Leonardo DiCaprio in any movie where he tries to play some kind of a macho man. He is a born and bred pussy.
OJ Simpson as a LAPD Detective in “The Naked Gun.”
How about Anthony Hopkins in “Nixon”? Hopkins is a Welshman who didn’t get the American accent quite right.
Sean Connery as Dr. Robert Campbell in “The Medicine Man”.
Too much age difference for the love interest in that film.
Apple Blossom
Come to think of it, does George Washington come off well in movies or television?
Barry Bostwick, Jeff Daniels, Adam West, Kelsey Grammar, David Morse, Patrick O'Neal, Peter Graves?
John Wayne as Moses.
Elvis Presley as Rusty Wells in “Girl Happy”.
I’m surprised that Brando in Guys & Dolls didn’t top the list, but he’s been mentioned.
I’d go with Ralph Fiennes in The Avengers. Other missteps regarding the movie aside, the only contemporary actor who should have played Steed was Kenneth Brannagh. But Fiennes comes off as cold, whereas the key ingredient in the Steed persona is charm.
Also, I’m going to go with Dean Martin as Matt Helm. He actually would have been a very good choice for the role had the movies been straight adaptations of the literary version of the character. Martin had demonstrated his ability to deliver credible dramatic performances, and much of his personality would have meshed perfectly with Donald Hamilton’s Helm.
When I saw the thread title, the first thing I thought of was John Wayne as Gengis Khan and sure enough it was the first example you mentioned. John could do war movies and westerns, (and even do a terrific job as a college football coach!) but Gengis Khan? Just wow.
I also liked Tony Curtis as a gladiator, complete with Bronx accent: "Yonder is the castle of my fodder."
Paul Fix as Mr. Tso in Blood Alley (1955) with John Wayne and Lauren Bacall. Fix is better known as the Marshal “Micah” in the Rifleman. And over 300 better suited roles.
Okay, my hubby put his two cents worth in with Tom Cruise as a samurai warrior in The Last Samurai.
Jack Lemmon as a nebbishy Jewish salesman in Glengarry Glen Ross. Ironically, I just saw the latest production on Broadway and Al Pacino (!) pulled off the same role as “Machine Levine” perfectly.
I read every post, down to the bottom, and no one mentions Val Kilmer?
And no mention of the movie “Candy”, based on a Terry Southern novel, featuring John Astin, Richard Burton, Ringo Starr, and Charlton Heston?
Seriously? ;)