Casting Failures, Mess-ups, and Fumbles – The Many Issues Casting Directors Have

Casting directors often have a tough job because actors are the base for any television show or film. If they happen to hire the wrong person, the project suffers, they could lose their job, and the box office fares poorly. In a sense, few people see the masterpiece, and they spend a lot of money without recouping much from viewings.

The issue is that casting directors are human, so they’re bound to make mistakes. They prove over and over that they can pick the right person for the job, but they’ve also made poor choices that make people wonder what they were thinking. These are the actors who didn’t belong:

Cameron Diaz – Jenny Everdeen

Cameron Diaz was chosen as the Irish pickpocket/prostitute for Gangs of New York, but she stuck out poorly compared to Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis. Her accent slipped, she had little dramatic energy, and she was primarily a comedic actress.

Jesse Eisenberg – Lex Luthor

Everyone knows Lex Luthor was an iconic comic book villain, so people wanted a powerful actor. Instead, Jesse Eisenberg graced the big screen. While he’s not bad, he didn’t have the power for this villain. Many people found the character loud, wild, and manic – almost more like Joker.

Johnny Depp – Tonto

Johnny Depp is certainly an interesting character, but The Lone Ranger was a huge bomb for Disney, costing about $200 million. Tonto was a Native American, but Captain Sparrow wasn’t the right “redface” for the job.

Chloe Grace Moretz – Carrie

A Carrie remake was unnecessary, and people didn’t want it, but Hollywood does what it does. However, Chloe Grace Moretz, as the leading lady, made it all the more surreal. The original actress was an outcast, and Chloe is beautiful, almost playing a bully herself. It just didn’t add up!

John Cusack – Richard Nixon

John Cusack is pudgy, lovable, and quirky, so he plays well in rom-coms. However, casting him as an unpopular president was a huge mistake for The Butler. He had a terrible prosthetic nose and sounds nothing like the 37th president. People didn’t buy into it.

Keanu Reeves – Johnathan Harker

Keanu Reaves has some pretty bad performances under his belt, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula was no exception. Francis Ford Coppola enjoys Reeves’ work, but he’s not an Englishman, so the accent seemed unnatural and stilted. Overall, he should have gone with someone else.

Ashton Kutcher – Steve Jobs

Many comedic actors turn to dramatic roles with no issues, including Tom Hanks. However, Ashton Kutcher wasn’t it. The That 70’s Show actor persona never really left him, and now everyone should believe he invented the tech to have personal computers and iPhones? Nope!

Angelina Jolie – Queen Olympias

Alexander was the worst movie about Alexander the Great. Hollywood doesn’t like casting older actresses, so Angelina Jolie got the part of his mother at 29 years old. No one aged her, and her appearance raised eyebrows. Plus, the movie was a total stinker, getting nominated for worst picture, director, supporting actress, actor, and screenplay.

Vince Vaughn – Norman Bates

Though some might argue that the remake of Psycho was unnecessary, the worst thing was that Vince Vaughn played the mother-obsessed killer this time. He wasn’t in the ballpark of Anthony Perkin’s performance in the original. Overall, Vaughn isn’t the best choice for dramatic works.

Denise Richards – Dr. Christmas Jones

Being a Bond girl means having acting skills, adventure, and energy, and Denise Richards lacks all three. At the time, her only big role was being the face attached to large breasts. She was supposed to be the brainy nuclear scientist, but no one bought it!

Russell Crowe – Noah

Noah was the film adaptation of a classic Bible story that many waited for. However, there were odd additions, silly special effects, bad acting, and many other issues. Crowe is a white man from New Zealand playing Noah, and it didn’t jive.

Sofia Coppola – Mary Corleone

Most people agree that the first two Godfather movies were part of filmmaking history, but Godfather III just sucked the energy from the storyline. Sofia was the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola (the director) and was killed before the third act. It goes to show that it’s “who” you know!

