# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/41 "2009-07-19T05:10:28Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I guess I’m looking for, if you’d say “I can’t imagine anyone else playing that role.” Pretty much everyone in the Lord of the Rings movies and the Harry Potter movies. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/42 "2009-07-19T05:20:28Z")
Walter Matthau As Mr Wilson in Dennis The Menace. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/43 "2009-07-19T05:23:52Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Pretty much everyone in the Lord of the Rings movies and the Harry Potter movies. My opinions are colored by Bored of the Ring, but I see Woody Allen as Aragorn. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/44 "2009-07-19T11:08:15Z")
Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster, Stephen Fry as Jeeves. Derek Jacobi as Brother Cadfael. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/45 "2009-07-19T11:52:21Z")
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Freddie Miles in _The Talented Mr. Ripley._ Now let me stress that I am NOT a huge Hoffman fanboy and I do not think he was that great in Capote. However - he absolutely _killed_ the role of Freddie, in _Ripley._ I think that is the single best role of his career so far, and I cannot see him topping it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/46 "2009-07-19T12:17:18Z")
Bill Campbell as Cliff Secord, and Jennifer Connelly as Jenny Blake, in _The Rocketeer_. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/47 "2009-07-19T12:40:35Z")
Much of the cast of\* High Fidelity \*was spot on, but the dude who played Dick (Todd Louiso according to imdb. Nope, never heard of him either) was just perfect. Daniel Emilfork as Krank in the _City of Lost Children_. It’s a real shame that guy turned to acting, because he had the absolute [perfect face](http://passouline.blog.lemonde.fr/files/2008/07/iphotolibrary.1215350258.jpg) to be a mad scientist or a gestapo official of some kind. Jackie Earle Haley was a wonderful Rorschach in _Watchmen_. The face, the eyes, the delivery… a perfect fit. And I know I’m in a minority on one on this, but Johnny Depp’s Willy Wonka was stupendous. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/48 "2009-07-19T12:53:01Z")
I saw Superman the Movie on TV a few months ago and I was just about completely sucked into it just like when I was in second grade. Christopher Reeve is Superman. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/49 "2009-07-19T13:08:45Z")
Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector and as Abraham Van Helsing When they were advertising THE AVENGERS movie, I thought “Damn! Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman as John Steed and Emma Peel!?! WONDERFUL!” The reality was a hard hard blow to take. Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee as Sgt Howie and Lord Summerisle- THE WICKER MAN. Everyone in the new STAR TREK movie but especially Karl(?) Urban as McCoy. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/50 "2009-07-19T13:54:27Z")
Ah yes, I thought Christine Taylor and Jennifer Elise Cox were excellently cast as Marcia and Jan Brady in the _Brady Bunch Movie_. ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/51 "2009-07-19T14:07:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > 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”. She’s also remembered for her singing as well, sort of. She’s immortalized in the ever-changing English version of the lyrics of Mack the Knife. According to Wikipedia, she was in the studio when Louis Armstrong recorded his version and he improvised her name “Look out Miss Lotte Lenya.” When Bobby Darrin recorded his version, he used the name as well. The song was written by her husband, Kurt Weill, and Lenya had recorded it before Armstrong or Darrin. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/52 "2009-07-19T14:26:52Z")
Jeremy Irons as Humpbert Humpbert. I think the casting for the new movie of Star Trek was really great. Especially Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Talk about well established characters! ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/53 "2009-07-19T14:33:03Z")
Alec Guinness as George Smiley. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/54 "2009-07-19T14:43:09Z")
Al Pacino as Satan in _Devil’s Advocate_. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/55 "2009-07-19T15:00:06Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Ah yes, I thought Christine Taylor and Jennifer Elise Cox were excellently cast as Marcia and Jan Brady in the _Brady Bunch Movie_. Oh God, Gary Cole as the dad was brilliantly funny. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/56 "2009-07-19T15:30:58Z")
I came in to suggest (although not based on a work of fiction) that Val Kilmer was uniquely suited to play Jim Morrison in _The Doors_. But I’d also like to put in a word for the ensemble cast of the “real” Three Musketeers movies, i.e. Richard Lester’s _Three_ and _Four Musketeers_. It’s hard to imagine a better Athos than Oliver Reed, a better D’Artangnan than Michael York, or a better Milady than Faye Dunaway, and the good casting ran all the way down to the smaller roles as well. Also, Richard Burton as Petruchio and Elizabeth Taylor as Katharina in _The Taming of the Shrew_ struck me as dead on casting. Then there’s Peter O’Toole in both _My Favorite Year_ and _The Stuntman_. Oh, and along side Katharin Hepburn mentioned above in _The Lion in Winter_. God, what a cast that was! ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/57 "2009-07-19T16:25:37Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > Alec Guinness as George Smiley. Speaking of Sir Alec Guinness: Ewan McGregor as the young Obi Wan Kenobi in Revenge of the Sith. Say what you wish about the rest of the movie, that bit was spot-on. ---
**Author:** ![straggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@straggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straggler)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/58 "2009-07-19T16:29:30Z")
The guy **Steve Buscemi** played in **Desperado**. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/59 "2009-07-19T16:59:37Z")
> [@straggler](#): > > The guy **Steve Buscemi** played in **Desperado**. He played the character of Buscemi, according to IMDB.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Typo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Typo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455/60 "2009-07-19T17:05:47Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > 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. I can’t get past the fact that Blackthorne is supposed to be a “big blond barbarian bastard with blue eyes” and Chamberlain is…not that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-couldnt-have-picked-a-better-actor-actress-for-that-role/503455.md?page=4)