- 4 months ago
Some casting choices are simply too hard to ignore! For this list, we’re spotlighting the most baffling, controversial, or just plain ill-fitting casting decisions in film history. From musical misfires to whitewashing controversies, these picks left fans scratching their heads and wondering what could have been with a better fit in the role. Which recasting would you have chosen instead?
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00:00Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for criminally miscast roles,
00:14sometimes when there was a better choice right there.
00:25Number 20, Gerard Butler, The Phantom of the Opera.
00:30Higher than you dreamt it, can you even dare to look or bear to think of me?
00:41The big screen adaptation of this Broadway phenomenon was a long time coming.
00:46With performers like Michael Crawford previously playing the titular Phantom on stage,
00:51the film required an actor with charisma and pipes.
00:54Gerard Butler certainly has charisma.
00:57However, his blunt and often-grating singing voice doesn't do justice to the sweeping and romantic score.
01:04Down we plunge to the prison of my mind
01:09Down that path into darkness deep as hell
01:16Some fans defend his casting to this day.
01:21The prevailing opinion, though, is that one of the original choices, Hugh Jackman, would have made a better Phantom.
01:27Instead, Jackman made Van Helsing, which is ironic since Butler got the Phantom role partly thanks to his work in Dracula 2000.
01:35You cannot imagine what I have had to endure.
01:41I have borne the very brow of God.
01:48Chosen to suffer like no man before.
01:51Number 19, Ezra Miller, DC Extended Universe.
01:55The minds behind Warner Brothers' DC adaptations might have thought twice had they known how embattled this star would be in the years after being cast.
02:05Whoever you're looking for, it's not me.
02:13Ezra Miller was on track to be a franchise darling.
02:17Starring in the Fantastic Beasts series, Miller appeared as the lightning-fast Flash in several film and television projects.
02:24However, various allegations of harassment, disorderly conduct, burglary, and general mayhem have since come to light.
02:33The Justice League star agreed to a $500 fine and probation conditions that will include mental health treatment.
02:40Miller was also arrested twice last year in Hawaii for disorderly conduct and harassment at a karaoke bar.
02:48Grant Gustin portrayed a version of the character in the CW's Arrowverse.
02:52Although it might have broken the multiverse, fans think he would have served the character just as well on film.
02:58I'm Barry Allen.
02:59No!
03:00What?
03:01What does that mean?
03:02How can this...
03:03This should be impossible now.
03:04This should be impossible now?
03:06You don't know about the...
03:08Oh my god, don't do this to me.
03:09I don't know about the what.
03:10Number 18, Vince Vaughn, Psycho.
03:14Stepping into the shoes of enigmatic original star Anthony Perkins would have been a tall order for any actor.
03:20Unfortunately, Vince Vaughn was not the one for the job.
03:24We all go to a man sometimes.
03:27Haven't you?
03:31Yes.
03:35Sometimes only one time can be enough.
03:38Gus Van Sant's often maligned shot-for-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho has been a cinematic punching bag ever since its release.
03:47Vaughn just didn't have the depth or boyishness.
03:49You'd know you were being used.
03:51You wouldn't be made a fool of, would you?
03:53I'm not a fool.
03:54I'm not capable of being made a fool.
03:55I know.
03:56Not even by a woman.
03:57It's not a slur in your manhood.
03:58I'm sorry.
03:59If Norman Bates and his broken psyche had to be dragged into the 90s,
04:03there were plenty of better, more sensitive, and more appropriate actors to choose from.
04:08Van Sant's recent Good Will Hunting collaborator Matt Damon would have been a better, if unexpected, choice.
04:14Do you like apples?
04:15Do you like apples?
04:17Yeah.
04:21Well, I got a number.
04:23How do you like them apples?
04:24Number 17.
04:26Johnny Depp, The Lone Ranger.
04:28There is one obvious reason why this casting was a major dud.
04:32Wait a minute.
04:33You're saying you're Tonto?
04:36The Tonto?
04:38There is another.
04:40Despite some controversial statements to the contrary,
04:43there's little to no evidence backing up Johnny Depp's claims of being part Native American.
04:48His role as the Comanche Tonto brought a lot of criticism.
