# Movies \[and TV\] that would be greatly improved by recasting the lead **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 19, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172 "2007-08-19T21:49:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/1 "2007-08-19T21:49:06Z")
I finally caught up with **Fun with Dick and Jane** , and while I enjoyed the ride, Jim Carrey bugged the hell out of me. Now, I like Jim Carrey. I think **The Mask** is one of the best comedies of the 90’s and a great hommage to Tex Avery. And while Carrey is the #1 suspect of chewing the scenery, at times it works to his advantage. He’s also an OK dramatic actor. But all through **Dick and Jane** , I kept seeing how much more fun it would’ve been with someone underplaying Dick, someone like… **Charles Grodin**. And that’s what prompted this thread. Carrey produced **Dick and Jane** (With the help of Madhair **Grazer** ), so it’s totally his own creation. Carrey would never let Grodin play the part, because Carrey’s ego is the size of a small continent. I also think this is the problem with many miscastings, i.e. there’s a big name attached to the production and rather than letting the right actor play the part, the studios, producers and agents let the **Big Name** do it. Anyone else have another example to share? ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/2 "2007-08-19T22:03:49Z")
CSI Miami might be worth watching if the David Caruso character was killed off. ---
**Author:** ![kurilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea5d25/32.png) [@kurilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kurilla)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/3 "2007-08-19T22:07:03Z")
A current release: **The Last Legion**. Colin Firth is just not made to play the commander of a Roman legion. Gerard Butler, Russell Crowe, Clive Owen, Daniel Craig… There are TONS of actors better suited to the role than Firth. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/4 "2007-08-19T22:29:34Z")
Superman Returns needed both leads recast. Lois should have been played by someone who was (a) actually brunette, (b) looked like she had passed puberty, and © could plausibly seem to have actually read a book in her life. I’m thinking Lauren Graham. As for Superman/Clark–well, that’s harder. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/5 "2007-08-19T22:35:15Z")
There are probably hundreds of examples: The guys who played Anakin Skywalker (miscast); Colin Farrell as Alexander the Great (miscast!); every lead in “Bonfire of the Vanities” was miscast. But the one that came immediately to my mind is a Golden Oldie of Miscasts: “South Pacific”, the 1958 film. It starred Mitzi Gaynor in the role Doris Day was born to play. Note - I think Dustin Hoffman was horribly miscast as Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman”, but I know there are sensible folks who actually prefer his version to the classic Lee J. Cobb. To each their own, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/6 "2007-08-19T22:36:16Z")
I loved **The Postman** ,but I think it would have been better received had **Costner** not been the star. Maybe with John Ratzenberger? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/7 "2007-08-19T22:43:11Z")
I always wished John Cusack had played Neo in _The Matrix_ instead of Keanu Reeves (and just wipe the sequels out of existence completely). Speaking of Keanu Reeves, he was horridly miscast in _Constantine_, the horror-noir film based on the DC Comics series _Hellblazer_. John Constantine should be a cynical, working-class BRITISH con man, ideally someone who looks like Sting after decades of living hard and confronting the greatest evils the world has to offer. A short list of actors who would have kicked ass in the title role: Daniel Craig, James Marsters, Paul Bettany, Ewan McGregor, Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Kiefer Sutherland. The movie isn’t bad, but it could have been a million times better with any of those guys. Colin Farrell would have made the very good \*Gangs of New York \* damn near flawless if he replaced Leonardo DiCaprio. “Let’s see… we need a young, streetwise Irish-American brawler who looks like he can hold his own against Daniel Day-Lewis’ brilliant and violent psychopath.” “How about Colin Farrell? He’d be perfect!” “Naw, let’s get DiCaprio. Girls think he’s so cute after _Titanic_!” ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/8 "2007-08-20T00:33:23Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] Colin Farrell would have made the very good \*Gangs of New York \* damn near flawless if he replaced Leonardo DiCaprio. “Let’s see… we need a young, streetwise Irish-American brawler who looks like he can hold his own against Daniel Day-Lewis’ brilliant and violent psychopath.” “How about Colin Farrell? He’d be perfect!” “Naw, let’s get DiCaprio. Girls think he’s so cute after _Titanic_!” [/QUOTE] I agree. Even though Farrell as an actor certainly isn’t perfect, he would’ve been ideal in the role. In fact, I remember reading somewhere (I wish I remember the source) that he was Scorsese’s first choice for the role but Farrell couldn’t do it because he’d already committed to do [The Recruit](http://imdb.com/title/tt0292506/) with Al Pacino. As a result, they cast DiCaprio who’s about as menacing as a member of high school swing choir. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/9 "2007-08-20T00:39:23Z")
Have to agree with Superman Returns…it’s the one I came into the thread to mention. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/10 "2007-08-20T00:41:23Z")
Most people seem to agree that Scott Bakula was the wrong choice for **Enterprise** , but that would just be the tip of the iceberg for how I would have done a pre-TOS spinoff differently. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/11 "2007-08-20T03:22:37Z")
