, I changed my mind. Colin Firth turned out to be pretty good after all. I really warmed up to him.
I pretty much think that any role that Robert Taylor played would have been better with someone else. I just saw Camille and he was the low point. I don’t know who I would have picked—perhaps Gary Cooper (I have such a soft spot for Gary Cooper), but anyone but Robert Taylor. What a disappointment he was.
And damnit, John Garfield should have played Golden Boy instead of (William Holden, was it)? The part was written for him, after all. Pooh. (Not that I have anything against William Holden.)
I spelled Olivier wrong. Oh well.
Ditto on the Julian Sands as Lestat deal.
Also, ANYONE other than Kevin Costner in every movie he has ever made. Especially Robin Hood.
And, come to think about it, your average junior high school student would have done a better job as Batman than George Clooney did. And I don’t mean just the male students.
And for fantasy casting? How about Jenna Jameson as Jeannie in I Dream of Jeannie? Just imagine…
Years ago, when I read Lonesome Dove, I had it in my head that James Garner should play Gus. I was disappointed when Robert Duval got the role. I had only seen movies where Duval played the heavy and I didn’t think he could pull it off. But he did. Now Robert Duval is one of my favorite actors.
Interestingly enough, I read somewhere that Larry McMurtry had James Garner in mind for the role of Gus, too. Later James Garner played Call in the sequel Streets of Laredo. I just couldn’t get into that book or movie, though.
He looked a lot like Gardner’s description of Burger in the original novels and he had a great voice.
The producer of the original Perry Mason series wanted Raymond Burr to play Burger, but Burr insisted upon reading for the Mason role. Had Burr ended up as Burger, I’d have liked Conrad as Mason.
I agree with both Ian Fleming and Raymond Chandler. Cary Grant would have made a great James Bond and/or a great Philip Marlowe.
I agree completely. According the *The Godfather Legacy * by Harlan Lebo, Winona Ryder was originally selected.
I loved GF I and II, hated III. One of several major turnoffs was Ms. Coppola’s completely inept and unbelievable acting. I’ve seen better high school drama club performances.
Steve Barton instead of Michael Crawford in “Dance of the Vampire” on Broadway. Steve became a cult idol in the German production, then the idiots that be casted Crawford on Broadway, ruined the show, and helped cause Steve’s suicide. All in one full swoop.
I’d also like to cast Mr. T, William Shatner, Adam West, and Paul Reubens (preferably in character as Pee Wee Herman) in as many cop-buddy action-comedy films as possible.