04:52In the end, it was really a lost opportunity.
04:55Instead of repurposing outdated casting practices,
05:07The Lone Ranger could have doubled down on its own revisionism of the Western genre
05:11and cast an indigenous actor.
05:14It's not as if Depp's involvement guaranteed success.
05:17The movie was a huge bomb with critics and audiences.
05:20Could be worse.
05:23Worse.
05:24How could this be worse?
05:27Could develop an itch.
05:30On your nose.
05:32Number 16.
05:34Cameron Diaz, Gangs of New York.
05:36Some actors just read too modern for period pieces.
05:40Cameron Diaz is one of them.
05:44Anything in your pockets tonight?
05:47Oh, I ain't started working yet.
05:48She's given some truly amazing performances,
05:53and several of them with directors not nearly as impressive as Martin Scorsese.
05:58She also received some negative criticism for her accent,
06:01as her character Jenny Everdeen is an Irish immigrant in New York.
06:05You look stunned and poorly, sir.
06:12Quite a pair of conversationists, aren't you?
06:14She wasn't alone.
06:16Even star Leonardo DiCaprio got some heat for his dialect work in the film.
06:21Diaz doesn't just have an accent to contend with.
06:24Her modern sensibility and overall look just don't square with the setting of 19th century New York.
06:30This is my star.
06:33May I walk with you a little, then?
06:36That, sir, would be too bold.
06:41Number 15.
06:42Emma Watson, Beauty and the Beast.
06:45Ah, if it isn't the only bookworm in town.
06:48So, where did you run off to this week?
06:51Two cities in Northern Italy.
06:53I didn't want to come back.
06:55Have you got any new places to go?
06:56After the success of 2015's Cinderella and 2016's The Jungle Book,
07:02Disney's next live-action remake was set to bring the eccentric and resourceful Belle to life.
07:08Charming as she is, Emma Watson acts the part well.
07:12The thing is, Beauty and the Beast is a musical.
07:14New and a bit alarming.
07:21Who'd have ever thought that this could be?
07:30Watson's singing seems competent enough,
07:32but many viewers and critics felt her voice was so auto-tuned and edited
07:36that it almost sounded robotic.
07:38With all the actors out there who could have sung the part,
07:41her casting leaves you wanting so much more.
07:45And for once it might be grand
07:49to have someone understand.
07:55Number 14.
07:56Emma Stone, Aloha.
07:58This is a casting so misguided that its star agrees she had no business being in it.
08:04You let me lie to the Hawaiians.
08:07I'm Hawaiian.
08:08You lost your signal.
08:09You are lost.
08:11Emma Stone was one of the biggest stars around
08:14when she took the role of a mixed-race character.
08:17Unlike Captain Allison Eng, Stone is not part Chinese or Hawaiian.
08:22My dad was half Chinese and half Hawaiian,
08:24and my mother is Swedish.
08:26Wow.
08:26She's of Swedish descent, and so I am a quarter Hawaiian.
08:28Though writer-director Cameron Crowe wrote the character as white passing,
08:32and even based her on a real woman,
08:34the decision to cast Stone instead of a mixed-race actor was lambasted.
08:39Once it came out, the movie seemed destined for less-than-stellar reviews,
08:44regardless of the odd casting choice.
08:46Right, yeah, and you know so much.
08:48Tom.
08:49And you knew everything.
08:54You've sold your soul so many times, nobody's buying anymore.
08:56Number 13, Kevin Costner
08:59Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves
09:01He certainly wasn't the first American to play the hero of English folklore,
09:06but he may be the most American actor to play Robin Hood.
09:09Step into the light.
09:17Turn around.
09:22And Mike, the dance next.
09:25Kevin Costner, fresh off the Western Dances with Wolves,
09:28was a baffling choice for the role.
09:30What could have been an off-kilter and unexpected performance
09:34turned out to be as bad an idea as it sounds.
09:37I've never trusted you, that's no secret.
09:40What I want to know is, are you going to finish what you've started?
09:43I want to know if he's going to turn and run
09:45like the spoiled little rich boy I always took him for.
09:50Did I wrong you in another life, Will Scarlet?
