# The best casted role TV or film or biggest casting mistake **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2013, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139 "2013-04-08T07:23:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/121 "2013-04-09T18:38:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Why does Magneto need to be buff? I mean, if you can lift an airplane with the power of your mind, why the hell do you need muscles? He doesn’t _have_ to be but in order to more accurately portray the character, he should be. Knowing what comic Magneto looks like and knowing how Ian McKellan’s version looked like was a little odd ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/122 "2013-04-09T18:44:32Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Anybody can put on the suit; Jessica Alba failed because she couldn’t (or the director didn’t tell her to) play an astronaut. …Sue isn’t an astronaut. Sue’s a mom. Regardless if she birthed a child yet or not, Sue Storm is the mom of the Fantastic Four. Once we get out of the casual misogny of the early 60s, saying she’s the “mom” is not a slight to the character. She’s the fierce lioness, the strong matriarch. She’s the POWER in the Fantastic Four. Alba failed because she wasn’t anything other than a pretty woman with powers–although she was slightly better in FF2. Reese Witherspoon should have played Sue Storm. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/123 "2013-04-09T18:55:20Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory > An amazing comedic actor. Can anyone else play awkward like Parsons? > > David Hyde Pierce as Niles Crane on Frasier > Four Emmy’s. 'Nuff said. I wish these two characters lived in the same TV universe, and could interact with each other. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/124 "2013-04-09T19:19:50Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’m willing to give Christensen a certain amount of slack on this one, since he was having to act under the direction of George Lucas, who is pretty well-known to provide his (flesh and blood) actors with very little in the way of useful direction. > > I’m not sure that any other actor of Christensen’s age and experience level could have done much better. Before being cast as Anakin, Christensen had gotten quite a bit of acclaim (including a Golden Globe nomination) for _My Life as a House_, and he later got several award nominations for _Broken Glass_. He’s not a bad actor, but the Star Wars movies were not going to be where he got the direction to shine – for that matter, the Prequel Trilogy was filled with actors who were well-regarded for their other work, but most of them turned in fairly wooden performances in these movies. Those other roles prove he can play the same guy over and over. Sometimes that guy fits the script. I liked Broken Glass and his style fit the role but I still came away thinking he is a bad actor. > [@River\_Hippie](#): > > The guy that plays Joffrey in Game Of Thrones deserves special mention in the “Best” category, IMHO. For one thing he plays 14 pretty convincingly for a guy in his twenties. He also just looks like the kind of guy that would be an utter dick. I hate him so much so I can’t agree. But he is supposed to be hated so he is perfect in the role. But I hate him so much I can’t think anything good about him. I hate him. Am I being clear? (yes he is perfect for the role) > [@JohnT](#): > > You misspelled “Laura San Giacomo”, but that’s all right - hers was a minor character anyway. > > But she turned in possibly the absolute worst recreation of a character in TV history - it’s as if she read the book, said “I don’t want to do this Nadine Cross, I want to do the opposite of her”… and did it. You are right, she was awful in the role and terribly miscast. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/125 "2013-04-09T19:23:25Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Andreas Katsulas as G’Kar on **Babylon 5**. He had the gravitas to shine from behind the makeup, and nobody else could have pulled off the sheer joy of the part. OTOH, Michael O’Hare was horribly cast as Sinclair. The bulkheads had more character. I tend to think it was more about how the character was written. Michael O’Hare was Colonel Jessup in the original Broadway production of _A Few Good Men_. Somehow I don’t think he was wooden in that role. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/126 "2013-04-09T19:31:39Z")
What about Tommy Lee Jones as Sam Gerard in “The Fugitive”? I would also nominate Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink in “Resevoir Dogs”. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/127 "2013-04-09T19:34:48Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Knowing what comic Magneto looks like and knowing how Ian McKellan’s version looked like was a little odd Well, taking a guy who already has a disproportionately large head and fitting him with a mane and a helmet only exaggerated the issue… ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/128 "2013-04-09T19:48:32Z")
Worst: Aaron fucking Eckhart as Roland Mitchell in _Possession_ Dick van Dyke as Professor Caractacus Potts in _Chitty Chitty Bang Bang_ ---
