# Perfectly cast beauties **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 27, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692 "2010-02-27T22:03:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/81 "2010-03-01T18:52:52Z")
Katherine Hepburn in _The Lion in Winter_ ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/82 "2010-03-01T19:04:15Z")
The absolute first actress that came to mind was **Olivia Hussey** as Juliet in Zeffirelli’s 1968 _Romeo and Juliet_. She perfectly personified Shakespeare’s Juliet, a teenager embroiled in a messy romance that ended tragically. She still looks amazing today. Yeah, I had a crush back then. ---
**Author:** ![halfliquid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@halfliquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/halfliquid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/83 "2010-03-01T19:38:10Z")
Yvonne De Carlo in The Ten Commandments. Ingrid Bergman in Anastasia. Michelle Pfeiffer in Wolf. Rose McGowan in Planet Terror. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/84 "2010-03-01T20:34:10Z")
Phoebe Cates in [Fast Times at Ridgemont High](http://ericfleming.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/phoebe_cates_fast_times.jpg) (photo is SFW) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/85 "2010-03-01T20:47:26Z")
> [@nivlac](#): > > The absolute first actress that came to mind was **Olivia Hussey** as Juliet in Zeffirelli’s 1968 _Romeo and Juliet_. She perfectly personified Shakespeare’s Juliet, a teenager embroiled in a messy romance that ended tragically. She still looks amazing today. Yeah, I had a crush back then. Seconded! Lucky bastard: [http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/01\_03/romeoDM1801\_468x672.jpg](http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/01_03/romeoDM1801_468x672.jpg) [TV\_Movie\_Classics, Celebrities: Image](http://qrst.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/olivia_hussey21.jpg) [http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/Romeo%20and%20Juliet.jpg](http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/Romeo%20and%20Juliet.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/86 "2010-03-01T21:08:49Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > That role wasn’t supposed to have a beauty filling it. It’s been many years since I read the book, but my recollection is that it described her as being an attractive woman. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/87 "2010-03-01T21:18:27Z")
Not a conventional beauty perhaps but [Elsa Lanchester as the bride of Frankenstein](http://www.porkepyn.com/docs/BrideOfFrankB&W2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/88 "2010-03-01T21:27:16Z")
> [@Rrose\_Selavy](#): > > Not a conventional beauty perhaps but > > [Elsa Lanchester as the bride of Frankenstein](http://www.porkepyn.com/docs/BrideOfFrankB&W2.jpg) Okay, then: Anne Ramsey from [Throw Momma from the Train (1987)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094142/) (No good image links, sorry.) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/89 "2010-03-01T21:46:48Z")
> [@wedgehed](#): > > It’s been many years since I read the book, but my recollection is that it described her as being an attractive woman. Mm, it’s been too long for me as well; I can’t recall what it said about her looks. I don’t think the movie role requires a beauty, at least. I think it works well enough with two “average” (give or take) people in the roles of the lead adults. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/90 "2010-03-02T03:36:06Z")
**Grace Kelly** in _Rear Window_ ---
**Author:** ![halfliquid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@halfliquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/halfliquid)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/91 "2010-03-02T03:47:04Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Okay, then: Anne Ramsey from [Throw Momma from the Train (1987)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094142/) (No good image links, sorry.) [Zelda Rubinstein in Poltergeist](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2846134016/nm0748289) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/92 "2010-03-02T04:08:45Z")
> [@nivlac](#): > > The absolute first actress that came to mind was **Olivia Hussey** as Juliet in Zeffirelli’s 1968 _Romeo and Juliet_. She perfectly personified Shakespeare’s Juliet, a teenager embroiled in a messy romance that ended tragically. She still looks amazing today. Yeah, I had a crush back then. She is beautiful but even back then she looked too old for the part. I saw it in school when I was Juliet’s age. Her body is very adult for a 14 year old girl. Believe me, it was all we could talk about. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/93 "2010-03-02T05:34:16Z")
True, but it’d be _really_ creepy to do _Romeo and Juliet_ with an actual 13 year old girl in the lead. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/94 "2010-03-02T06:09:07Z")
He’s a beauty in my eyes - David Boreanaz as Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an amazing piece of casting based on looks alone. I wouldn’t call his acting stupendous, but he could have been tailor-made for that role. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/95 "2010-03-02T12:49:35Z")
**Richard Gere** in “Officer and a Gentleman” - absolutely believable as a high school drop-out with a chip on his shoulder, but oh so good looking. **Diane Lane** in “Unfaithful” - An aging beauty. Beautiful enough to be married to a guy like Richard Gere, but she also has a tiredness about her that was perfect in the role of a 40 year old wife and mom. You could totally see her in a sweat shirt being the soccer mom. **Daniel Day-Lewis** in “Last of the Mohicans” - With his long black hair and thin frame, he blended right in with the Indians and understood why he’d be a perfect liaison between the Indians and the whites. **Marlon Brando** in “Streetcar Named Desire” - charismatic, brooding, and a perfect blue collar look about him but the ultimate casting of a beautiful woman in a lead role… **Vivien Leigh** as Scarlett in “Gone with the Wind” - She was sassy, petite, charming, but hard as nails if she wanted to. You could see why men would fall over themselves to be her beau ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/96 "2010-03-02T13:33:58Z")
> [@Miss\_Violaceous](#): > > Uma Thurman in _Beautiful Girls._ That entire movie was perfectly cast. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/97 "2010-03-02T14:02:09Z")
How about Helen Mirren in _Prime Suspect_? A true beauty whose beauty was perfect for the role of a grown woman, with a complicated life, in a difficult situation. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/98 "2010-03-02T14:04:30Z")
> [@wintertime](#): > > Great film. It has such a relaxed demeanour; one that seems to be almost impossible to replicate nowadays. It might be possible to replicate the demeanor of the film, but so much of that movie’s success was dependent on the lead actors. I mean, who else can you imagine driving around Paris in a yellow Jaguar convertible? OK, granted, Gregory Peck and Audrey riding around Rome on a scooter come pretty close. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/99 "2011-02-10T23:04:49Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > There’s just no way to please everyone. I’m paraphrasing but I think someone on these boards once said something to the effect of “it could be Venus herself venturing nude from the sea and someone on the internet would say she wasn’t all that hot.” We’re never going to find someone that we can universally agree on has the face that could launch a thousand ships. I know you’re right, but sometimes I think people say it just to be contrary. Because whether you prefer her “style” of beauty or not (which is the reason so many people disagree, after all - there’s delicate featured pale blondes and bold featured brunettes, etc.) I think it’s really hard to refute that AJ is just drop dead gorgeous. And [this](http://celebritybabyscoop.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery_main/pictures/FP_4742477_Jolie_Angelina_AAR_032410.jpg) is my favorite picture of her, because she’s really just that beautiful without makeup. (It’s guaranteed someone will say she IS wearing makeup… but she’s not. She has fantastic natural coloring, which is part of why she’s so incredibly beautiful. And we can argue about it all day, but look at the bags under her eyes - it’s a morning shot and she is in Venice where she was shooting the Tourist- she looks like she might be wearing workout clothes. if she’s wearing any makeup at all, it’s smudgy leftovers from the night before!) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692/100 "2011-02-11T00:55:48Z")
Wrong: Julia Roberts in **Hook**. Right: Jenna Elfman in **Big Daddy**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfectly-cast-beauties/530692.md?page=6)