09:55Where does this intolerable hatred for me come from?
09:57No one on set seems to be bothered by the fact
10:00that Robin of Loxley sounded like he's from Southern California.
10:04Even Cary Elwes, star of The Princess Bride
10:07and the man who would play a version of Robin in a 1993 parody
10:11would have made a better choice.
10:13And why should the people listen to you?
10:16Because, unlike some other Robin Hoods,
10:20I can speak with an English accent.
10:23Number 12.
10:24John Wayne, The Conqueror
10:26A cinemascope rendering of one of history's most vicious
10:29and decadent military campaigns should have been a slam dunk.
10:33Instead, it became one of Hollywood's most notorious offerings.
10:38Behold, Tartars!
10:41I bring you Temujin, son of Yesugai!
10:45Gaze upon him, sheep of the Mongols!
10:51John Wayne stars as Genghis Khan.
10:54If you know anything about either of those two men,
10:57you should know how unhinged an idea that is.
11:00What folly do I hear?
11:02We march against Kumlick.
11:04Chamuga, depart tonight for Urga.
11:06Let Wayne Khan know I await his forces in the hills of Carolyn at the full moon.
11:12Wayne plays, moves, and voices his Genghis Khan like a gunslinger from Albuquerque.
11:17For years, it was seen as one of the worst movies ever made.
11:21Wayne's unfortunate casting is probably the biggest reason.
11:25This day I have long awaited.
11:28And now I am beset by weaklings and traitors.
11:32And victory is slipping from my grasp.
11:35Number 11, Russell Crowe.
11:36Les Miserables.
11:38Do not forget my name.
11:41Do not forget me.
11:4424601.
11:47Movie musicals often cast actors with more star power than vocal chops.
11:51Russell Crowe certainly gives it his all when it comes to acting.
11:56But as the pathologically law-abiding Inspector Javert,
11:59he reaches the limits of his vocal abilities very quickly.
12:03Men like you can never change.
12:07A man such as you.
12:11Les Miserables has one of the prettiest, grandest musical scores of all time.
12:16The choice to have the actors sing it all live was unorthodox.
12:20This turned out to be Crowe's kryptonite.
12:23His husky voice was simply not suited for it.
12:26Still, with all the other actors of stage and screen that could have been offered the part,
12:31Crowe was certainly a brave choice.
12:33I'll escape now from that world, from the world of Jean Valjean.
12:39There is nowhere I can turn, there is no way to go home.
12:49Number 10, Jared Leto, Suicide Squad.
12:52We finally meet.
12:54Nah, he don't shake hands.
12:56Let's sit down and have a drink.
12:58For months, it seemed like any actor in Hollywood was up for the role of yet another edgy,
13:04deeply unhinged Joker in the DC Extended Universe.
13:08Ryan Gosling was an early choice, but unfortunately, he reportedly declined due to the multi-film
13:14commitment the role would require.
13:16Once Jared Leto was chosen, the endless media cycle about how wild and uninhibited his take
13:21on the Joker would be, along with his bizarre method acting gimmicks, didn't bode well.
13:26Karen, his laugh really bothered you.
13:29Yeah, well, whenever I met Jared, he never broke characters, so I would say,
13:34hi, I'm Karen Fukuhara, nice to meet you, I'm Katana, and then he would come at me with,
13:38ha ha ha ha ha ha, hi pretty.
13:42The performance is weird and explosive without any of the substance brought by performers before him.
13:47Ultimately, potential fans were turned off by Leto's self-important approach to what
13:52turned out to be a brief stint.
13:53I've got some grape soda on ice and a bare-skinned rub waiting.
13:57Yeah?
13:58Boss, we got a problem!
14:00Huh?
14:01Number 9. Jesse Eisenberg, Batman v Superman, Dawn of Justice.
14:06They need to see the fraud you are.
14:10With their eyes.
14:12The blood on your hands.
14:15What have you done?
14:16Lex Luthor works best when he's played by actors like Gene Hackman because he is cool under pressure
14:22and secure in his power. It's what makes him dangerous.
