# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/121 "2015-05-30T22:48:16Z")
How about Marlee Matlin in **Children Of A Lesser God**? ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/122 "2015-05-30T23:27:53Z")
The almost too bare-naked dysfunctional dynamic between man and wife would be near impossible to replicate with anyone but Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in, _Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf_. I can’t think of anyone who could have replaced Sandy Dennis, either. What absorption into character for the whole cast! Painful to watch, but brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/123 "2015-05-31T00:22:25Z")
More in line with the spirit of the OP, I don’t think most of the cast of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog could have been anyone else. Not because only they could **pull it off** , but rather because the film/series was concocted under the circumstances of the writer’s guild strike. The cast is largely made up of Whedon’s friends, and was largely thought up and written **by** the cast and crew in response to said strike. It was simply made under different circumstances than the traditional audition/cast cycle. For that reason, while I’m sure the roles could have been shuffled around, or maybe you could argue that Whedon could have gotten a different set of friends and colleagues for the parts, the circumstances under which the entire thing was done presented a relatively unique challenge that made the cast what it was. Similarly with Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing. Obviously plenty of other people can play Shakespeare characters, but the whole thing was basically just a goofy excuse by Whedon to shoot a Shakespeare production in his house during his vacation. The actors he chose, he picked because they were his friends who would be interested in chilling out and shooting an artsy Shakespeare adaptation. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/124 "2015-05-31T01:09:25Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Bill Murray as Bill Murray in Zombieland. Or as Phil Connors in _Groundhog Day_. ---
**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 31, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/125 "2015-05-31T02:02:23Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Or as Phil Connors in _Groundhog Day_. Michael Keaton. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/126 "2015-05-31T02:09:03Z")
I’m not seeing it. ---
**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 31, 2015, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/127 "2015-05-31T10:22:57Z")
Well, pick a line: eyes go wide, he says _“Ned?!?”_ and slugs the guy: sure. Delivering the _“I’m a god . . . I’m not the God . . . I don’t think”_ bit: yep. Replying with offbeat sincerity that his dad was a piano _mover,_ as if that explained everything: easy. I can see him tilting his head as Doris-asking-for-a-roll-of-quarters while timing his walk to the back of the armored car – or doing that broadcast for the nth time, and starting to drone through the scripted remarks. What can’t you see him doing? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/128 "2015-05-31T14:36:37Z")
N-n-n-no. Still not seein’ it. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/129 "2015-05-31T14:51:52Z")
[quote=“Annie-Xmas, post:117, topic:720898”] Anyway, as the OP has explained, for a movie of that size you need a big name to draw people in who would otherwise maybe not have gone to see it. Colm Wilkinson isn’t going to do that, nor are any of the hundreds of Valjeans who have played the part all over the world. Hugh Jackman can. But that’s not really an issue of being able to play the role, it’s simply an issue of marketing. That’s rather different than cases in which an actor was especially suited to the role itself. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/130 "2015-05-31T16:03:27Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I can see Hugo Weaving being just as good, if not better. Brian Cox and Mads Mikkelsen have also been fantastic as Dr. Lecter as well. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/131 "2015-05-31T16:32:50Z")
Two that jump out to me are Bill Murray quite literally playing himself in Zombieland and Kareem Abdul Jabbar playing Roger Murdoch in Airplane. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/132 "2015-05-31T16:58:09Z")
He may be crazy now but Gary Busey as Buddy Holly, he just seemed to live inside that role for a while. He brought this kind of genuineness to the role, he lost a lot of weight to fit the part, and he really sang the songs and played the guitar parts. I’m not sure if he captured how Buddy Holly was in private moments, but he seemed to nail his persona. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/133 "2015-05-31T19:25:51Z")
As usual, I agree with my friend silenus. No one could have replaced Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. My entry: Robert Preston as Professor Harold Hill. From [IMDB:](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056262/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv) > [@](#): > > Even though Robert Preston had played the role of Harold Hill on Broadway, Frank Sinatra was Warner Bros’ personal choice to play the role in the movie. However, Meredith Willson told them, “No Robert Preston, no movie.” Cary Grant was also offered the lead role, but told Warner Brothers, “Not only will I not star in the movie, if Robert Preston does not star in it, I will not see it.” ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/134 "2015-05-31T19:28:38Z")
I can just imagine Sinatra trying that role. It would have been awful. Cary Grant would have been even worse. [Matthew Broderick](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0293437/?ref_=nv_sr_3) was terrible too. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/135 "2015-05-31T20:38:17Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > As usual, I agree with my friend silenus. No one could have replaced Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. Pshaw! [Pauli Shore](http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/pauly_shore.jpg) would play a spot on modern Atticus Finch. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/136 "2015-06-01T06:32:38Z")
I would nominate Laverne Cox in Orange as the New Black. I envision a casting call: Wanted, sexy transgender black female who can act, with nonTG twin brother who can also act to play her pre-transition. Jane Horrocks in Little Voice. Can’t really imagine anyone better to play the Michael Caine part in that movie either, but definitely Jane as the thing was written for her. Oh man, there was another one, I JUST had it.:smack: ETA: Guy who played Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof, play & movie. I guess others have done the role in times since. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/137 "2015-06-01T08:51:01Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I can’t imagine anyone else pulling off what Val Kilmer pulled off as Jim Morrison in “The Doors.” > > He sang all the parts himself with total believability, and the acting was spot on. When the movie first came out, I read a review that said Val Kilmer was a horrible actor and it was sign of what an unoriginal, cliche character Jim Morrison was that even a no-talent like Kilmer could portray Morrison so accurately. That was such a breathtakingly illogical statement that I’ve never forgotten it. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/138 "2015-06-01T10:33:08Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > But it’s not the role that did it, it was his iconic performance in the role. Clearly other people played Higgins quite well in the play and in the movie made from the play. I saw Cary Grant in 1985 in one of his “An Evening with Cary Grant” shows, where he would appear on stage somewhere, and after a montage of clips from his movies he’d come out and sit on a stool and answer questions from the audience. Someone asked if he’d considered doing _My Fair Lady_ and he said that he told the producers that he not only wouldn’t do the movie but if they didn’t cast Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle he wouldn’t even see it. 😃 On preview I happened upon **longhair75’s** post which says that IMDB says Grant made the same comment in regard to Robert Preston and _The Music Man_. I don’t know whether Grant made a habit of making this kind of quip or whether the writers at IMDB got their actors and movies mixed up, but I do that that his remark about Julie Andrews is accurate because it came straight from Grant himself. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/139 "2015-06-01T10:55:14Z")
Inarguably, only Mike Myers could be Austin Powers, since he created the character. Or, you know, Michael Caine. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2015, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898/140 "2015-06-01T10:57:37Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Inarguably, only Mike Myers could be Austin Powers, since he created the character. Tom Cruise disagrees. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-that-literally-could-only-have-been-played-by-one-person/720898.md?page=8)