# Epic miscasting **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716 "2005-09-27T18:21:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/21 "2005-09-27T20:38:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Instead of Humphrey Bogart, Ronald Reagan was almost cast as Ric in Casablanca…the entertainment world dodged a bullet on that one. > Same as almost casting Shirley Temple instead of Judy Garland in Wizard of Oz. I can’t blame you, because I’ve read this in supposedly authoritative places, but it turns out not to be true: [http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/reagan.asp](http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/reagan.asp) This has shown up on the SDMB many times, so it’s a widespread story. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/22 "2005-09-27T20:41:59Z")
> [@](#): > > George Lazenby as James Bond probably wasn’t such a wise idea. Hey, I liked Lazenby. Liked him better than Roger Moore as James Bond, truth be told. I think most people were just annoyed that he wasn’t Connery. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/23 "2005-09-27T20:47:28Z")
Chuck Connors as Geronimo. You know, that blue eyed Indian. A lot of musicals have non-singers that Just Shouldn’t Be There. E.g., Jim Broadbent in “Moulin Rouge.” (Great actor, can’t sing at all.) Basically all the leads in “Paint Your Wagon.” Many of the “singers” in “Tommy” (most notably Jack Nicholsen). Such travesties should be considered a sep. category. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/24 "2005-09-27T20:49:50Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Mickey Rooney as a chinese man in _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_ Absolutely right on the miscast (not only a miscast, but an affront to Asians) but the character was Japanese. > [@silenus](#): > > Well, seeing as how he hasn’t made a movie since, “of late” applies. So you, like me, are pretending that _Dracula: Dead and Loving It_ never happened? Wise move, my friend. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/25 "2005-09-27T21:16:14Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > So you, like me, are pretending that _Dracula: Dead and Loving It_ never happened? Wise move, my friend. It’s strange that he quit making movies after 1981’s _History of the World: Part I_. I wonder why. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/26 "2005-09-27T21:28:03Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > An aging Lucille Ball as Mame Dennis in the 1974 muscial remake. Stole mine, dammit! This was very much an epic bit of miscasting. I love Lucy, but the woman had the voice of a frog. A frog with strep throat. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/27 "2005-09-27T21:31:06Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Jim Broadbent in “Moulin Rouge.” The only character in that movie I could stand. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/28 "2005-09-27T21:50:59Z")
Minnie Driver - An Ideal Husband Meg Tilly - Valmont Both of them nealry ruined their respective movies for me. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/29 "2005-09-27T21:52:32Z")
B-movie time: Alexandra Paul in _Christine_. I enjoyed the book. Paul’s character, Leigh, was described as the most beautiful girl Arnie had ever seen. Apparently, Arnie didn’t get out much based on the casting choice. She also managed to deliver one of the worst lines ever spoken in the Western Hemisphere in the worst possible way: “God, I hate rock & roll.” You know what sweetie? It hates you more. Oh, and could someone buy this woman an ass? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/30 "2005-09-27T21:59:29Z")
**Will Smith** as Jim West in [Wild Wild West](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120891/). Now, I like Will Smith fine, but I don’t know WTF they were thinking with that one. Actually, the move simply doesn’t do the TV show justice, and the TV show was pretty cheesy. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/31 "2005-09-27T22:14:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I can’t blame you, because I’ve read this in supposedly authoritative places, but it turns out not to be true: > > [http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/reagan.asp](http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/reagan.asp) > This has shown up on the SDMB many times, so it’s a widespread story. Thanks! Wow, and I originally heard this story from one of the executives at the film studio where I worked, so it really must have made the rounds! The guy who told me was quite the expert in film lore. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/32 "2005-09-27T23:48:10Z")
Another Paul Verhoeven fiasco: **Starship Troopers**. Forgetting about its relative merits as a Heinlein adaptation, a bigger problem is that th entire population of Buenos Aires is so incredibly _Anglo_. It looks like Los Angeles invaded and colonized the place. You’d never guess at the city’s real history from the depiction here. And that’s even wthout the hints dropped in the book that the hero had Filipino ancestry. You could see that something was severely out of whack even if you’d never picked the book up. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/33 "2005-09-27T23:59:45Z")
I always thought Leslie Howard was miscast as Ashley Wilkes in GWTW. And I disliked Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in Star Wars. Jodie Foster said that the role was offered to her originally, but Disney wouldn’t let her do it. I think she would have rocked in the role. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/34 "2005-09-28T00:35:17Z")
Didn’t Ava Gardner play Lorne Greene’s _daughter_, for chrissakes, in [Earthquake](http://imdb.com/title/tt0071455/)? She looked old enough to be _his_ mother. It had that cool Sensurround. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/35 "2005-09-28T21:51:58Z")
> [@Maus Magill](#): > > LMAO. > > What? You’re serious? > > Jeez, I’m old. Oy. And I’m once again reminded that I’m…I’m…a grown up. _hyperventilate_ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/36 "2005-09-29T01:03:41Z")
Keanu Reeves as Don John in _Much Ado About Nothing_; I mean, I know he’s an easy target, but I don’t actually hate him at all (I even thought he was perfect for _The Matrix_), but his usual deadpan woodenness was just _awful_ against the vibrant performances of the top-notch cast of that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/37 "2005-09-29T02:39:29Z")
When the Robert Altman film _Nashville_ came out in the 70’s, our local paper’s critics were so violently divided in their opinions that the paper printed two reviews side by side. I’ll never forget a particular line in each review: “Henry Gibson, stunningly cast against type…” “Henry Gibson, woefully miscast…” ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/38 "2005-09-29T02:46:51Z")
Don Cheadle as killer Mouse Alexander in DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS. I mean too-smooth Denzel was bad enough as Easy Rawlins but I hate hate hate Don Cheadle. ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/39 "2005-09-29T08:08:41Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Hey, I liked Lazenby. Liked him better than Roger Moore as James Bond, truth be told. I think most people were just annoyed that he wasn’t Connery. I’ll second this - the ral problem for Lazenby was they cast him in the worng movie (he should have been in "you Only live Twice, with Connery signing off with OHMSS - makesmore sense) and having him work with a first time director. Apart from his silly, girly run. I thought Lazenby was pretty darn good. And my 2c on miscast - Cruise/Kidman in “Eyes Wide Shut”. Shoulda been Beatty/Benning! mm ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716/40 "2005-09-29T09:31:35Z")
> [@mamboman](#): > > I’ll second this - the ral problem for Lazenby was they cast him in the worng movie (he should have been in "you Only live Twice, with Connery signing off with OHMSS - makesmore sense) and having him work with a first time director. Apart from his silly, girly run. I thought Lazenby was pretty darn good. How does it make more sense? Lazenby should have done “You Only Live Twice (1967)”, then Connery should have come back to do OHMSS (1969). Of course, Connery did come back, after Lazenby flopped, to do “Diamonds are Forever (1971)” before passing the torch to Roger Moore. I liked Lazenby too, and Diana Rigg as the Bond girl was a perfect cast! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-miscasting/323716.md?page=3)