14:25In Batman v Superman, the characterization of Superman's arch-nemesis is informed by the
14:30character's traumatic past. Unfortunately, this weirdly serious approach sees Jesse Eisenberg
14:36playing up the character's villainy through frantic, pressured speech, bizarre inflections,
14:41and childlike playfulness. All he does, though, is recall better performances.
14:45If you kill me, Martha dies. And if you fly away, Martha also dies. But if you kill the
14:51bat, Martha lives.
14:54More than one critic unfavorably compared Eisenberg to Heath Ledger's Joker.
14:58Eisenberg is a really good actor, but he's much more suited to characters in naturalistic
15:03settings than he is to the exaggerated worlds of superhero movies.
15:158. Tom Holland Uncharted
15:18Development on this video game adaptation took over a decade. Castle actor Nathan Fillion
15:32lobbied for the starring role. Many fans of the game thought he would make the perfect
15:36Nathan Drake. When the movie finally made it to the theaters in 2022, Tom Holland played
15:42an aged-down version of Drake.
15:44We're looking for a tree.
15:49Really?
15:50Yeah.
15:51Wow. That's your expert analysis?
15:53Well, you just gave me the book like an hour ago. What am I supposed to do?
15:56Fans were disheartened by the performance.
15:58Holland is talented and charismatic, but his youthfulness and innocence just don't square
16:03with the mercenary character. Fans were even less impressed with Mark Wahlberg's casting
16:08as his mentor, Sully. Fillion's enthusiasm, maturity, and ability to play complex heroes
16:13should have made him a shoo-in.
16:15If I ever kill you, you'll be awake. You'll be facing me, and you'll be armed.
16:20Why are you always this sentimental?
16:25I had a good day.
16:27Number 7. Zoe Saldana, Nina
16:30You're different. You're just different.
16:34I'm not different.
16:36Yes, you are.
16:37I'm not different!
16:38You think I'm different?
16:40Do I look different to you?
16:41I am me!
16:42Portraying the complex, volatile, and singular Nina Simone was always going to require a performer
16:49with an exceptional gift. Replacing Mary J. Blige, Zoe Saldana's casting raised some
16:55red flags immediately. Simone's own daughter questioned the casting of a woman who looked
17:00nothing like her mother. A woman whose physical features were a significant part of her identity.
17:05I'm going to keep my chin up, because that's who I am, and that's who I'll be, and Nina
17:11was like that too, so I did it all out of love.
17:16Saldana had to use controversial skin-darkening techniques to achieve the look, which is uncanny
17:21at best. Saldana, who identifies as Afro-Latina, later admitted regretting her role in the film.
17:28The movie's 2% rating on Rotten Tomatoes says it all.
17:31Give me the money.
17:32Jesus Christ, Nina!
17:34Tell them to give me my money. Tell them to give me my money!
17:386. Tom Cruise, Jack Reacher
17:41You think I'm a hero?
17:43I am not a hero. I'm a drifter with nothing to lose.
17:47In the novels by Lee Child, the ex-army specialist is over six feet and burly. Tom Cruise is many
17:53things. Over six feet and burly? He is not. Despite his success with the Mission Impossible series,
17:59Cruise's star persona wasn't enough to bring the character to life. Author child,
18:04defended Cruise's casting at the time. He later sided with fans saying Jack Reacher's size
18:09is an essential component of the character that shouldn't have been compromised.
18:13A huge, physically intimidating man. And the readers felt that Tom was not really communicating that. And so, like I said, my loyalty has to be, even though I love Tom as an actor and as a person, my loyalty ultimately has to be with the reader.
18:29Amazon Prime's TV adaptation of the novels found its Jack Reacher and Alan Richson,
18:35who is a much better physical match.
18:375. Sofia Coppola, The Godfather Part 3
18:55While making this long-awaited follow-up to his two masterpieces, director Francis Ford Coppola was in a bind. His original, better choice for the role of Al Pacino's doomed daughter,
19:12Winona Ryder, has to drop out. With little time to secure another performer, he cast his own daughter.
19:19What is this really for? Why are you doing this? Why am I doing this?
19:25Sofia Coppola's simplistic and somewhat dreamy performance immediately became a target for derision. Though she's a genius in her own right behind the camera, it's clear she was never meant to be a movie star.