Kevin Costner – Robin Hood

While Kevin Costner has many acting roles to applaud, it was a misfire for him to dress up in tights to be the legendary woodsman. Though he tried to combine various characters to create his own, he also forgot he was supposed to act. Most critics gave it a thumbs-down.

Ryan Reynolds – Hal Jordan

Hollywood is wild for superhero films now, but Green Lantern was a poor showing overall. Martin Campbell, the director, wanted the energy and oomph of Robert Downey Jr. but got a wooden performance from Ryan Reynolds. While he was a great Deadpool, he couldn’t cut it as the Green Lantern.

Colin Farrell – Alexander

Alongside Jolie as his mother, Colin was another miscast for Alexander. While he’s had good roles, the Irishman couldn’t play Alexander the Great. Everyone thought it was insensitive to the Greek culture. Overall, Farrell laughed at himself, agreeing that he shouldn’t have been cast in the role.

Halle Berry – Catwoman

Though Michelle Pfeiffer broke ground when she played the character in Batman Returns, the same can’t be said for Halle Berry in 2004. Most people called it the worst film ever. She wasn’t seductive or sensual. However, she agrees, laughing now at how bad the film was.

Everyone – Fifty Shades of Grey

Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan were the lovers in this steamy romance-style film, but the movie didn’t reach the low bar of its namesake book. The two actors had no chemistry, so the relationship felt predatory and creepy. In fact, it’s reported that the two actors hated each other!

George Clooney – Batman

Batman is one of the more popular superheroes, but the movies about it have been hit-or-miss. You’re sure to remember the Bat-nipples and poor acting of George Clooney, but Uma Thurman didn’t do well either. What were they thinking when adding Alicia Silverstone as a Batgirl?!

Topher Grace – Venom

The newest Spider-Man movie impressed many, and the others in the series didn’t do that bad. However, Spider-Man 3 could not keep up with the success because of Topher Grace as Venom. Though he played Eric on That 70’s Show well, he didn’t come across as the hulking, huge character he was supposed to play.

John Wayne – Genghis Khan

Overall, the Conqueror didn’t do well because John Wayne was an Iowan, and Mr. Khan was from Asia. While Wayne did well in the west, he wanted something new. Howard Hughes asked him to join this cast, but everything ended up going awry.

Scarlett Johansson – Major Mira Killian

While Johansson’s acting is quite good, it was a misstep for the casting director to put a white actor in an Asian role. Ghost in the Shell was a piece of anime history, and the starring role should have gone to a smaller name. However, Hollywood demanded someone “famous,” and it ruined the whole thing.

Mickey Rooney – Mr. Yunioshi

Mickey Rooney was the third-biggest star for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and he pretends to be Japanese. Overall, he had a terrible accent and a ridiculous tooth prosthetic. It was a slap in the face for other Asian actors who might have had a shot in the film.

Jared Leto – The Joker

Almost any person from the Suicide Squad could have made the cut here, but Jared Leto stands as the worst. He’s supposed to be the new and updated version of The Joker, but the character had many issues. Overall, The Joker was only a joke.

Hayden Christensen – Anakin Skywalker

The Star Wars prequel trilogy has many criticisms about it, such as flashy special effects and a poor storyline. However, casting is the biggest problem. Hayden Christensen was Anakin Skywalker and couldn’t stand up to the bigger names. Overall, he exaggerated the Sith Lord.

Emma Stone – Allison Ng

In a sense, no one liked Aloha. Allison Ng is supposed to be Chinese-Hawaiian, and Stone is neither. Overall, that was the biggest criticism for the film. Still, it had other poor reviews and a general lack of interest to boot.

Tilda Swinton – The Ancient One

Usually, The Ancient One is portrayed as Asian, but Hollywood whitewashing takes the stage again. However, Tilda Swinton claimed that the iteration of that character was of a Celtic woman and not an Asian man. It led to controversy, but most people were upset that an Asian actor wasn’t chosen for a powerful role.

