It’s time to roast a few actors just a little bit since there have been quite a few times in cinematic history when people have been cast for a role despite not fitting the characteristics of the person they’re supposed to be playing. Whether it’s an issue with whitewashing, someone not having the same physical characteristics, or someone not being able to act in the manner that a character deserves, there are plenty of people out there that have called out casting directors and actors for the less than stellar job that’s been done now and then. In some cases, it feels just justified since some of these actors weren’t really up to the task and it shows, but in the world of acting people are still allowed to try. There are moments though when one has to admit that the casting director might have been looking through rose-colored glasses or thinking more about star power and how much money it could bring to plug a known celebrity into a role rather than risking everything on a lesser-known individual.
With that in mind, here are 10 actors that didn’t belong in the roles they played.
10. Jake Gyllenhaal – Dastan
This role was definitely one that brought up the term ‘whitewashing’ since it was used in more than one article and it seriously accused Gyllenhaal of taking on a role that was wildly out of place since he doesn’t belong to the culture he was taking on. The sad part is that ‘acting’ apparently doesn’t excuse this any longer, but on top of that, many people feel he simply wasn’t as effective as he needed to be.
9. Sofia Coppola – Mary Corleone
Given that she was so new to acting it feels as though someone else could have been found that might have been a little more convincing and could have helped to cap off this trilogy in a much better way. The fact that her father directed the movie doesn’t help to convince anyone that he might have had someone else in mind, even if it would have been a great idea to have options.
8. Jennifer Lawrence – Mystique
Does anyone remember Mystique from the comics? She wasn’t always into the noble and forthright goals that Lawrence’s character was thrust into and her speeches were often kind of a wtf moment. Mystique earned the reputation as one of the deadliest mutants that the X-Men had to face, but somehow we went from Rebecca Romjin’s intense and edgy performance to J-Law’s noble and slightly sappy take on the character.
7. Vince Vaughn – Norman Bates
He does look a bit creepy, but he also looks like he’d be the kind of peeper that would be able to handle himself against someone like Viggo Mortensen. Maybe it’s because he’s been such a lovable goof for so long, but Vaughn just doesn’t come off the right guy to play Norman Bates.
6. Guy Pearce – Peter Weyland
Seriously, the amount of makeup used for Pearce in Prometheus reminds me of what was done to the main characters in Back to the Future 2, since the aging process that was used back then was just as over the top. Human beings don’t tend to age in the same way that some filmmakers think sometimes, especially since some folks tend to look like prunes that have been left in the sun for months at a time.
5. Kristin Stewart – Snow White
Let’s see, her look, her attitude, and the fact that she has one default setting when it comes to her emotions kind of makes it feel that she would have been better off leaving this part alone. Everyone else in the movie was great, but a lackluster Snow White was kind of hard to grasp since there wasn’t a lot of reason to make any emotional investment in her.
4. Topher Grace – Eddie Brock/Venom
THIS is the guy that people thought would make a great Venom? It makes a lot of fans wonder if the people making the movies have ever read the comics, or if they’re simply making the best guess as to what might work and for some reason think that just because Peter Parker started out as a scrawny guy that Eddie Brock should too.
3. Jared Leto – Joker
So the Joker was turned into a modern-day gangster with tattoos and some people actually liked this. Hey, everyone has their thing, but Leto took things to such a degree that the classical Joker might actually sniff in disdain and call him an amateur since it’s likely that he might think there wasn’t enough showmanship in his plans.
2. Tom Cruise – Jack Reacher
Even starring in two movies hasn’t been enough to get people on board with the idea that Tom Cruise is the perfect person for this role since he’s nowhere close to being as big as the main character. But obviously that doesn’t matter all the time since as I mentioned, putting in a big name raises the value.
1. Rosie O’Donnell – Betty Flintstone
A person really has to wonder who was behind this poor decision since Betty Rubble isn’t a throwaway character but she never really had the attitude that Rosie can’t really tamp down and like it or not, she wasn’t nearly as big as Rosie. They stayed true to form with Fred and Wilma, and even Barney was forgivable thanks to Rick Moranis, but yeah, this was a definite misfire.
Adding a big name to the movie doesn’t always make it better.
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