What's the worst case of miscasting?

Tom Cruise as Lestat in Interview with the Vampire. I always pictured Sting as Lestat when I read the books.

I am right there with you on Sophia Coppola, she couldn’t have been worse, and on screen with actors of Pacino’s and Keaton’s caliber made her look even more pathetic.

A couple others…. I think every single character in Bonfire of the Vanities was miscast. I also think Tom Cruise was miscast in The Firm. How about George Clooney as Batman? WTF?

@trudacia- Sting would have been great! Never thought of that.
@snj- How about Alicia Siverstone as Batgirl?

Ben Affleck as Daredevil!

‘Highlander’ having a Frenchman playing a Scotsman and a Scotsman playing a Spaniard. Also John Wayne as Genghis Kahn.

Keanu Reeves as anybody

@astro Cruise was a big let down. I imagine most actors dont live up to characters from a book that you love.

Ben Kingsley as Gandhi.

I must disagree with you on Kingsley. I thought he was amazing.

I gotta agree with Astro here, Kingsley was perfect as Gandhi. I also feel compelled to say that Tom Cruise has been miscast in almost every project he’s been involved in since the late 80’s.

I always think it is miscasting when Joe Mantagna is cast as a gangster, he just doesn’t cut it as a wise guy.

@Astro! Batgirl – great call. I might also argue that Arnold was miscast as what was it? Mr. Freeze?

“Cahn you be cold, Bahtmin? Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh.”

@baseballnut While I agree that Keanu is not a great actor, I can’t imagine anyone else as Neo.

I agree with you AC on Kingsley. Absolutely perfect, I didn’t even recognize him as Kingsley. He totally absorbed himself into the character.

My nomination, Richard Burton in 1984. I loved the book, but despised the movie (so much that I went into premature labor in it). He was way past his prime, and too far into the alcohol to even make a decent stab at the role.

Maybe part of it was that I saw him in person, on Broadway in Camelot. I feel asleep during it, but that was jet lag and my age, but the part I did see was still a treat.

Kingsley was incredible.

I vote Christian Bale in Rescue Dawn. Ruined the movie for me. Actually, Christian Bale in anything. He only has one emotion, what the hell?

Alright, Kingsley’s acting was not altogether horrible in Gandhi. However I believe that white people monopolize the American movie industry enough that powerful figureheads for other countries could at least be cast as their correct ethnicity. I am sure there are plenty of talented Indian actors who could have filled the role. I apologize for not explaining myself right off the bat. It is something that always bothered me profusely.

Ben Kingsley is half Indian. His real name is Krishna Bhanji.

Touché, AC.

Oh wow. Well I apologize. I never knew that. I am an idiot. Should have done my homework I suppose. I am extremely embarrassed. =-P

Actually, I was a little off. I just went to NNDB and it says his father was Kenyan-Indian. I guess that would make him a quarter Indian.
@QUEER (feels weird and so wrong writing that!)- Don’t feel embarrassed. Everyone besides me is wrong about things sometimes.
I mean, I have my faults but being wrong is not one of them.

The entire of Paint Your Wagon. Lee Marvin, Jean Seberg, and CLint Eastwood in a musical—dreadful!

Richard Burton and Rex Harrison in Staircase. Gag.

Oh, I almost forgot. Tony Curtis in The Black Shield of Falworth. “Yonder lies da castle of my fader.”

Great question, AC!

@Marina- If you’ve ever been lucky enough to see Paint Your Wagon on stage you could see that, except for the opening scene, the movie and play are two different stories. I love Lee Marvin but completely agree with you. It was terrible casting. And Clint Eastwood as partner (his charactor doesn’t exist on stage), blech! I wish they would try to make a film of it again and stay truer to the Lerner & Lowe stage version.

Actually, Marina, I liked the score and most of the story line of PYW, emphasis on the most. Will ya’ go to heaven, will ya’ go to hell (go to hell), either repent or fare thee well

It was just a silly movie for me.

Halle Berry as Catwoman, if you guys even remember the movie. Altough a stunning actress, I didnt consider it Oscar materical (probably had more to do with the film itself).

I’ve heard people bitch about Halle Berry playing Catwoman. I must be the only one who liked her in that role. The film could have had a better script, though.

How about Marlon Brando in Guys and Dolls?

I thought Brando pulled it off. He isn’t the one you would think to play Sky Masterson. But I thought he was pretty good.

Yeah but: his singing. Worse than Pierce Brosnan’s in Mamma Mia! And that’s saying a lot.

Yeah. I just saw Mamma Mia today. Pierce shouldn’t quit his day job.

You know what looks like it is gonna turn out to be bad casting? Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt. I never thought I would say “Phillip Seymour Hoffman” and “bad casting” in the same sentence, but I just can’t see him as Father Flynn.

Oh and if television counts, how about David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine?

Everyone in the second Star Wars trilogy, except Chewie.

The Da Vinci Code was bad anyway, but Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon made the movie even worse.

Orlando bloom in Troy. Actually Orlando in general isn’t the best actor.

I’d say most of the roles in Interview With a Vampire were miscast. Armand was supposed to have been 17 when he was turned, but they cast a 40 something year old man. Tom Cruise is not Lestat. Brad and Kirstin were not bad, but no one was how I pictured them in my head.

@MacBean I so agree. I liked the DaVinci Code, but Hanks was soooo not the way I pictured Robert Langdon in my head from the book, which was much better.

I think Bloom worked well for Paris. He fit that wussy, pretty boy kind of image I always had of him in my head.

I have to say Christian Bale as Batman. I’m sorry, but the new flicks for don’t do it for me, and I think that might be one of the reasons. What the hell is with his Batman voice anyway? It’s funny as hell. Also, while we’re talking about superhero movies, Topher Grace as Eddie Brock in Spider Man 3. I like Grace, but he’s just not Eddie Brock.

John Tavolta – Battlefield Earth
Jack Black – King Kong
Alec Baldwin – The Hunt for Red October
Kevin Costner – Robin Hood
Leonardo Dicaprio & Cameron Diaz – Gangs of New York
Will Smith – Wild, Wild West
Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner – Daredevil
Paul Giamatti – Shoot ‘Em Up
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Dark Knight
Gwyneth Paltrow – Iron Man
Alicia Silverstone – Batgirl
Hilary Swank – The Next Karate Kid
Michelle Pfeiffer – Grease 2
Tom Hanks & Julia Roberts – Charlie Wilson’s War
Michael J. Fox – Casualties of War
—-
Unredeemable:
Jim Belushi
Steven Segal
Keanu Reeves
Jennifer Aniston
Jean Claude Van Damme
===

This was fun…

Battlefield Earth was just bad overall. I don’t think a cast of godlike, musely being could have saved that one. Which is a shame, because I remember really enjoying the book.

Damon Wayans in “Bamboozled”. Everyone played their roles straightforward. Wayans played “funny voice”.

I personally enjoyed Grease 2 with michelle.

Yeah… Come on. Michelle Pfeiffer in Grease 2 is classic!

Ben Affleck in anything. And i agree with BronxLens about Maggie for Dark Knight

@Will and Trud, do you ever wonder what happened to Adrian Zmed?

Be careful with Keanu Reeves and Orlando Bloom, those guys are very good actors…
Maggie in The Dark Night, what is she doing there!!! (for that roll, Eva Green comes to my mind) Pierce Brosnan as Bond, he is bad, very bad… George Clooney as Batman, ewwww… Val Kilmer as The Saint is very bad too, John Travolta in Swordfish (he ruined the film)

Happy 500+ to me! =)

@supernutjob, hey yeah…what ever happened to that guy. Remember Dance Fever? haha!!