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    Movies & Television

    Top 10 Miscast Movie Roles

    Anne IredaleBy Anne IredaleMarch 11, 2010Updated:May 8, 201261 Comments8 Mins Read
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    When an actor and a character gel, there is magic on the screen. Unfortunately, some casting decisions leave us scratching our heads in wonder. It’s not necessarily a question of bad acting, although this is the case sometimes. Here is a list of roles that were too much of a stretch.

    10. Geronimo

    1962

    Directed by Arnold Laven

    Chuck Connors as Geronimo


    At 6’ 5’’, Chuck Connors had a physical presence and an athletic build. Audiences knew him from a number of roles in TV westerns. This time, he was the Apache leader, Geronimo, who tries to keep his people free and out of the reservation. He has the toughness of a warrior but rubbing something on his face and letting him loose in the dress up box fails to make him an Apache. He just looks like a longhaired quarterback about to make a touchdown. He leads with his jaw but he still has piercing blue eyes and he’s still from Brooklyn. Photo: rOmerO.com

    9. Days of Thunder

    1990

    Directed by Tony Scott

    Nicole Kidman as Dr Claire Lewicki

    Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise fell in love on the set of this homage to the exciting world of NASCAR. Cruise plays a headstrong driver and Kidman is his love interest, who just happens to be a leading brain surgeon. This begs the question, doesn’t she look a little young to be a leading anything, never mind a medical professional? There’s supposed to be the brain of a neurosurgeon under the appalling 1980s perm. She looks like she’s thinking about boys or shoes or earrings or something equally frivolous, and it’s hard to take her seriously.  Would she really be able to save our Tom if he crashed and his brain fell out and she had to operate in an emergency? Also, she rides a motorcycle without a helmet, surely a faux pas for a brain surgeon?

    8. Comanche Blanco

    1968

    Directed by José Briz Mendez

    William Shatner as Johnny Moon / Notah

    Shatner took a hiatus from being Captain Kirk to play dual roles in this low budget western, filmed in Spain. Johnny Moon is a cowboy and Notah is his Indian half brother. They are bitter enemies and Shatner has to fight himself (he also has to do this in the Star Trek episode Whom Gods Destroy). The dialogue is poor and badly dubbed. As Johnny, Shatner is perfectly fine, but the Indian with short, blond hair and a bit of war paint is not so convincing. Notah is like an over the top version of The Shat. He rides around shirtless and says deep things like the dead will find their place.  Chewing too much peyote could be a contributing factor to this philosophizing.  Thankfully, Shatner tied up his horse and returned to the Enterprise. It’s still not as cringe worthy as his cover of Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man, because nothing is.

    7. The Conqueror

    1956

    Directed by Dick Powell

    John Wayne as Tem Ujin – later Genghis Khan

    We are used to seeing the Duke as a cowboy taking care of the bad guys or as a soldier single-handedly winning the war. However, this story charts the rise of Tem Ujin, who became Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire. Tem Ujin must do battle and try to win his beloved’s heart. The dialogue is stilted but the epic battle scenes are well executed. William Conrad (Jake and the Fatman) played Wayne’s brother. Wayne said that he played Khan like another gunfighter and the movie was really a western. Let’s face it; Wayne played everything like it was a western. That was part of his charm, but when you cast him as a Mongolian warrior, he still looks and sounds like Wayne and he maintains his distinctive drawl. There was a slight attempt to make Wayne look Asian in that they altered his eyes slightly. They also gave him a sword and a funny helmet but he’s a Mongol by way of Iowa.

    6. The Greatest Story Ever Told

    1965

    Directed by George Stevens

    John Wayne as a Roman Centurion

    Max von Sydow took the role of Christ in this biblical epic. In an ensemble cast that included Charlton Heston as John the Baptist and Telly Savalas as Pontius Pilate, the appearance of Wayne as a centurion in the crucifixion scene is jarring, to say the least. As Christ suffers on the cross, what should have been a moving scene descends into farce, as the Duke drawls his line, ‘truly, this man was the son of Gaaard’.

