# Perfect casting that could have happened and... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890 "2017-07-10T03:12:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 10, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/21 "2017-07-10T17:13:54Z")
Angela Bassett should’ve played Storm. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/22 "2017-07-10T17:30:59Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Way back in the mid-90s, there was talk of having [Catherine Zeta-Jones](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ea/de/70/eade705e3adf5714c04de656c39e3ac5--catherine-zeta-jones-catherine-ohara.jpg) star in a Wonder Woman movie. > > I like Gal Gadot in the role just fine, but I still mourn the loss of a 90s-era Zeta-Jones WW. Hmm, interesting; probably had the look, the acting chops, and the physicality to do a great job, but I kinda think it might be best that it didn’t happen. The state-of-the-art of comic book movies has come a long way since then. If they had done it back then with CZ-J it would have been seen more as a star vehicle for her than being about the character. And I like her better in low-key roles than glammed-up, larger-than-life stuff. So, I like that they waited until they could do it right. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/23 "2017-07-10T18:31:36Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Way back in the mid-90s, there was talk of having [Catherine Zeta-Jones](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ea/de/70/eade705e3adf5714c04de656c39e3ac5--catherine-zeta-jones-catherine-ohara.jpg) star in a Wonder Woman movie. > > I like Gal Gadot in the role just fine, but I still mourn the loss of a 90s-era Zeta-Jones WW. When Joss Whedon had the rights, he planned to cast Morena Baccarin, who at the time I thought would be perfect. But after seeing Gal Gadot in action, I don’t think Baccarin would have been as physically convincing. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/24 "2017-07-10T19:19:54Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, years before he actually became Bond. > > He eventually got the role as Bond seven years later after Dalton dropped out. Check out some of those _ **Remington Steele** _ episodes on YouTube. Brosnan looks \*way \*too young to make a convincing Bond. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/25 "2017-07-10T19:22:04Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Check out some of those _ **Remington Steele** _ episodes on YouTube. Brosnan looks \*way \*too young to make a convincing Bond. Also, the elephant in the room here is that Dalton actually _was_ Bond. ---
**Author:** ![Marine\_One](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marine_one/32/3461_2.png) [@Marine\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marine_One)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/26 "2017-07-10T19:29:54Z")
How about Kelsey Grammar in a movie about Bob Hope? Especially when he was younger. He’s got the look, voice and mannerisms. Or, how about him and another actor in the Bing Crosby role in a _Road To …_ movie? They could have a whole series of movies. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/27 "2017-07-10T19:33:48Z")
Brosnan would have gotten stuck with the same scripts and directors that Dalton did, and the results would have been just as bad. I like Dalton’s portrayal, and Brosnan’s portrayal, and their movies were better than the later Connery and most of the Moore films, but it was not the best time for the franchise. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/28 "2017-07-10T21:03:18Z")
I think the poster child for this was **Keanu Reeves** as Spike Spiegel in **Cowboy Bebop**. I believe the character was designed based on Keanu, who pursued the part for years but things never worked out. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/29 "2017-07-10T21:06:28Z")
Sean Connery as Gandalf… ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/30 "2017-07-10T21:17:03Z")
Cleavon Little did a fine job as the sheriff in **Blazing Saddles** , but I wish I could have seen Richard Pryor, who was originally cast for the role. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/31 "2017-07-11T00:39:46Z")
I wanted a movie version of **The Talisman** -(SK and Peter Straub), starring a young **Brad Renfro** ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/32 "2017-07-11T17:08:54Z")
Martin Landau as Spock. Edward G. Robinson as Dr. Zaius. Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2017, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/33 "2017-07-11T18:11:29Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > Martin Landau as Spock. > > Edward G. Robinson as Dr. Zaius. According to one account I’ve read, Landau was indeed considered for the role at one point. \*\*\*Star Trek \*\*\*and _ **Mission: Impossible** _ were filmed in adjacent sound stages at Desilu (later Paramount). Edward G Robinson was supposed to play Little Bonaparte in _ **Some Like It Hot** _, but backed out because he and George Raft hated each other’s guts. The role went to Nehemiah Persoff instead. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/34 "2017-07-11T18:22:01Z")
Always felt that [Wayne Rogers](http://www.latimes.com/includes/projects/hollywood/portraits/wayne_rogers.jpg) would have been the ideal actor for a movie about [former Indiana Coach Bobby Knight](http://images.performgroup.com/di/library/sporting_news/50/f7/bobby-knight-031416-ap-ftrjpg_11m0s7putsu9a1ppv65n8igiin.jpg?t=1971781963&w=1280&h=720&quality=100). They looked remarkably similar and even sounded an awful lot alike. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/35 "2017-07-11T18:32:21Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > According to one account I’ve read, Landau was indeed considered for the role at one point. \*\*\*Star Trek \*\*\*and _ **Mission: Impossible** _ were filmed in adjacent sound stages at Desilu (later Paramount). It’s also interesting that, after TOS was cancelled (and Landau left MI), Nimoy joined the MI cast as a similar master-of-disguise character. I almost included Genevieve Bujold as Captain Janeway in my list. However, I rewatched the clips from her one day on the job, and I have to admit she wasn’t very good. I think she would have grown into the role, though. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/36 "2017-07-11T18:53:15Z")
Back in the late 90s, I kept waiting for a live action version of Dilbert to get made starring Drew Carey. He was spot on back then. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/37 "2017-07-11T18:53:55Z")
A young Sting in the lead for a movie of The Vampire Lestat would have been amazing. Anne Rice for some reason originally wanted Rutger Hauer (???). She was clearly interrogating the casting from the wrong perspective. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/38 "2017-07-17T23:04:59Z")
Should have been Jeremy Irons as British ex-pat Denys Finch-Hatton in **Out of Africa**. The role went to Robert Redford who couldn’t play British if he wanted to. Still a good movie, but oh, what might have been. ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/39 "2017-07-17T23:16:34Z")
Nothing against Martin Freeman, but I would have liked to see _Coupling_-era Jack Davenport as Arthur Dent. ---
**Author:** ![Gretchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8edcca/32.png) [@Gretchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gretchion)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890/40 "2017-07-18T03:35:38Z")
Jude Law as Zod in Superman Returns. Jack Nicholson would have been a great Wolverine back in the day. If Star Trek had rebooted the Kirk era earlier, Gary Sinise would have been great as McCoy, and Ray Liotta as Pike. And if Mel Brooks had made a Spaceballs prequel in the early 2000s, he could have had Jonathan Lipnicky play a young Dark Helmet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-casting-that-could-have-happened-and/790890.md?page=3)