[QUOTE=Neidhart] CSI Miami might be worth watching if the David Caruso character was killed off. [/QUOTE] Now, come on - who else could possibly replace David Caruso for sunglass maneuvers, talking with his head on sideways, and awkward _gravitas_? (And no saying “Your average chimpanzee?” 😃 ) “The Fantastic Four” has any number of things wrong with it, but Jessica Alba as Sue Storm is one of the big ones. It doesn’t help that not only does she not have chemistry with Ioan Gruffud, but they’re actually creepy together. I guess they blew all their budget on the special effects, and had about $19.95 left for her blonde wigs, too. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/12 "2007-08-20T05:15:19Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] “The Fantastic Four” has any number of things wrong with it, but Jessica Alba as Sue Storm is one of the big ones. It doesn’t help that not only does she not have chemistry with Ioan Gruffud, but they’re actually creepy together. I guess they blew all their budget on the special effects, and had about $19.95 left for her blonde wigs, too. [/QUOTE] I haven’t seen either FF movie, and I’m a comic book fan (though admittedly, not a big FF fan). I always thought Gretchen Mol, from Rounders, The 13th Floor, and The Notorious Bettie Page, would be the perfect Sue Storm. I also thought Ioan Gruffudd and Chris Evans looked way too similar in age and generally alike (handsome, yet completely nondescript) to play Reed and Johnny. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/13 "2007-08-20T05:41:44Z")
[QUOTE=Charlie Tan] Carrey produced **Dick and Jane** (With the help of Madhair **Grazer** ), so it’s totally his own creation. Carrey would never let Grodin play the part, because Carrey’s ego is the size of a small continent. [/QUOTE] …or because Grodin is a 60 year old man. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/14 "2007-08-20T05:52:00Z")
[QUOTE=Push You Down] …or because Grodin is a 60 year old man. [/QUOTE] And? Apart from having a kindergarten brat, there’s nothing in the part that contradicts Dick being 60. In fact, it’d work even better, since a former 60 year old VP would indeed have a hard time finding a job. And if Harrison Ford can play Indy and Willis McClane and get away with it, Grodin could very well play Dick Harper. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/15 "2007-08-20T07:28:33Z")
_Bram Stoker’s Dracula_. Tom Waits would have done better as Jonathan Harker. As a matter of fact, Winona Ryder in drag would have made a better Jonathan. Or possibly the mangey old aluminum armature Willis O’Brien used for King Kong, that he kept in his garage for sixty years. It had about the same range of facial expression, too. As for Anakin Skywalker…y’know, I think he actually got the _look_ of the part down well enough that you could salvage the performance just by dubbing him over. I’m thinking [Crispin Freeman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crispin_Freeman). …actually, come to think of it, you _could_ probably have cast Freeman in the live action roll and made it work. He’s even a little taller. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/16 "2007-08-20T08:31:59Z")
There’s an interesting little 1987 cop movie called _Fatal Beauty_. I figure there are about ten actresses (with Kathleen Turner topping the list) I’d rather have seen in the lead than Whoopi Goldberg. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/17 "2007-08-20T12:23:44Z")
[QUOTE=Charlie Tan] But all through **Dick and Jane** , I kept seeing how much more fun it would’ve been with someone underplaying Dick, someone like… **Charles Grodin**. [/QUOTE] Or George Segal? Let’s see, we’ve all been bitching about the new Flash Gordon series. Recasting some of the interchangeable brunette women, the guy playing Ming the Middle Manager and Flash would probably help. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/18 "2007-08-20T12:47:46Z")
Michael Crawford was so miscasted n the musical “Dance of The Vampire.” They should have gone with Steve Barton. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2007, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/19 "2007-08-20T12:54:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Note - I think Dustin Hoffman was horribly miscast as Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman”, but I know there are sensible folks who actually prefer his version to the classic Lee J. Cobb. To each their own, I guess. Arthur Miller reportedly liked Hoffman in the role, saying that he was the sort of actor he’d had in mind from the beginning for the part of Willy Loman (even though Lee J. Cobb, having originated the role, has become iconic) ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172/20 "2007-08-20T12:56:34Z")
[QUOTE=Ranchoth] _Bram Stoker’s Dracula_. Tom Waits would have done better as Jonathan Harker. As a matter of fact, Winona Ryder in drag would have made a better Jonathan. Or possibly the mangey old aluminum armature Willis O’Brien used for King Kong, that he kept in his garage for sixty years. It had about the same range of facial expression, too. [/QUOTE] Tom Waits was an excellent Renfield, but he’s too old for Harker. And truthfully- I don’t think Keanu was that bad. He stumbles awkwardly into a weird surreal world. He’s stunned senseless by the horror that is revealed around him. And finally he comes back a PTSD survivor trying to recover & then becoming obsessed with killing Dracula. So I could justify his Keanu-esque qualities as being realistic for Harker. Besides- Uncle Forry wouldn’t hand over the armature. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-and-tv-that-would-be-greatly-improved-by-recasting-the-lead/416172.md?page=2)