# They Couldn't Have Picked A Better Actor/Actress For That Role **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 18, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455 "2009-07-18T17:28:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/1 "2009-07-18T17:28:27Z")
I bought the DVDs for the old _Blondie_ movies, the series of movies in the 40s, and the leads [Penny Singleton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Singleton) (Blondie) and [Arthur Lake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Lake_(actor)) (Dagwood) are just TOO perfect, at least I think so. So my question is, what actors do you think were just born to play a certain role? Or just fit that role too perfectly? The only criteria, I ask is that the roles be of a character established elsewhere. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz was from a book. Or Dagwood was a comic strip. I’m not talking about charachters specifically created for a film and just play that character well. I guess I’m looking for, if you’d say “I can’t imagine anyone else playing that role.” ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/2 "2009-07-18T18:23:21Z")
In the mini-series of Stephen King’s _The Stand_, the guy who played Tom Cullen, Bill Fagerbakke, was _exactly_ the guy I pictured while reading the book. Perfect casting choice, laws yes. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/3 "2009-07-18T18:34:53Z")
One of the best examples is Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl in the Robert Altman’s Popeye movie. I like much of the rest of the casting in that movie as well, but Duvall was born to play that character. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/4 "2009-07-18T19:18:04Z")
J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, and Cliff Robertson as Ben Parker, in _Spider-Man_. Christopher Lee as Saruman in the _Lord of the Rings_. Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in _To Kill a Mockingbird_. Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid in the Harry Potter Movies. (Of course, J.K. Rowling has stated that she had him in mind when she was writing the books.) Audrey Hepburn as Natasha in _War and Peace_. Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, in the 1940s movies. Robert Duvall as Dr. Watson, in _The Seven Percent Solution_. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/5 "2009-07-18T19:21:08Z")
Patrick Stewart as Professor X? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/6 "2009-07-18T19:29:30Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Patrick Stewart as Professor X? 🙂 Actually who I came in to say. I had always assumed if they made an X-Men movie, Stewart would play Professor Xavier; I could not think of a better fit between actor and role. None of the other roles in “X-Men” were filled by anyone I’d ever heard of or thought of in those roles and I’m sure you could come up with other actors who could play them just as well. But not the Professor. That had to be Stewart. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/7 "2009-07-18T19:32:14Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson in _Spider-Man_. > [@chrisk](#): > > Patrick Stewart as Professor X? 🙂 Seconded. Both were just perfect and Patrick Stewart was born to play Professor X. > [@Jettboy](#): > > In the mini-series of Stephen King’s _The Stand_, the guy who played Tom Cullen, Bill Fagerbakke, was _exactly_ the guy I pictured while reading the book. Perfect casting choice, laws yes. And on that note. Jamey Sheridan played The Walkin’ Dude exactly as I pictured him when I was reading the book. I’d also like to nominate the entire cast of _Batman: The Animated Series_. Every other depiction of any Batman character will forever be compared to that show. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/8 "2009-07-18T19:34:35Z")
Alan Rickman as Snape in the Harry Potter movies. Perfection. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/9 "2009-07-18T21:00:23Z")
Chilkis as _The Thing_ Perlman as _Hellboy_ ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/10 "2009-07-18T21:16:02Z")
Rosalind Russell as “Auntie” Mame Dennis Henry Fonda as Norman Thayer Clark Gable as Rhett Butler/Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara/Hattie McDaniel as Mammy/Thomas Mitchell as Gerald O’Hara Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford/Lawanda Page as Aunt Esther/Whitman Mayo as Grady David Hyde Pierce as Niles Crane Toby Jones as Truman Capote (you’ll want to snatch Hoffman’s Oscar and give it to Jones after seeing _Infamous_ [especially when you learn Jones is straight and sounds nothing like that in real life) ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/11 "2009-07-18T21:26:09Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Christopher Lee as Saruman in the _Lord of the Rings_. Similarly, Ian McKellan as Gandalf. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/12 "2009-07-18T21:49:03Z")
Arnold Schwarzeneggar was perfectly cast as Conan the Babarian. Henry Fonda was great as Tom Joad. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/13 "2009-07-18T22:06:04Z")
Jim Carrey was the perfect choice to play Stanley Ipkis in “The Mask.” ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/14 "2009-07-18T22:12:45Z")
Two for Robert Downey, Jr.: Tony Stark in _Iron Man_ and Charlie Chaplin in _Chaplin_. The Tony Stark casting actually made my mouth fall open when I first heard it-- the personal troubles of both character and actor are quite similar, and I thought my friend was just making a joke about it when he told me. George “The Animal” Steele as Tor Johnson and Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi in _Ed Wood_. (Frankly, the entire cast is well chosen, but these two stand out.) Paul Giamatti as Harvey Pekar in _American Splendor_. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/15 "2009-07-18T22:15:25Z")
Even though he didn’t sound anything like the character from the radio version of “A Prarie Home Companion”, Kevin Kline as Guy Noir. 😃 Sean Connery as King Arthur. Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader _ducks and runs_😉 ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/16 "2009-07-18T22:24:14Z")
Richard Chamberlin was born to play the part of John Blackthorne in the miniseries _Shogun_. It was otherwise meh, but he fit the part perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![tattman40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/db5fbb/32.png) [@tattman40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tattman40)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/17 "2009-07-18T22:30:07Z")
Carroll O’Conner/ Archie Bunker. Jean Stapleton/ Edith Bunker. Perfect. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/18 "2009-07-18T22:32:25Z")
I was going to say Shelley Duval as Olive Oyl, too, but you beat me to it. I can’t imagine anyone besides **Lotte Lenye** as Rosa Klebb in **From Russia with Love** – which is too bad, in a way. She was considered an earthy and even sexy singer in her day, and it’s a pity that she’s immortalized as a character Fleming described as “froglike”. Similarly, I can’t see anyone beside **Gerte Frobe** as Auric Goldfinger in **Goldfinger**. Even if they did have to dub his voice. Could anyone else than **Ben Kingsley** have done Mohandas **Gandhi** as convincingly? Besides Gandhi himself, of course. When **David Carradine** died recently, I learned that he played **Atahuallpa** in **The Rioyal Hunt of the Sun** opposite Christopher Plummer’s Francisco puizarro. When they filmed it, Carradine wasn’t in, but Plummer played Atahuallpa. His performance was wonderful, but he looks as much like an Incan as I do. Carradine, though, had the lookks to pull it off. I wish i’d seen him do it onstage. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/19 "2009-07-18T23:43:53Z")
> [@infinitii](#): > > One of the best examples is Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl in the Robert Altman’s Popeye movie. I like much of the rest of the casting in that movie as well, but Duvall was born to play that character. Not as much as Richard Libertini was born to play Geezil. His entire career was pretty much performing that character (though few people know about Geezil – who was in the comics but not in the movies). ---
**Author:** ![Myrrajh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/87869e/32.png) [@Myrrajh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrrajh)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/20 "2009-07-19T01:18:48Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Alan Rickman as Snape in the Harry Potter movies. Perfection. That’s what I came here to say. When I heard he’d been cast I was actually relieved because I couldn’t imagine anyone better than him. He just nails it. And I so love his voice…sigh. 🙂 Maggie Smith was a perfect choice for Professor McGonagall, too. I had pictured someone just like her. I thought Darryl Hannah was a very good choice as Ayla in Clan of the Cavebear. Michael Caine as Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol. In my opinion, one of his best roles. He did a fantastic job in that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455.md?page=2)