     

    5. The Teahouse of the August Moon

    1956


    Directed by Daniel Mann

    Marlon Brando as Sakini

    It is politically incorrect today to cast a Caucasian actor as someone of color, but it used to be common practice (Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s is just one other example). Along with the ignominy, the choice of Brando to play a Japanese interpreter was a daring one. One of the finest actors to grace the screen, Brando acts the clown as Sakini in a satirical story about relations between the Japanese and the American forces in the aftermath of WWII.  The film has its amusing moments and Glen Ford is his usual, excellent self but Brando looks like a cartoon character and a grinning doll. It comes across as oh, so patronizing.

    4. Behind Enemy Lines

    2001

    Directed by John Moore

    Owen Wilson as Lt. Chris Burnett

    Set in war-torn Bosnia, this is a kick-ass action flick starring Wilson as a Navy flight navigator shot down over enemy territory. The action is fairly engaging but the attempts at humor are lame and it’s a hackneyed script. Gene Hackman plays the commanding officer intent on bringing his boy home to safety. It isn’t as suspenseful as it should be partly because Wilson isn’t convincing. He’s more suited to being a laid back dude than someone fighting for survival. He always looks like a puppy. An alternate casting choice would have made it grittier and when is he going to get his nose fixed?

    3. The Black Shield of Falworth

    1954

    Directed by Rudolph Maté

    Tony Curtis as Myles Falworth


    Tony Curtis proved himself to be a great actor when he was allowed to stretch himself in The Boston Strangler and The Sweet Smell of Success, but a kid from the Bronx was never going to pass himself off as an English knight in the time of King Henry IV. The miscasting makes it an entertaining yarn in fact and Curtis is very watchable. Highlight of the movie is the famous quote,  ‘yonduh lies duh castle of my fadduh’. Photo: Dr. Macro’s High Quality Movie Scans

    2. The World Is Not Enough

    1999

    Directed by Michael Apted

    Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones

    Denise Richards is famous for her on and off screen relationships: she paired up with Neve Campbell onscreen in Wild Things and had a volatile off screen marriage to Charlie Sheen. She also has a long sitcom history, appearing in: Spin City, Melrose Place, Friends, Two and a Half Men, and Seinfeld. She has appeared in Playboy at least twice and most recently, she had her own reality show. Not the most serious body of work.

    So perhaps that’s why her portrayal of Doctor Christmas Jones won her a Razzie (“the foremost authority on all things that suck on the big screen”) for worst supporting actress. It’s not surprising that audiences found it difficult to believe Richards in the role of “tough American nuclear physicist.” More surprising? The unquestionably attractive Denise Richards and Pierce Brosnan were also nominated for the “worst screen couple” Razzie. While they rush to recapture and disarm a nuclear warhead and disarm it, their lack of onscreen chemistry is anything but explosive.

    Yes, we expect Bond films to be campy – that’s what we like about them. We also expect the Bond women to be smoking hot and Richards’ performance in this flick is uncharacteristically cold. It also doesn’t take a brain scientist to figure out that casting Denise Richards as a nuclear scientist is just silly.

     

    1. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

    1991

    Directed by Kevin Reynolds

    Kevin Costner as Robin Hood

    When Hollywood studios insist on shoehorning in an American actor to star in a quintessentially English film, it is really annoying to the Brits. OK, Errol Flynn was an Aussie but he was a lot more convincing, plus there is the added insult of Christian Slater as Will Scarlett and Michael McShane as Friar Tuck. Morgan Freeman was cast too but that man can play anything. It’s doubtful that Robin Hood, if he ever existed, was quite so clean cut as Mr. Costner. He is perfectly groomed despite living rough in the forest. He makes no attempt at a suitable accent and he doesn’t appear to have any sense of impending danger.

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    61 Comments

    1. YouRang? on June 15, 2012 6:28 pm

      Belated thanks to RobG for mentioning Constantine. I’ve always felt the role should have gone to Jamie Marsters (Spike from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer).

    2. Lisl on January 5, 2012 10:45 am

      IMO Tom Cruise was great as Lestat and Pitt as Louis. I can think of no-one who could have done it better. I remember this scene where Lestat said: “Why should I know these things?And that noise…”
      That scene was great, check it out if you haven’t. It looked as if he was not acting but so in the zone that he was really angry, you can see the spit flying! After seeing him perform even Anne Rice apologised and said he was great.She thought he was wrong for the role before they started filming.This is one of my favourite films and I thought all the actors were excellent-even Banderas.

