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Absolutely Terrible Casting 🍿😩

(164 Posts)
FannyCornforth Thu 06-Jul-23 13:51:20

Hello 👋
I was chatting with someone who had had the great pleasure of seeing David Suchet and Michael Sheen in one of my favourite plays, Amadeus by Peter Schaffer.

Which got me thinking that I really didn’t like Tom Hulce as Mozart in the film, to the extent that it rather spoiled the film for me.

Do you have any examples of what you think is poor casting?

Others which spring to mind are Andie MacDowell in Four Weddings, and Cameron Diaz in Gangs of New York

Dandylion Fri 07-Jul-23 15:51:03

Yes! Alison Steadman as Mrs Bennet SHOUTING and RAVING around ALL the time. The rest of the cast were perfect. Mr Bennet should have knocked her out in the first scene.

knspol Fri 07-Jul-23 15:47:56

Totally agree with Calendargirl that Leslie Howard was miscast as Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind, spoils the whole film.

Plunger Fri 07-Jul-23 15:45:47

Emma Thompson b1959 as Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility 1995 version. She was in her thirties. Elinor was supposed to be 19!

Gwenisgreat Fri 07-Jul-23 15:27:10

Somehow Tom Cruise just didn't measure up to Jack Reacher!

Cymres1 Fri 07-Jul-23 15:11:02

After hearing the delicious Welsh tones of Philip Madoc on the BBC version of Cadfael, Derek Jacobi was utterly miscast. A great actor, but the wrong actor.
The Sixth Chronicle, The Virgin in the Ice, was an absolutely superb performance, and the music was perfect for setting the atmosphere. Philip Madoc was a gem that was missed for the TV series.

Bella23 Fri 07-Jul-23 14:58:21

Olivia Coleman as Miss Haversham. I know others will disagree but to me she plays all her parts with the same aggresive mannerisms.

Romola Fri 07-Jul-23 14:52:02

I'm with those who thought Alison Steadman was exactly right for Mrs Bennett.
And I hated Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma. (I didn't like the more recent film either.)

Koalama Fri 07-Jul-23 14:30:20

Agreed Tom cruise is no Jack Reacher!!

V3ra Fri 07-Jul-23 14:24:45

My husband often complained that Sean Bean was nothing at all like the dark-haired cockney Sharpe was described as in the books.
My daughter and I were happy to overlook that minor detail 😍

lluneau Fri 07-Jul-23 14:06:01

Both characters disappointed my literary illusions.

KaazaK Fri 07-Jul-23 13:48:15

Agree about Leslie Howard as Ashley in Gone With the Wind - he didn’t try to
hide his English accent either! Claire Foy who I usually like was awful as Anne Boleyn in Wolf Hall.

Casdon Fri 07-Jul-23 13:35:50

I never realised Tom Cruise was such an odd shape!

Another one I thought of was Gwyneth Paltrow in the film version of Emma. She just wasn’t how I imagine Emma at all - too old, tall, blonde and simpery (probably not a real word, sorry), not young, feisty and cheeky.

jaybee66 Fri 07-Jul-23 13:29:26

TOM CRUISE as JACK REACHER was ridiculous. In the books (I have read them all and have a perfect image of him), Jack Reacher is described as being 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall, weighing 210–250 pounds (95–113 kg) and having a 50-inch (130 cm) chest. Tom Cruise who I heard financed the film himself is 5 feet 7 inches tall (170cm), weighs 150 pounds (68kg) and has a 44 inch (111.7cm) chest. So watching his films makes you think that you have not read the book properly or read a completely different book!

Tweedle24 Fri 07-Jul-23 13:27:48

Caledargirl I agree about ‘Bridges of Madison County’. I had read and enjoyed the book, but thought the film was an absolute disaster.

Grandma70s Fri 07-Jul-23 13:21:11

I was going to say Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth 2, but I see others have done it for me.

Fae1 Fri 07-Jul-23 13:05:49

Calendar girl - I don't think Scarlett really preferred Ashley Wilkes to Rhett Butler. It just fed her vanity to snare him as she couldn't have him and he was someone else's beau.

FannyCornforth Fri 07-Jul-23 12:51:49

grin

MrsKen33 Fri 07-Jul-23 12:50:39

Why not Fanny ?❤️❤️❤️

FannyCornforth Fri 07-Jul-23 12:48:20

Marmin, oh, don’t get me started on Roger Allam! 😍

Charly Fri 07-Jul-23 12:40:43

Often I find that my first encounter with a drama series or movie, or opera or other piece of classical music, is the one that stays in my mind as a standard and it’s very difficult to appreciate later versions as much. However, I make an effort to get past that, and occasionally succeed. One recent example is Maigret. Utterly adore the Bruno Cremer version (on Talking Pictures on Tuesday evenings). Very atmospheric, though I still like the three U.K. series in their different ways.

Marmin Fri 07-Jul-23 11:12:15

FannyCornforth

Oh, I really enjoyed that Marmin, but I’m not an aficionado.
Was he nothing like the character?

Michael Gambon played the character in an earlier TV adaptation. I always thought Roger Allam would have played the character very well also.

annodomini Fri 07-Jul-23 10:59:28

Mrs Bennett is one of Jane Austen's finest caricatures; how appropriate then for her to be portrayed by one of our finest comic actors. Mrs Bennett is OTT and Alison Steadman was just right for the part.

dolphindaisy Fri 07-Jul-23 10:58:11

The original West Side Story is one of my favourite films but I've always thought Richard Beymer is totally wrong for Tony. He's supposed to be a hardened ex gang leader but comes across as tough as lard.

Esmay Fri 07-Jul-23 10:52:03

I quite like Alison Steadman as Mrs Bennett -probably because she reminds me of someone in my family .
I have mixed feeling about Keira Knightly as Elizabeth Bennett .
Living in genteel poverty meant that girls in her position had a great deal of house work to do and it was not done by a servants .
Jane Austin , whose domestic lifestyle is mirrored in Pride and Prejuduce had a lot of sympathy from her readers for her wash day .

I think that Vera is just too old . She would never have been promoted into that position .

I really don't like Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot . I could hardly sit through it at the cinema and switched it off when it was on TV .

Robert Redford ruined Out Of Africa .
Denys Finch Hatton required a very English type of actor .

Otherwise - superb casting in Endeavour , but Carole Royale was totally wrong as Mrs Bright .

FannyCornforth Fri 07-Jul-23 10:15:32

Oh, I really enjoyed that Marmin, but I’m not an aficionado.
Was he nothing like the character?