**Author:** ![montag01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@montag01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/montag01)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/129 "2013-04-09T19:49:43Z")
Best: Kenneth Branagh as Henry V. Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey as Romeo and Juliet Paul Scofield as Thomas More Robert Shaw as Quint Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday Worst: George Clooney as Batman Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd Edward Furlong & Nick Stahl as John Connor ---
**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:** [April 9, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/130 "2013-04-09T20:05:12Z")
I’ll add to the chorus of those mentioning Patrick Stewart as Professor X. Of course this was especially true since for years prior to the movie several of the artists on the comic books had been basing the way they drew the character off of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/131 "2013-04-09T20:10:13Z")
Christopher Lee was Saruman before Peter Jackson made his first movie. And a fairly obscure one - Alan Rickman as Obadiah Slope in _Barchester Chronicles_. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/035BSEU_hQ4/hqdefault.jpg "Alan Rickman: The Rise and the Fall of Obadiah Slope") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=035BSEU_hQ4) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/132 "2013-04-09T20:47:20Z")
Another obscure bad one: Jason Robards as Brutus in [Julius Caesar](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065922/): One of the most lifeless wastes of celluloid ever captured. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/133 "2013-04-09T20:50:32Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Another obscure bad one: > > Jason Robards as Brutus in [Julius Caesar](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065922/): One of the most lifeless wastes of celluloid ever captured. Psst! Post #105. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/134 "2013-04-09T21:08:40Z")
I’m surprised not to have seen some truly iconic casting triumphs mentioned yet: Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy Daniel Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln Two Law & Order replacements that worked out much better than the original casting choices: Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy Jerry Orbach as Lennie Briscoe ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/135 "2013-04-09T21:27:46Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Psst! Post #105. That’s a coincidence: I just mentioned the same performance. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/136 "2013-04-09T21:42:47Z")
Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes. He _looks_ more like SH than any actor since Basil Rathbone, and he truly nailed the part, more than anyone I’ve seen before or since. It’s surprising to see that he played Freddy in _My Fair Lady_ (singing, no less!), Dracula on the West Coast after the revival that originally starred Frank Langella\*, and, most surprising of all, Doctor Watson (!) to Charlton Heston’e Sherlock Holmes in _Crucifer of Blood_. I find it hard to think of him as anything but Holmes anymore. \*Raul Julia was another post-Langella Dracula, on Broadway. When I saw the production he was starring in it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/137 "2013-04-09T21:46:11Z")
Powers Boothe in the TV miniseries Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones. He won the Emmy for his portrayal of the title role. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/138 "2013-04-09T22:51:01Z")
The casting of the Mercury Astronauts in _The Right Stuff_: Scott Glenn … Alan Shepard Ed Harris … John Glenn Dennis Quaid … Gordon Cooper Fred Ward … Gus Grissom Scott Paulin … Deke Slayton Charles Frank … Scott Carpenter Lance Henriksen … Wally Schirra Brilliant, especially Ed Harris and Dennis Quaid ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/139 "2013-04-09T23:34:14Z")
The Best: Benedict Cumberbatch is the right everything for Sherlock Holmes. Mark Gatniss as Mycroft Holmes is spot on. Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Game of Thrones : The kid that plays Joffrey. Holy hell, he is brilliant and so punchable. The entire cast of GoT is brilliant. Just f’n brilliant. The kid that played Malfoy, Tom something. The entire main cast for Harry Potter was extremely well cast. My personal favorites were Slughorn and Lockhart and the late Great Richard Griffiths was truly Vernon Dursley in every sense. Lara Pulver, who plays Irene Adler in Scandal in Belgravia is absolutely amazing. The Worst: Whomever played the Lead in The Hunger Games, Jennifer Whatsherface. Oh, I hated her wooden acting and the fact she was about 30 pounds to fleshy for a girl growing up in a food starved area. Halle Berry in Xmen. Rachel McAdams single handedly nearly destroyed the orgasmic pleasure of RDj and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes. Worst Irene Adler ever. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Kuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@Kuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuru)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139/140 "2013-04-09T23:57:41Z")
Keanu Reeves is fine in many films, but he was horribly miscast as Jonathan Harker in Dracula. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-casted-role-tv-or-film-or-biggest-casting-mistake/655139.md?page=8)