19:37She and her father were lambasted for her casting. Whether it was sheer nepotism or a misguided attempt to solve a last-minute problem, it's pretty safe to assume Ryder would have turned in a better, more complex performance.
19:50Who understands anybody, really? Who wants to? It's hard enough trying to understand yourself, you know? We just don't fit.
20:024. Gal Gadot, Snow White
20:06I'm sure you think you got this licked, Your Majesty, but trust me, you'd know what you're up against.
20:11The person to blame for the failure of the live-action Disney remake changes depending on who you ask.
20:16But only Gal Gadot and her acting skills have become a literal meme unto themselves.
20:21Her stilted and lifeless line readings in movies like Death on the Nile routinely make waves on social media.
20:28But as the evil queen, she seems particularly at sea.
20:32This is a role any actress should want to sink her teeth into.
20:42Charlize Theron played a version of her to great effect in 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman.
20:47Gadot's vacant performance doesn't convey villainy, power, or any sense of dramatic skill.
20:53If you let me down, down, down, down, in the dungeon you stay.
20:583. Keanu Reeves – Bram Stoker's Dracula
21:02This is a great opportunity for you, Harker. But you'll have to leave Transylvania immediately. Opportunities such as this come but once in a lifetime.
21:12If only he weren't such a great guy. Director Francis Ford Coppola said he refrained from giving Keanu Reeves criticism on set because he liked him too much.
21:24Unfortunately, he's just too contemporary for any story that takes place before the 20th century.
21:30In Bram Stoker's Dracula, he plays real estate agent Jonathan Harker, the Englishman who ends up a prisoner in the Transylvania Count's castle.
21:39I think strange things which I dare not confess to my own soul. The Count. The way he looked at Mina's picture fills me with dread. As if I have a part to play in a story that is not known to me.
21:52His British accent is flimsy and his modern speech patterns constantly feel like an anachronism.
21:58Coppola cast him because he was a matinee idol. But another handsome leading man like River Phoenix or even Johnny Depp might have been a better choice here.
22:072. Ben Platt – Dear Evan Hansen
22:23He won rave reviews and a Tony Award for originating the role of troubled teen Evan Hansen on Broadway. But Ben Platt never should have reprised his role on screen.
22:33With close-ups and the curious decision to give the character a hairdo that aged him up further, it was apparent the 27-year-old was miscast in the role that once made him a star.
22:43It also didn't escape the notice of fans that his father, Mark Platt, served as a producer on the film.
22:49There wasn't really any question on anyone actually connected to the piece or who is actually a part of the film. There was never any kind of discussion that it wouldn't be me.
22:57Several other actors have played the role on stage since Platt vacated the role. One of them, Andrew Barth Feldman, has even gone on to have a successful film career of his own. He would have made a more convincing high schooler.
23:09And when you're broken on the ground, you will be found.
23:15Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
23:301. Scarlett Johansson – Ghost in the Shell
23:42Adapted from the manga, this cyberpunk action thriller could have spawned a whole new franchise.
23:48Scarlett Johansson was probably cast due to her bankability, but the makers failed to consider one big problem.
23:55Her character is a Japanese icon, leading to accusations of whitewashing.
24:00This drew outrage from many who felt that a Japanese actor should have been hired instead.
24:05What's your name?
24:07Muramaki told me you had a name from before.
24:14Not so good.
24:16This was a fumble on every front.
24:18It's hard to imagine the creatives behind the film didn't see this coming.
24:22The film's ending twist did more to hurt them than help quell any lingering resentments about her casting.
24:27You're disappointed.
24:29No, I'm worried.
24:32You're not invulnerable.
24:36Which of these castings would you defend?
24:39Tell us in the comments.
24:40And my thoughts fly apart.
24:45Can this man be believed?
24:47From some 바로 to that?
24:49Let us see yourself in the方.
24:52Ple Zoo.
24:54I know.
24:55Men.
24:56The End.
24:57The End.
24:59The End.
25:00The End.
25:01No.
25:02The End.
25:02The End.
25:03The End.
25:03The End.
25:04The End.
25:05The End.
25:06The End.
25:07The End.
25:08The End.
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