Going up against an all-new Mork from Ork!
Only if Mork was played by Marlon Brando.
It’s funny, I was just watching Manhunter last night - an amazing example of 80s New Wave style thriller. It’s directed by Michael Mann, so it shares a lot in common with Heat, both in terms of its cinematography, and its storytelling. And I thought, in the initial encounter between Graham and Lecktor (it’s spelled that way in the movie), Cox’s version did seem more intimidating. For one, he simply looked more intimidating. For another, the way he started out calm in the conversation and gradually became more agitated and angry until you actually realize how insane he is - and then in the next scene with him, he’s talking to a receptionist on the phone to get Graham’s home address, and suddenly sounds so charming and authoritative that it’s totally believable that he would get the information out of her - there’s no hint of his previous menace at all. He actually reads really well as a manipulative sociopath. Hopkins’ portrayal is more broad and over-the-top.
Sal Mineo.
Jeremy Brett and Sherlock Holmes was the first to come to my mind. I admit I haven’t seen any of of the Rathbone films. I agree he was the iconic Holmes once but I wonder if today he is much watched even by Holmes fans. I am guessing that most of them would consider Brett to be the iconic Holmes.
Sal wasn’t kooky enough to play Mork. Marlon had kookiness to spare.
He’d just have to give the Mork character his Island of Doctor Moreau treatment.
It’s a character in video game, not a movie or show, but Snake from the Metal Gear Solid game series was voiced by David Hayter for a very long time and since the game contained a LOT of dialog and cutscenes, his voice became very emblematical of the character. Definitely the first, and maybe still the only, video game character to be so linked with a particular voice actor. Nevertheless, David Hayter was replaced by Kiefer Sutherland for the last two Metal Gear Solid games. While the games themselves are great, it’s definitely VERY noticeably lacking the original Snake voice. Sutherland’s portrayal is extremely dry and totally lacking in the signature inflection of Hayter’s delivery, and I think the game developers ultimately realized this and so deliberately gave Snake way LESS dialog compared to other games, so it wouldn’t be as jarring that they switched voice actors.
Definitive portrayals, imo:
Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger
Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla
Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates
Bruce Lee as Kato
Janos Prohaska as the Horta
Bolaji Badejo as the Alien
Herbert Marshall as W. Somerset Maugham - The Razor’s Edge (1946) and The Moon and the Sixpence (1942 as “Geoffrey Wolfe”); he was arguably better than Mr. Maugham himself
Robert Newton as Blackbeard the Pirate (1952) and as Long John Silver – Treasure Island (1950) and Long John Silver (1954)
Norm Grabowski as Woo-Woo – Sex Kittens go to College (1960)
Terence Stamp as Billy Budd (1962), Willie Garvin (Modesty Blaise, 1966) and Toby Damnit (Spirits of the Dead, 1968)
Marlon Brando as Jor-El – Superman (1978)
… and Jay Silverheels as Tonto.
I think Curly Howard could play that role well, too.
I’m picturing that in my mind right now. 
Instead of the Lone Ranger catch-phrase, " Kimosabe", we’d have, “woo woo woo.”
“Tonto have better idea. Tonto stay here, set up camp. Kemo Sabe go into town, buy supplies.”
Reminds me of the old Mad Magazine Lone Ranger bit:
Lone Ranger and Tonto are surrounded by marauding native Americans…
Lone Ranger: Looks like we’re in trouble now, Tonto!
Tonto: What you mean “we”, paleface?
Lone Ranger: Shaddup, you moron!
There was a commercial that played off this joke.
How about Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper on TBBT? The role was originally suppposed to go to Johnnie Galecki, with Parsons as Leonard Hoffstadter. That truly would have sucked.
Good find!
Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck! 