# Ideal Roles For Actors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2012, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649 "2012-12-31T08:10:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![grodinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/57b2e6/32.png) [@grodinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grodinsky)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/21 "2013-01-01T06:15:46Z")
sissy spacek in Badlands… wow! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/22 "2013-01-01T06:45:23Z")
Hugh Grant in _About a Boy_ plays a lightweight irresponsible trust fund baby whose sole interest is scoring with women. Rarely has there been better casting. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/23 "2013-01-01T11:16:34Z")
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. It’s a good thing Tom Selleck was unavailable. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/24 "2013-01-01T14:51:57Z")
Johnny Depp as Hunter S Thomson. I know he spent a lot of time researching, but if you watch the Hunter S Thomson documentary there’s clips of Hunter and Johnny (as Hunter) and half the time you won’t know which is which. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/25 "2013-01-01T15:13:03Z")
Samuel L. Jackson plays Nick Fury so well it’s like the part was written for him. Yes, I know. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/26 "2013-01-01T15:58:00Z")
Keanu Reeves as Ted Logan in the\* Bill and Ted \*movies. Gloria Swanson in _Sunset Boulevard_. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/27 "2013-01-01T17:53:12Z")
Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi in _Ed Wood_. The Academy agreed with me. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/28 "2013-01-01T18:44:47Z")
> [@laina\_f](#): > > Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi in _Ed Wood_. The Academy agreed with me. Jim Phelps: Okay, now, Rollin, for this next Impossible Mission, you have to look like Bela Lugosi… ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/29 "2013-01-01T19:05:00Z")
Spoilers! Tom Cruise was perfect in Magnolia, but equally perfect in Collateral. Although he has made most of his money showboating, there is an underlying cold, calculated killer in there for sure. Actually I would bet that the person he was in Collateral is probably the closest to his off screen personality (minus the killings of course.) ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/30 "2013-01-01T19:25:14Z")
Clint Eastwood, CIA agent, In the line of Fire. Great movie, Eastwood was perfect for that role. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/31 "2013-01-02T01:03:19Z")
Lara Flyn Boyle as Dominique Francon Walther Mathau as A.M. Valnikov David Caruso as Howard Roarke Sigourney Weaver as Dagny Taggart I still have an issue with the Harry Potter casting. I thought Adrian Paul would have made a good Sirius Black. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/32 "2013-01-02T01:19:01Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Clint Eastwood, CIA agent, In the line of Fire. Great movie, Eastwood was perfect for that role. Especially since they were able to use a stock photo of him from one of the Dirty Harry movies for a “back in the day” photo. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/33 "2013-01-02T02:12:47Z")
Everyone in The Godfather. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/34 "2013-01-02T02:21:57Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Everyone in The Godfather. Everyone in The Princess Bride. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/35 "2013-01-02T02:35:47Z")
John Travolta in _Saturday Night Fever_. I think Liam Neeson would have made a great Jack Reacher. He has the size and demeanor. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/36 "2013-01-02T02:37:56Z")
Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in _The Shining_ and as Jake Giddes in _Chinatown_. Walter Huston as Howard, the crusty old gold miner in _Treasure of the Sierra Madre_. Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau. Sean Connery as James Bond. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/37 "2013-01-02T03:48:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in _The Shining_ I have to disagree. Nicholson was miscast as Jack Torrance. And Stephen King agrees with me on this. The horror of the story was supposed to come from seeing a nice normal family man being driven insane. The problem with Nicholson is we’d already seen him play so many outrageous characters that we anticipated him going insane. He played Crazy Jack well but we never got the transistion from Good Jack. Kubrick should have cast somebody like Tom Hanks. Seeing somebody like that going crazy and trying to kill his family would have been scarier than seeing Jack Nicholson do it. The 1997 miniseries got this right when they cast Steven Weber. Trivia note: Danny Lloyd, who played Danny Torrance in the movie, celebrates his fortieth birthday today. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/38 "2013-01-02T03:50:29Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Everyone in The Godfather. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Everyone in The Princess Bride. Everyone in _Casablanca_. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/39 "2013-01-02T04:41:32Z")
Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock. Everyone in _I, Claudius_, but John Hurt in particular. He played the psychotic Caligula to absolute perfection. Donald Pleasance as Blofeld in _You Only Live Twice_ and Heinrich Himmler in _The Eagle Has Landed._ Andy Griffith in _No Time for Sergeants._ Paul Scofield as Col. von Waldheim in _The Train._ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649/40 "2013-01-02T04:47:29Z")
Vic Morrow as Sgt Saunders in _Combat!_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideal-roles-for-actors/645649.md?page=3)