Movies are often defined by their characters, and the actors chosen to portray them can make or break a film. While many casting decisions have led to iconic performances and box office success, there are times when the choices made by directors and producers fall flat.
From casting actors who were just plain wrong for the role to miscasting characters that we hold near and dear to our hearts, movie fans on a popular internet forum ranked the biggest and most regrettable casting mistakes in Hollywood history. So buckle up and get ready to relive some of the most disappointing moments in cinema as we take a closer look at the casting fails that ruined our favorite movies.
Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher
People were not happy with Cruise’s casting. “More like Jack can’t reacher the top shelf!”
“Why? It’s not like Reacher is a 6’5″ blonde giant of a man. Lol.”
One user commented, “I think I read somewhere that he wasn’t offered the role but bought the rights with the idea that he’d play Reacher.”
Justin Chatwin as Goku
One commenter posted, “Fun fact. My wife worked at a hotel in Cleveland, and Justin Chatwin showed up one day because they were filming downtown. He had a puppy, and my wife gave him some stuff for his pup and tried hard to make his stay enjoyable. It turns out Chatwin’s kind of a dirtbag. So not only is he not a cool dude, but he trashed the character of Goku. Just awful.”
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor
Fans were not happy with Eisenberg’s casting as Lex Luthor.
“Can somebody dig into this and see what casting Director picked Eisenberg as Lex Luther?”
“Jessie Eisenberg as Lex Luther??? They cast the wrong berg. It should have been Heisenberg.”
“I said Heisenberg, not Eisenberg! — The director, probably. I think Cranston would have owned that role.”
Topher Grace as Venom
A common response is, “Who cast Topher Grace as Venom? Seriously the kid’s from That 70s Show. He’s not scary at all. Especially when he was screaming in agony, I thought, this is bad!”
Another user said, “Eddie Brock is built like a brick outhouse in the comic characters. He is the opposite of Parker in most ways, besides being a photographer. He would have made a better carnage than Venom.”
“In the Ultimate Spider-Man series, Brock has a similar build to Parker there, but the movie mashes the looks from Ultimate Spider-Man and the history of the 616.”
James Corden in Anything
A top reply is, “The only good thing he’s ever done for the world was starring in this Ricky Gervais joke: The world got to see James Corden as a fat kitty. He was also in the movie Cats.”
Another user commented, “I would say the casting was the least of the issues with that movie. Except for James Cordon. The guy was thrust WAAAAY too hard into fame he didn’t deserve or earn.”
Anyone in Cats
Someone commented, “Rebel Wilson in Cats. Taylor Swift in Cats. Idris Elba in Cats.” Another said, “Cats is not a bad MUSICAL.. they just turned it into a horrible, wretched shell of itself and slapped some CGI on comedians (and a few legit singers). And called it a day.”
Joel Grey as Chiun
One online user said, “Joel Grey was cast as a Korean martial arts instructor in the film Remo Williams in 1985.” Another commented, “Joel Grey is only slightly racist, but it fooled some people, and it is not awful. It is hard to put all this into words.”
Someone replied, “The producers couldn’t find the Asian actor they wanted, so they went with Gray at the time. It was, even then, an extremely controversial decision.”
Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi
One response said, “Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s as Mr. Yunioshi is pretty infamous!”
Another replied, “Yunioshi played a much more prominent role in the novella, so there was something of a point to the character. The trouble was the depiction of the character in the original text was racist. Then when you add in Rooney’s gosh-awful performance, it’s just vile.”
Jared Leto as Morbius
A user responded, “I like to think that they went this script is awful, but we have to churn the movie out anyway, let’s hire someone who doesn’t give a hoot…”
Another reply says, “I think the issue was he cares too much. The guy thinks he’s a next-level method actor. I heard he used the crutches 100% of the time, needing help to go the bathroom.”
Maria Bello in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Fans were disappointed with this one. “Maria Bello in The Mummy 3, replacing Rachel Weisz. It would’ve been better to say Evelyn died than to use Maria Bello.”
A reply says, “I Concur. She completely lacked the charm that Rachel Weisz brought to the screen and lacked chemistry with Brendan Frasier.”
John Wayne as Ghengis Khan
A top commenter said, “I have to give this one to John Wayne as Ghenghis Khan.” Siva-pc commented, “Whole movie was a fatal disaster. A lot of actors got cancer.” Another user stated, “The movie was filmed downwind of nuclear test sites in Utah, and dirt from the site was shipped back to Hollywood for use in the sets. So about 40% of the crew got cancer in their lifetime.”
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
