Sometimes, even the most brilliant script can't overcome a casting disaster. We've all experienced that disappointment—settling in for what promises to be a great film or show, only to watch a miscast actor struggle through a role that clearly belongs to someone else. These casting missteps happen for all sorts of reasons: studio pressure to hire a big name, directors blinded by star power, or sometimes just plain bad judgment.
What makes these misfires especially frustrating is imagining what might have been with the right performer in place. From wooden deliveries in emotional scenes to accents that wander across continents, these 30 performances remind us that casting truly is an art form. When it fails, even the most promising projects can collapse under the weight of an actor who simply doesn't fit the part they've been given.
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Mr. Ed. The role required a horse that could talk. The horse they hired couldn't talk so they had to dub all his lines
However for the dubbed releases in the international market, they managed to get horses that could speak the native language
Shia Leboeuf in Crystal Skull. That part should've been Short Round as an adult.
I didn't really mind Shia in the role, they just could have utilized him better but I do agree on if it was Short Round it would have been a good choice.
Obvious, but necessary mention of Kevin Costner is Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I'd say most of the starring roles were miscast, but none as offensively bad as "Kevin Costner plays....Kevin Costner".
Any movie that takes place in high school, but all the actors are in their 20s or 30s.
Colin Farrell as Alexander The Great. As one of my old University professors once said, "I wouldn't follow that guy to the end of my DRIVEWAY".
I'm bending the question a bit here, because The World is Not Enough still wouldn't be a good movie, but: Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist is just the worst, y'all
Captain Correli's Mandolin could be a beautiful movie, if it wasn't for Nick Cage.
Kristen Stewart in Snow White and the Huntsman.
To be fair, the movie in and of itself sucked. I don't think casting a different actress would have helped it in the slightest.
I always felt Gwenyth Paltrow as Pepper Potts didn't fit. I don't know what Pepper was like in the comics, but she seemed to have very little chemistry with RDJ in my opinion. Maybe I just hate her for all the voodoo she tries to sell tho.
The only role she did well was play the star in stardust 😂 I love that movie
How has no one said jake gyllenhall in prince of P E R S I A.
I thought we had clearly agreed to never talk about this abomination ever again‽ 🤨
Batman vs Supeeman wasn’t a very good movie but it is nothing compared to the casting of Lex Luthor in the movie. Jesse Eisenberg can be a good actor but the chosen direction on Lex is a complete oposite of where Jesse shines as an actor. I have a hard time thinking about a worse actor for the role. Maybe Michael Cera.
George Clooney as batman
Schwarzenegger in Twins. He looks nothing like Danny De Vito...
James Corden, in anything and everything he's ever been in.
Jared Leto as Joker. Absolute waste.
Absolutely Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I love the man, but that accent is something else. If he hadn’t been in the film I’m almost certain there’d be no debate that this was the best and most faithful Dracula adaptation.
I know people here LOVE Adam Driver, but I found him to be extremely distracting in SW. he looks nothing like Ford or Fisher. More importantly he just looks weird (or unique depending on your perspective). I know it’s probably taboo to say this, but his nose was really distracting to look at, especially in RoS, where there’s a lot of his profile shots. I know I’ll be downvotes, but I thought I’d share anyway.
Two that come to mind but weren't cast were in Lord of the Rings. Sean Connery was offered the role of Gandalf but turned it down because he couldn't understand the script. Could you imagine how bad of a casting decision that would have been now that we've seen Sir Ian McKellen in the role? Or Nicolas Cage as Aragorn?
Nicholas Cage as Aragorn? Don't give me nightmares, please >_<
This one is more Tim Burton's fault, but Johnny Depp made an *awful* Wonka.
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but Sophie Turner as Jean Gray. I like her as an actress, but I just couldn’t get into it. I felt like she struggled with hiding her accent.
Emma Watson as Belle in Beauty and the Beast. She's got the looks down, but her singing is meh to the point they had to autotune it and it sounds weird. Her acting is also stiff and fretful and she doesn't have any chemistry with any of the other actors, let alone Beast. There were better choices for the role.
Did you guys forgot Ben Afflek in Daredevil?
Recently finished Queen’s Gambit and thought it was great but I could not take the baby cowboy seriously
Johnny Depp in the Fantastic Beasts Franchise. He just doesn't belong there. His acting is good, he nailed his speech in the second film. But no Potter World Material.
we should just let this IP die. I get it, it was my childhood, too, but like... did you know JKR pushed the upcoming TV reboot of HP specifically to cut off royalties of Radcliffe, Watson and Grint, who openly challenged her bigoted views?
I've got a bit of a problem with "X was so good in the role of Y, nobody can be as good". Can't different actors (and producers etc.) not show different sides to one character? There's so many different Macbeths in theatres world-wide, and it's always interesting what they put forward. But one actor does really good work on a movie (and perhaps dies afterwards, that seems to help) and somehow that's the only possible interpretation of that role???? I mean, how many great Doctors did we have in Doctor Who?
I've got a bit of a problem with "X was so good in the role of Y, nobody can be as good". Can't different actors (and producers etc.) not show different sides to one character? There's so many different Macbeths in theatres world-wide, and it's always interesting what they put forward. But one actor does really good work on a movie (and perhaps dies afterwards, that seems to help) and somehow that's the only possible interpretation of that role???? I mean, how many great Doctors did we have in Doctor Who?