    3. Simone on January 2, 2012 9:52 pm

      I think Meg Ryan in City of Angels as a surgeon was too hard for me to believe. But then again, don’t know why I watched it in the first place because I find anything Nicholas Cage in to usually be a waste of time. I liked the story of the movie but I think it could have been much better with two other cast members. Cage looked constipated.

    4. Rob G on December 19, 2011 11:54 am

      Keanu as Constantine was a little off, IMHO.

      And, Ben Afflack is tough to take in any setting outside of Boston.

    5. Helen on October 15, 2011 7:48 pm

      Jennifer Grey as “Baby” in Dirty Dancing. She and Patrick Swayze didn’t have any chemistry as couple and I wasn’t surprised to hear that they didn’t like each other during filming, because it showed. To be brutally frank, she wasn’t attractive enough for a good looking, “cool”, guy like Johnny Castle to be interested in.

    6. JW on July 13, 2011 10:22 pm

      Denise Richards was just as good as any other bond girl, no problem there. Also no problem with Owen Wilson in Behind Enemy Lines or Kidman in Days of Thunder. When I think of miscast roles I think of quality movies. Most of these movies are nothing to get uptight over.

    7. Shallowgirl on June 20, 2011 2:29 am

      Well, for me, the worst bit of casting is Kate Winslet in Titanic. Paired with Leonardo di Caprio (sorry to say, another miscast in my eyes) she just looks like his “big sis”. She’s completely “wrong” for that period and the two have no chemistry whatsoever. This was again demonstrated in Revolutionary Road. Whoever thought that these two looked good or credible together? Ridiculous!

      Also, Nicole Kidman in anything! How long are we going to have to put up with being forced to believe she can act. Every time I watch her in something I think of someone else who could have done it so much better.

      • TopTenz Master on June 20, 2011 1:51 pm

        I loved Nicole Kidman in Dead Calm and Malice. Nothing after that.

    8. Ironfist on May 18, 2011 10:56 pm

      A moustached Matthew Broderick as a Union officer in Glory

    9. Wendel on April 21, 2011 9:32 pm

      OK, I can find some fault with most of your Top Ten lists mainly because a lot of them seem to be written by people who do not know their subject matter.

      THIS list however is dead on. Obviously written by either someone who watches movies, or has a great assistant doing their research for them.

      Good job and spot on with every one.
      Sometimes you have to wonder what pictures these actors had to blackmail themselves into these roles.

    10. wombat on March 16, 2011 7:41 pm

      With the exception of Risky Business, where he played a rich spoiled brat, Tom Cruise has been miscast in every movie he has been in. This short cult obsessed narcisist should of only played roles such as the quirky friend in rom-coms or the guy that gets killed at the start of an action movie so the star has motivation for killing the bad guys.

    11. Daniel on January 31, 2011 9:07 am

      It seems that the author of this list, as well as those commenting, lost track of what the list was supposed to be about. What began as a list of mis-casting became a list of poor performances. For example the person who complained about Halle Berry being cast as Storm in the X-Men. In the comics Storm was an attractive African American woman Halle Berry is an attractive African American woman. The casting makes sense. The ensuing performance may or may not have been one’s cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean that the original casting decision was the mistake. If we truly want to look at instances of mis-casting how about we discuss Laurence Olivier (white Englishman) cast as Othello in the 1965 movie, or any of the leads in The Shining. Shelly Duval as the woman described in the book as an attractive blonde or Jack Nicholson as the normal man who decends into insanity. Jack Nicholson has a dangerous aspect to his persona which mitigates the power of the haunted hotel. In short he was kinda crazy to begin with.

      • TopTenz Master on January 31, 2011 3:26 pm

        Well said, Daniel. You are on the money with your assessment of Nicholson as well.

      • Eyeless Dog Pawless Dog Loveless Dog on June 14, 2011 2:22 am

        Storm is African in the comic, by your reasoning the cast was bad ( and let’s not kid ourselves that woman can’t act)
        agree about the shining, the performances are terrific though

    12. mrthepandaman on December 31, 2010 1:00 pm

      Lists like this always forget- Nic Cage as Ghost Rider.

