7 Poorly Cast Actors Who Nearly Ruined Popular Movies, And 7 Surprising Casting Choices That Worked Sooo Well

"Anthony Hopkins plays a light-skinned Black man who passes as Jewish. And Nicole Kidman plays the trailer trash cleaning woman he falls in love with. One of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and one of the worst films."

"Matt Damon seemed like an odd choice for Jason Bourne. He was not considered an action hero at the time, but it worked out well. He learned the action sequences and nailed Bourne’s psychological distress at not knowing who he was and at discovering he might have been a baddie. And because we did not expect him to explode into violence, it made it more shocking when he did."

3. BAD CASTING: Chris Pratt in The Tomorrow War (2021).

"He should definitely stick to comedy roles. What's funny is that I actually DID like him as the science teacher before he was drafted. Just not a gritty, angsty tough guy."

4. GOOD CASTING: Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).

"He was a full-blown kooky comedian doing this real deep dive into a gut-wrenching drama. He absolutely crushed it, though."

5. BAD CASTING: Julia Roberts in Mary Reilly (1996).

"Julia Roberts was miscast. She was supposed to be a plain-looking English housemaid. Roberts was too 'old,' too tall, and too not English."

6. GOOD CASTING: Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (2008).

"Heath Ledger was so good, he ruined the character. It feels as if nearly every notable Joker story is trying to out-edge Ledger's performance, and it's kinda embarrassing. Why does the Joker need to cut his face off, only to staple it back on, other than just being edgy?"

7. BAD CASTING: Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991).

"Kevin Costner was an awful choice as Robin Hood. He doesn't even attempt a British accent!"

8. GOOD CASTING: Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon (2008).

"He looks nothing like Richard Nixon, but he 100% nails the mannerisms and gives a fantastic performance."

9. BAD CASTING: Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings series.

"My forever eternal disappointment and fury for the casting of Elijah Wood as Frodo. It made me want to scream and cry when I saw it in the theaters. If it had been a book, I'd have thrown it across the room — much as he apparently did to the source material after he got the script. To me, it felt like he never even read LOTR. He was nauseatingly terrible. Shudder."

10. GOOD CASTING: Jim Carrey in Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events (2004).

"The movie was pretty meh, but Carrey's performance as Count Olaf actually adds elements that I can now recognize are in the books but are hard to notice without a visual. Olaf being a truly vile person is clearly portrayed, but his actions are so evil that you might miss something else: He's also kind of silly. He has a theatrical pettiness about him that I feel Carrey captured somewhat better than Neil Patrick Harris did in the series."

—u/WhenTheWindIsSlow

11. BAD CASTING: Hugh Jackman in Real Steel (2011).

"I felt Hugh Jackman had the wrong energy for the washed-up, down-on-his-luck ex-boxer in Real Steel. He looked like neither."

12. GOOD CASTING: Hugh Jackman in X-Men.

"Hugh Jackman as Wolverine was a weird one. A guy best known for his musical theater work would end up helping to turn one of the biggest badasses in comics into one of the most iconic and popular superhero film roles of all time."

"I don't think anyone who was fantasy-casting for Wolverine would ever have expected that a tall guy belting show tunes would end up getting the role and becoming such a great pick."

—u/GrapesHatePeople

13. BAD CASTING: Tom Cruise in Interview With the Vampire (1994).

"I really hated Tom Cruise as the vampire Lestat. He felt so...American. I wanted Lestat to ooze France from his pores, but Cruise didn't have it."

14. GOOD CASTING: Michael Keaton in Tim Burton's Batman movies.

"Historically, Michael Keaton was seen as an odd choice in Tim Burton's Batman. But he's great enough to sell the role to where it's influenced adaptations since then."

Do you agree with these opinions? What are some other "bad" casting choices in movies and TV shows that you've seen? What are some of the best that took you by surprise? Let us know in the comments below!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.