# Most Stunning Miscasts Of All Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644 "2003-05-26T22:20:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Short\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/61 "2003-05-27T14:00:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MineFujiko \* > \*\*I see your Stuart Townsend and raise you Nicholas Cage as Superman. Thankfully the whole project fell through. \*\* Actually, I would have _loved_ to see Cage as Superman, with Tim Burton directing. Part of me is still hoping against all odds that the movie will still be made. Don’t ask me why, it just made perfect sense when I heard it. I’ll second (third, whatever) George Clooney in Batman & Robin. Awful. Just awful. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/62 "2003-05-27T14:06:50Z")
This award has got to go to whoever cast in the role of “Arthur, the Boy King” none other than a 65 year old Sean Connery in the film, “First Knight” I accept as someone posted above that the movie is not the book and certain liberties can be taken. But when you are dealing with a centuries old story that is familiar to everybody why age the main character by 50 years for no real reason? As far as I know Arthur was only old in this film because they were able to hire Connery. It was in no way part of the story they were trying to tell. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/63 "2003-05-27T14:22:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Evil Captor \* > \*\*Geore Dubya Bush as President. What was the Supreme Court THINKING? \*\* What were your parents thinking when they failed to use birth control? ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/64 "2003-05-27T14:43:42Z")
I thought that Robert DeNiro was an awful choice for Fearless Leader. And I’ll see your Johnny Rico, **Rik** and raise you the rest of the cast. These people were supposed to be from _Buenos Aires_ for crying out loud. I counted _one_ hispanic starship trooper. The rest of them had Malibu WASP written all over them. (FTR, in the book, Rico was Filipino–pretty much the anti-Van Dien.). ---
**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:** [May 27, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/65 "2003-05-27T14:44:18Z")
Henry Gibson and Lily Tomlin in “Nashville.” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/66 "2003-05-27T15:04:11Z")
Rebecca Pidgeon as any role. Hands down. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SnoopyFan \* > \*\*Lisa Kudrow didn’t work in Analyze This (and the sequel). She’s too young to be believable as Billy Crystal’s love interest; they looked ridiculous together. \*\* Well, Lisa Kudrow is 40 years old. If you could buy Billy Crystal as 45-50, it’s hardly a mismatch. But Kudrow is a miscast anyway, because her shtick is Phoebe. Sometimes she’s a Non-Airhead Phoebe, but it’s still Phoebe. The woman cannot act. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/67 "2003-05-27T15:16:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, speaking of Boris and Natasha . . . > I thought that Robert DeNiro was an awful choice for Fearless Leader. Say What?! DeNiro was the only redeeming feature of that movie. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/68 "2003-05-27T15:29:19Z")
don cheadle in oceans eleven. what the hell kind of accent is that? i know hes mates with soderberg, but its pushing the envelope having him play a cockney explosives expert. why didnt they just get an english actor? ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/69 "2003-05-27T15:43:31Z")
I’m surprised that Christian Haydensen (as Anakin Skywalker) hasn’t been mentioned yet. Hayden Christiansen? Darth Vader != brat ---
**Author:** ![davesink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@davesink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davesink)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/70 "2003-05-27T15:58:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*Frank Morgan as the Wizard in “The Wizard of Oz”. That role was written for W. C. Fields, and as the character and dialogue stood, anyone but Fields was doomed to fail in it. \*\* As another Field’s fan (“The Bank Dick” was absolute genius.), I have to agree that he would have turned the role into a W.C. Field’s comedy turn. C’mon that big, scary head wouldn’t have been the same with his pudgy puss. But while we’re on the subject of Wizard of Oz casting, I’ve often heard the background story of how Shirley Temple was originally slated for the role of Dorothy, but for whatever reason Judy Garland took her place. Usually it’s mentioned in the vein of “wouldn’t the WOO have SUCKED if Shirley Temple got the role?” Well I for one have always thought Garland looked and sounded way too old for the role despite the attempts to make her look more flat chested than she was. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/71 "2003-05-27T15:58:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CalMeacham \* > \*\*From Leonard Maltin’s entry on **Tony Curtis** on the IMDB: > > ## quote: > > ## His accent was all too apparent, though the legend that he said “Yonda lies da castle of my fodda” is simply untrue. > > [http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Curtis,%20Tony](http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Curtis,%20Tony) \*\* **Cal** : Thanks for straightening me out on this one. I was a little suspicious of the source for _The Black Shield of Falworth_ attribution. It didn’t seem very authoritative (there were lots of misspelled words!), and the absence of any quote, from any movie, with the word “yonder” or “yonda” in the IMDB should also have been a tip-off. I Wanda, err, wonder how the legend got started. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/72 "2003-05-27T16:03:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by detop \* > \*\*Denise Richards as nuclear weapon expert in _The World is not enough_ \*\* I don’t think I’ve found a character in a movie so unintentionally funny. I’d like to add Michael J. Fox as the lead from _Bright Lights, Big City_ to the list- I don’t think I was the only person who had trouble visualizing Alex P. Keaton as an 80s Jayson Blair. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/73 "2003-05-27T16:09:42Z")
> [@](#): > > ## \*Originally posted by ISiddiqui \* \*\*quote: > > ## George Clooney as Batman. > > Also Val Kilmer as Batman… man they really screwed up that series after Keaton left.\*\* Keaton, schmeaton. The screwup was trying to be all serious with the franchise. _Anybody_ except Adam West as Batman. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/74 "2003-05-27T16:25:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RikWriter \* > \*\*What were your parents thinking when they failed to use birth control? \*\* Watch it, **RikWriter.**'Round these parts, you can get banned for making comments like this. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/75 "2003-05-27T16:46:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Short Guy \* > **Actually, I would have _loved_ to see Cage as Superman, with Tim Burton directing. Part of me is still hoping against all odds that the movie will still be made. Don’t ask me why, it just made perfect sense when I heard it.** Except it wouldn’t be Superman. The working script by Kevin Smith was passable but not good. Subsequent drafts, where they tried to turn Superman into the typical dark, twisted character Burton and Cage like to play with were downright rapes of the character. Totally off-base. A bright and campy Batman was bad enough. A dark, morose Superman would be just as wrong, if not more so. The original idea, when Cage’s name was floated, was to cast him as Brainiac, with an unknown playing Superman. That was casting that would have made good sense. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/76 "2003-05-27T17:02:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Wrong \* > \*\*Oh, and Tony Curtis in (I think) \*Spartacus[/]: > “Dere is da home of my faddah, da Caliph.” \*\* You’re probably thinking of [The Black Shield of Falworth](http://us.imdb.com/Details?0046789). But that line may be as apocyphal as Cary Grant’s “Judy, Judy, Judy.” ---
**Author:** ![Lenny\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9dc877/32.png) [@Lenny\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lenny_Carl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/77 "2003-05-27T17:08:21Z")
I’m shocked no one has mentioned this yet… **Rosie O’Donnell** as _Betty Rubble!!!_ All I can say is, “damn!” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/78 "2003-05-27T17:09:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by detop \* > \*\*Denise Richards as nuclear weapon expert in _The World is not enough_ \*\* This was my first thought as well. So much so that it bears repeating: _Denise Richards_ as a _nuclear weapons expert_. The mind boggles. ---
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Short\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/79 "2003-05-27T17:15:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lenny & Carl \* > \*\*I’m shocked no one has mentioned this yet… > > **Rosie O’Donnell** as _Betty Rubble!!!_ > > All I can say is, “damn!” \*\* Again, I feel I should disagree… Rosie O’Donnell was a great Betty: a bit heavier and less ‘detached’ than the cartoon Betty, maybe, but she fit the role nicely. And it was great seeing her as Rick Moranis’ wife (who, for all intents and purposes, was the perfect Barney). ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644/80 "2003-05-27T17:16:52Z")
Robert Redford as Denys Finch-Hatton in [Out of Africa](http://us.imdb.com/Details?0089755). The _real_ Finch-Hatton was your stereotypical British white hunter, looking sort of like Basil Rathbone in his prime. All through the movie I kept wondering why there was an American hunter with an English-sounding name wandering around in colonial Kenya. DD [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-stunning-miscasts-of-all-time/177644.md?page=5)