    13. Shahar on December 27, 2010 7:05 am

      Tom Cruise as a crane operator everyday man in War of the World.

      • TopTenz Master on December 27, 2010 11:48 am

        while I did like the movie, I agree that seeing him as a crane operator raised my eyebrow. Not sure why, maybe he was just too big of a star to be pictured in a blue collar role.

    14. KGB on December 18, 2010 11:42 am

      The Robin Hood one is actually a stupid reason. Complaining about accents is worthless because the English of the day was not the same as English in England or America now. However, there is evidence that the colloquial accent of the day was closer to the general American accent than it was to the British one.

    15. Bambino on August 29, 2010 1:52 pm

      Tom Cruise in Valkyrie & Colin Farrell in Alexander…. shocking.

    16. jim Venner on June 7, 2010 7:33 am

      Stallone as Judge Dredd ?

    17. Roqulere on May 29, 2010 2:26 pm

      Crowe as Robin Hood trumps Costner IMO.

    18. Marting on May 28, 2010 11:40 am

      Heston as a Mexican in "Touch of Evil".

    19. Joe on May 25, 2010 9:12 am

      Nicholas Cage in any Bruckheimer film.

      • Gus on April 22, 2011 4:18 pm

        Nicholas Cage in any film.

        Fixed it for you.

        • Rob G on December 19, 2011 11:52 am

          Cage was great in Wild at Heart, Leaving Los Vegas, Vampires Kiss, and Raising Arizona.

    20. RaulJones on May 15, 2010 9:15 am

      Crowe, the Irish Robin Hood… 😉

    21. yeah on May 7, 2010 6:18 pm

      Who has even seen these movies?

    22. Jane on May 4, 2010 12:34 am

      You forgot to mention one of the greatest Miscast of all times >>> Richard Gere as "First Knight" from 1995. This movie shows how can miss those who are called cast-directors

      • Anne Iredale on May 4, 2010 12:56 am

        Don't know that one. I'm fearful to watch!

      • Andy A. on May 13, 2010 2:28 pm

        I agree, First Knight was the worst telling of the Arthur story ever – but the other actors might have been able to over come the horrible costuming and the ridiculous cheese for dialog, but Gere made the film as bad as Zucker intended it to be.

    23. corvettepowered on April 29, 2010 6:20 am

      Add Prince of Persia to that list. Jake doesn't look very Persian.

    24. Rebecca:) on April 27, 2010 8:53 pm

      I kind of like Owen Wilson's crooked nose. Flaws can be sexy.

      • Davo on May 21, 2010 7:29 pm

        not his

    25. bildo on April 24, 2010 6:04 am

      Michael Keaton as Batman

      George Clooney as Batman

      and yes, Val Kilmer as Batman

      Billy Bob Thornton as Davy Crockett

      I agree with Costner being #1. Good list.

    26. Rob on April 21, 2010 9:38 am

      Another bad one was Michelle Phiefer as a tough inner-city teacher – can't remember the name of the film…

      • TexasStar on September 14, 2012 3:29 pm

        Dangerous Minds was the movie…Ms. Phiefer does get pretty annoying in the movie, but I give it a pass just based on the Coolio song alone

    27. Joe on April 14, 2010 9:21 am

      There's another thing about The Conqueror–where it was filmed.

      Almost half the cast and the crew developed some form of cancer and many died.

      Check the Cancer Controversy section of the film's Wikipedia entry.

    28. Hugh Janus on April 2, 2010 10:43 am

      No 5

      The story is that Wayne spoke that line in his normal drawl, and the director shouted at him to say it

      with AWE! OK, says Big John.

      "Awwww, truly that man was the the Son of God."

    29. Lex on March 31, 2010 9:13 pm

      There are so many actors for roles I could list but the one that sticks out the most to me is Halle Berry as Storm in the X-Men movies and her role in Catwoman. I mean come on now. She was only cast in those roles because the casting directors wanted a chance to oggle her in those outfits. That and they believed that her presence alone would pull in comic book nerds (like myself) and non-nerd/casual movie goers alike. I hate when they do that. Casting an actress (or actor) just because of their "hotness factor" (of which hers is highly exaggerated) is irresponsible. Sure she has skill as an actress but I can think of tons more actors better for those roles.

