# Recast (badly) famous movie roles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 8, 2007, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241 "2007-06-08T11:51:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/1 "2007-06-08T11:51:48Z")
The progress in [this recent CS thread](http://208.100.26.199/sdmb/showthread.php?t=424015) provided me with the strong urge to hijack the thread, but the idea may be fun enough for others to resist the hijack urge as well. Think of a signature role/performance. Think of somebody else doing that part – only as poorly as humanly possible, not so much from lack of talent (although that could be a bonus) but just from being the exactly wrong “type.” Some roles to consider: Brando in _A Streetcar Named Desire_ Dean in _Rebel Without a Cause_ Clift in _A Place in the Sun_ DeNiro in _Taxi Driver_ Eastwood in any _Dirty Harry_ movie Streep in _Sophie’s Choice_ Close in _Fatal Attraction_ Cher in _Moonstruck_ Kathleen Turner in _Body Heat_ Kathy Bates in _Misery_ Others you’re either more familiar with or that can be ruined by bad casting. ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/2 "2007-06-08T12:02:31Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] The progress in [this recent CS thread](http://208.100.26.199/sdmb/showthread.php?t=424015) provided me with the strong urge to hijack the thread, but the idea may be fun enough for others to resist the hijack urge as well. Think of a signature role/performance. Think of somebody else doing that part – only as poorly as humanly possible, not so much from lack of talent (although that could be a bonus) but just from being the exactly wrong “type.” Some roles to consider: Brando in _A Streetcar Named Desire_ Dean in _Rebel Without a Cause_ Clift in _A Place in the Sun_ DeNiro in _Taxi Driver_ Eastwood in any _Dirty Harry_ movie Streep in _Sophie’s Choice_ Close in _Fatal Attraction_ Cher in _Moonstruck_ Kathleen Turner in _Body Heat_ Kathy Bates in _Misery_ Others you’re either more familiar with or that can be ruined by bad casting. [/QUOTE] Bill Paxton as Don Corleone Nicole Kidman as Margo Channing mm ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/3 "2007-06-08T12:10:09Z")
Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/4 "2007-06-08T12:23:01Z")
Some roles to consider: Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire – **Peter MacNicol** Dean in Rebel Without a Cause – **Justin Timberlake** Clift in A Place in the Sun – **Pruitt Taylor Vince** DeNiro in Taxi Driver – **Alec Guinness** Eastwood in any Dirty Harry movie – **Rob Schneider** Streep in Sophie’s Choice – **Drew Barrymore** Close in Fatal Attraction – **Sandra Bullock** Cher in Moonstruck – **Alicia Silverstone** Kathleen Turner in Body Heat – **Jennifer Lopez** Kathy Bates in Misery – **Paula Poundstone** ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/5 "2007-06-08T12:40:48Z")
Roseanne Barr as Holly Golightly Chris Farley as Rhett Butler Charles Nelson Reilly as Rocky Balboa ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/6 "2007-06-08T12:44:21Z")
Chuck Norris as Gandhi John Wayne as Count Dracula Andrew Dice Clay as Robin Hood ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/7 "2007-06-08T12:53:31Z")
John Wayne instead of Jon Voight in _Midnight Cowboy_. Richard Widmark as Julius Caesar in any version of _Cleopatra_. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/8 "2007-06-08T13:26:22Z")
How about recasting Peter Jackson’s _LotR_? Here are a few: I actually put some (horrible) thought into these, so humor me by trying to picture them in these roles. 🙂 **Wilford Brimley** as Gandalf **Gilbert Gottfried** as Smeagol **Brittany Murphy** as Arwen **Stephen Seagal** as Aragorn **Warwick Davis** as Frodo \*(“You ARE great!”) \* :rolleyes: 🙂 **Nicolas Cage** as Boromir **Al Pacino** in a memorable cameo as the captain of Barad-Dur ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/9 "2007-06-08T13:26:28Z")
John Goodman in any of the roles mentioned so far - not because of talent but simple bad fit. ---