Gary Oldman – Rolfe

Few casting choices are as perplexing as Gary Oldman for Tiptoes. He played a dwarf or little person, and the film had plenty of dwarf actors, including Peter Dinklage. However, having the lead dwarf role given to a man of normal stature raised some eyebrows. Since the film was about the rights of little people, it seemed like a slap in the face.

Jake Gyllenhaal – Dastan

Often, movie adaptations for video games don’t make it. Therefore, when the director chose Jake Gyllenhaal to be the Prince of Persia, things became even weirder. You can’t turn Donnie Darko into the Middle-Eastern prince. Hollywood just doesn’t want to cast ethnic actors for those roles!

Colin Hanks – Travis Marshall

Dexter (Morgan) faced many notorious characters while hiding his actions of being a sociopath. Colin Hanks played the villain in season six, but he didn’t have the grit or nerve to be a good antagonist. Overall, he seemed too nice to be called the “Doomsday Killer.”

Vince Vaughn – Frank Semyon

Though Vince is a great comedic actor, he just doesn’t do well in dark roles. True Detective has a first season full of infidelity, murders, drugs, other worlds, and more. It was promising, but then Vaughn messed it up. While he stretched his boundaries, it just didn’t work.

Russell Crowe – Inspector Javert

When Russell Crowe showed up in Les Miserables, it confused a lot of people. He’s not a singer, and stories came out about poor training and musical direction for the film, so the singers and actors winced. Though the film wasn’t bad, Crowe’s singing was the low point.

Jessica Simpson – Daisy Duke

While Jessica can fill out her shorts, it’s hard to cast a pop star in a lead role. She’s a great singer with a good stage presence, but acting isn’t her forte, as you can see in Dukes of Hazzard. Overall, Johnny Knoxville and Simpson gave the film little to work with.

Ben Affleck – Bruce Wayne

Dawn of Justice was a disappointing comic book film and a huge blow to Ben Affleck’s career. He seemed sad and pouty instead of bedeviled and brooding. Then, to add insult to injury, he was given the chance to direct and act as Batman in the next film. However, things thankfully shifted.

Mike Myers – Cat in the Hat

Mike Myers decided to try his hand at one more live-action adaptation in The Cat in the Hat. While he wasn’t a poor choice, he had too much control for the project, loading the film with obnoxious jokes, adult humor, and other bad ideas.

Keisha Castle-Hughes, Jessica Henwick, Rosabell Laurenti Sellers – The Sand Snakes

The books have these characters written with unique qualities, style, and energy. However, the HBO adaptation turned them into bland snakes with those three actresses. They didn’t deliver and became background characters instead of driving the plot forward.

Paul Schneider – Mark Brendanawicz

Parks and Recreation has become a funny and well-liked show that uses the same styling as The Office. However, Paul Schneider was a bad fit from the beginning. Overall, he said it was a strange experience and felt that his role could have been played by someone better.

Ben Affleck – Matt Murdock

Daredevil was the best superhero, but Ben Affleck’s first attempt to play one was hard to watch, even for the most loyal fans. Affleck couldn’t display heroic qualities and neglected the fact that Murdock was blind!

Jennifer Lawrence – Joy Mangano

Jennifer Lawrence does well for herself, but it was a mistake for her to be cast in Joy. The character was in her mid-30s at the time, but Lawrence was only 25. Overall, an older actress could have been better here because she didn’t look like a single mom.

Rihanna – Cora Weps Raikes

While Rihanna didn’t ruin Battleship with her acting, her first attempt shouldn’t have been this. In fact, the movie had many issues. She showed no acting skill, though she did do better in other films.

Kate Bosworth – Lois Lane

Superman is a great comic and movie option, but Superman Returns didn’t do its job of bringing back the superhero. Most people had problems with Kate Bosworth playing Lois Lane. She was just too young to portray a mother.