    30. Dynamite_D on March 29, 2010 5:45 am

      In the World is Not Enough while Bond is in bed with Denise Richards he says: "I thought Christmas comes once a year", classy.

    31. Joel Adcock on March 26, 2010 4:33 am

      Very Glad Mr. Costner made #1 worst cast

    32. secretmachine on March 23, 2010 4:11 pm

      Erm my vote definattely goes to Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin in daredevil, just awful

    33. grawpy on March 22, 2010 4:15 pm

      Owen Wilson as Lt. Chris Burnett -I had the same feeling

      Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones not seen but I can imagine that it was awful

      I would add Toby Maguire as Spiderman (I could watch it only beacuse he wore a mask for most of the time)

    34. DngnRdr on March 22, 2010 11:27 am

      How about anything with Jack Palance in it… *shudder*

      • Joel Adcock on March 26, 2010 4:30 am

        If you've seen Monte Walsh – you would maybe have a different take on Palance. That movie was perfectly cast.

      • Rob G on December 19, 2011 11:48 am

        His role in City Slickers was spot on for a intimidating rancher. The whole thing was a farce and he was perfect in it.

    35. GetItRight on March 22, 2010 7:56 am

      Errol Flynn was a Kiwi, not an Aussie, and was known to punch out people who made that mistake when he was drinking.

      • Anne Iredale on March 22, 2010 8:23 am

        Google him and all the websites state he was born in Hobart, Tasmania – part of Australia.

      • Scrotts on April 29, 2010 8:35 pm

        Flynn was Australian. Russell 'Phone-Hurler' Crowe is from New Zealand. We Australians bear no responsibility for him. Thank you.

    36. iggy on March 17, 2010 2:16 pm

      How could you leave out Jessica Alba as Susan Storm? I thought everyone else was at least passable (and I thought Chiklis was great as Ben Grimm) but as cheesy as the movie was she destroyed any credibility they might have had. That franchise was doomed from from the start simply due to her unbelievability.

    37. M on March 16, 2010 5:21 am

      :O:O:O no way RH prince of theives has stolen the theme tune from willow am i the first person ever to realise this????????????

      • Kia on March 23, 2010 4:10 pm

        It was familiar, but I didn't know why… Thx. :)))

        <3 Willow.

        • M on March 24, 2010 7:48 am

          <3 you for <3ing willow 😉

    38. Houstonwino on March 14, 2010 9:54 am

      That's the tough part of making these lists. When I did one (http://www.anotherwineblog.com/archives/7521) everyone had one they said I left off. Most of them I had considered, but you can only have so many. For me, though, Tom Cruise in Interview With the Vampire is the very first role that came to mind. He could have been Louis, but was beyond awful as Lestat.. Kudos on the John Wayne picks, he was horrible as anything but himself, but especially in historical epics. The same for Tony Curtis. Sparticus is one of my favorite movies, but how anyone can keep from giggling at a centurian with that accent is beyond me.

      • Roqulere on May 29, 2010 2:25 pm

        Cruise as Lestat was fine but Banderos as Armand was a travesty.

    39. Anon on March 14, 2010 9:12 am

      Toby Maguire in Spiderman. Enough said.

      • Tyler on March 27, 2010 12:15 pm

        AGREED.

        • Mark.L on June 2, 2010 3:16 pm

          Actually that's rubbish. If you watched the original TV series and read the comics, you'd realise bug eyed Maguire was an excellent choice for the role. It's just a shame the 3 movies were all so emo with less emphasis on action.

    40. Anne Iredale on March 14, 2010 1:42 am

      Yes! The Gladiator in green tights!

    41. ironflange on March 13, 2010 2:42 pm

      Robin Hood is about to take another hit: Russell Crowe as Robin. OH MY GOD!

    42. Anne Iredale on March 12, 2010 4:22 am

      And the most perfect piece of casting? Andy Serkis as Ian Dury. Enjoy!

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