# Roles that literally could only have been played by one person **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898 "2015-05-26T19:44:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/21 "2015-05-26T21:10:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I don’t think she’s done it in a movie, but onstage Kate Mulgrew played Katherine Hepburn, and I can’t see anyone else being so physically perfect for the part. Have you seen _ **The Aviator** _ (the biopic about Howard Hughes)? Cate Blanchett \*disappeared \*into Kate Hepburn for me. I’m trying to think of early movies, before special effects were good, where maybe an actor was the only person physically capable of pulling off some feat in a movie - like Houdini, who was reportedly a terrible, horrible, no-good very bad actor in the few movies he headlined, or Johnny Weismuller (but clearly other people played Tarzan). ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/22 "2015-05-26T21:32:57Z")
No one could play Indiana Jones except Harrison Ford. If they’d cast Tom Selleck, it would have been awful. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/23 "2015-05-26T21:33:41Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > But there are some cases where there may in fact be literally only one person capable of playing a role (for reasons of talent or logistics or both). Two examples:… > - **Hugh Jackman** in Les Miserables. Obviously he’s neither the only A-list movie star, nor the only trained and experienced Broadway singer in the world, but he may be the only person who is both. Plenty of British actors tread the boards over here. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/24 "2015-05-26T21:54:47Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > **Unforgiven** - No one alive has Clint Eastwood’s western cred. For the same reason, _The Shootist_ wouldn’t have been any good if anyone besides John Wayne had been cast for the lead. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/25 "2015-05-26T21:57:07Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Not to mention the required (lack of) height. Yeah, Hugh Jackman is six foot, Wolverine about five foot three’. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/26 "2015-05-26T22:11:03Z")
How about Jonathon Brewster in _Arsenic and Old Lace_? He was a gangster who had plastic surgery to conceal his identity but the surgeon made him look like Boris Karloff. And the punchline was that Boris Karloff was playing the character in the Broadway play. The play was a huge success and Karloff was still playing the role on stage when they made a movie version of it. So they ended up casting Raymond Massey for the part of a guy who was supposed to look exactly like Boris Karloff. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/27 "2015-05-26T22:16:49Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I can’t imagine anyone else pulling off what Val Kilmer pulled off as Jim Morrison in “The Doors.” I [can](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noseMJc2Pm0). ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/28 "2015-05-26T22:23:50Z")
I think leads are more interchangeable than the great character actors. (Proof: Shirley Temple as Dorothy: same move. WC Fields as Oz: “that WC Fields movie that was in color”) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/29 "2015-05-26T22:25:18Z")
Clark Gable was the only person to play Rhett Butler. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/30 "2015-05-26T22:28:09Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Ultimately, I vote against the premise. Sure, we’re accustomed to certain highly iconic roles, but, in truth, any number of actors could have played Han Solo or Scarlett O’Hara. (But damn few could have played both!) Jaye Davidson? ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/31 "2015-05-26T22:28:36Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I have a sister who gets very upset in discussions about the TV show version of _Game of Thrones_ because she thinks Peter Dinklage isn’t ugly/crippled enough for Tyrion Lannister. I keep pointing out that no actor will consent to getting his nose sawed off for a role. Book-Tyrion has no nose? How does he smell? ---
**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:** [May 26, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/32 "2015-05-26T22:34:28Z")
They did a big-screen version of BEWITCHED and Will Ferrell neatly proved that, no, if Jim Carrey is busy on another film, _you wait until Jim Carrey is good and ready._ ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/33 "2015-05-26T22:36:43Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I also challenge the premise. As amazing as some actors or actresses are in their best-known roles, and as hard as it is to imagine someone else taking the part, Hollywood and its overseas equivalents are full of insanely talented people. I concur. The OP’s premise is absolutely wrong. There has _never_ been a role that only one actor in the world is capable of playing and there never will be. Like so many Cafe Society threads, this one is simply people listing their favorite things (in this case, actors/performances). ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/34 "2015-05-26T22:38:27Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Book-Tyrion has no nose? How does he smell? Not so bad if he’s showered recently. Oh, Peter Falk as Colombo. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/35 "2015-05-26T22:38:32Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Book-Tyrion has no nose? How does he smell? AWFUL! (You know you were expecting it) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/36 "2015-05-26T22:40:00Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > Book-Tyrion has no nose? How does he smell? Bad. Just like most everyone does in that world. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/37 "2015-05-26T22:54:45Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Lecter. It was his work on the character starting with the dentist’s outfit because as he put it, what’s scarier than visiting the dentist and the choices he made in the dialog with Jodie Foster that made him an Best Actor Oscar winner with only 14 minutes of screen time. Hopkins wasn’t the first to play the part. In **Manhunter** Brian Cox played Hannibal Lecktor (sic). He played him in a different way, but he was as chilling and as clearly insane, and I overall prefer his interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/38 "2015-05-26T23:03:31Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Lecter. It was his work on the character starting with the dentist’s outfit because as he put it, what’s scarier than visiting the dentist and the choices he made in the dialog with Jodie Foster that made him an Best Actor Oscar winner with only 14 minutes of screen time. IMO Hopkins refused to really commit to the role. Book Lector was bald and menacing. Hopkins refused to shave and was middle-aged and non-threatening. Now Hopkins in Hearts of Atlantis was a role that was remarkable and unique. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/39 "2015-05-26T23:12:03Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > It has been said that John Wayne, Arnold the Barbarian, and Sylvester Stallone made careers out of movies written specifically for them. But some of their most famous roles were not written for them at all. Jeff Bridges played Rooster Cogburn almost as well as the Duke. Conan was created long before Arnold was born. Stallone only got the role of Rambo after half a dozen other actors turned it down. That’s not the role that made Stallone famous; literally no one else could have played Rocky Balboa, since Stallone wrote the role for himself and turned down all kinds of money to let somebody else portray an Italian-American who grew up in Philly and is still hungry for his big break while suddenly looking at the wrong side of thirty… …and cue the double-digit number of Oscar nominations. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/40 "2015-05-26T23:16:10Z")
Bob Denver as Gilligan? Funny but so likeable. Don Adams as Maxwell Smart? A really tough role because the character has to be both funny and tough; Adams fought and was wounded on Guadalcanal and was a DI. Bruce Willis as David Addison. Who else had the electric charisma to overshadow Cybil Sheppard on Moonlighting? James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano. Just born for that role both physically and as an actor. Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. What other actress would have spread em? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898.md?page=3)