**Author:** ![BadBadger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BadBadger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBadger)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/10 "2007-06-08T13:28:25Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Chuck Norris as Gandhi Simply awesome. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Hanibal Lector ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/11 "2007-06-08T13:34:57Z")
Brad Pitt in the Max Vov Sydow role in _The Exorcist_ Tommy Lee Jones in the Gene Kelly role in _Singin’ in the Rain_ Gene Hackman as Moses (or any other Charlton Heston role) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/12 "2007-06-08T13:53:57Z")
[QUOTE=astorian] John Wayne as Count Dracula [/QUOTE] Well, that soun’s like the children of the night to me, mister. > [@](#): > > Andrew Dice Clay as Robin Hood Maid Marian, don’t you think it’s time you trimmed Sherwood Forest a little? ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/13 "2007-06-08T15:55:27Z")
Robert Mitchum in _Night of the Hunter_ – replaced by Don Knotts. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/14 "2007-06-08T16:00:33Z")
[QUOTE=astorian] John Wayne as Count Dracula [/QUOTE] LOL! I’d pay money to see that! My pick is Eastwood in any Dirty Harry movie – **Woody Allen**. And the kicker would be that Allen wouldn’t be trying for laughs- he’d be playing the role straight trying to act like a tough-guy cop. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/15 "2007-06-08T16:27:54Z")
Remake _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ and cast someone totally wrong for Errol Flynn’s part. Say, some American who can’t do an English accent. Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/16 "2007-06-08T16:28:33Z")
[QUOTE=Lumpy] LOL! I’d pay money to see that! My pick is Eastwood in any Dirty Harry movie – **Woody Allen**. And the kicker would be that Allen wouldn’t be trying for laughs- he’d be playing the role straight trying to act like a tough-guy cop. [/QUOTE] I was going to say that SCTV had already done that, but the more I think about it, it was **Taxi Driver** with Woody Allen as Travis Bickle. How about this? Roseanne Barr is … Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/17 "2007-06-08T16:36:52Z")
[QUOTE=Ferd Burfel] I was going to say that SCTV had already done that, but the more I think about it, it was **Taxi Driver** with Woody Allen as Travis Bickle. How about this? Roseanne Barr is … Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker” [/QUOTE] Well, at least it would keep her quiet, maybe. For that purpose, toss in Rosie O’Donnell. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/18 "2007-06-08T16:40:12Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. [/QUOTE] Got it in one. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/19 "2007-06-08T16:43:25Z")
Using the OP’s examples: [QUOTE=Zeldar] Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire Dean in Rebel Without a Cause Clift in A Place in the Sun DeNiro in Taxi Driver Eastwood in any Dirty Harry movie Streep in Sophie’s Choice Close in Fatal Attraction Cher in Moonstruck Kathleen Turner in Body Heat Kathy Bates in Misery [/QUOTE] Adam Sandler in A Streetcar Named Desire Sean Penn in Rebel Without a Cause Owen Wilson in A Place in the Sun Matthew Broderick in Taxi Driver David Hyde Perce in any Dirty Harry movie Sandra Bernhardt in Sophie’s Choice Tara Reid in Fatal Attraction Kathy Griffin in Moonstruck Kirsten Dunst in Body Heat Lindsey Lohan in Misery ---
**Author:** ![percussion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@percussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percussion)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241/20 "2007-06-08T16:58:30Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] How about recasting Peter Jackson’s _LotR_? Here are a few: I actually put some (horrible) thought into these, so humor me by trying to picture them in these roles. 🙂 **Wilford Brimley** as Gandalf **Gilbert Gottfried** as Smeagol **Brittany Murphy** as Arwen **Stephen Seagal** as Aragorn **Warwick Davis** as Frodo \*(“You ARE great!”) \* :rolleyes: 🙂 **Nicolas Cage** as Boromir **Al Pacino** in a memorable cameo as the captain of Barad-Dur [/QUOTE] DAIIIBETUS [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-badly-famous-movie-roles/407241.md?page=2)