Good Actors in Horribly Miscast Roles

Self | December 1, 2012 | PJ-Comix

[PJ-Comix]

Even good actors sometimes get horribly miscast in the wrong roles. The case most often cited is this first one in which John Wayne played an odd role for him...a Mongol warrior.

John Wayne: Miscast as Genghis Khan in "The Conqueror," the Duke had to utter lines like: "My blood says, take this Tartar woman."

Susan Hayward: Co-starring as the tartar woman love interest in "The Conqueror." Yeah, an Irish chick from Brooklyn as a Tartar woman on the Asian steppes. The closest thing about Hayward to a tartar is that she had a tart tongue.

Chuck Connors: Tall, blond, blue-eyed, Connors somehow was chosen to portray an Apache Indian barely five feet tall. Does not compute!

George Peppard: I really enjoyed watching "The Blue Max." My favorite aerial movie about WWI. However, one person just did not fit the role...George Peppard as Lt. Bruno Stachel. Peppard was simply too American to convincingly portray a German. Oh, and you don't have to be a German to portray a German since two English actors in the same movie were very convincing as German officers: James Mason and Jeremy Kemp.

Laurence Olivier: Yes, even actors at the top of the acting profession can be horribly miscast as Olivier was as General Douglas McArthur in "Inchon." Thankfully very few people have seen Olivier in his completely miscast role.

Leslie Howard: I recently saw "Gone With The Wind" again for the umpteenth time and noticed that Leslie Howard was quite long in the tooth to be playing the youthful Ashley Wilkes. And did Southern gentlemen talk with British accents?

Jimmy Stewart: Stewart was almost twice the age of the 25 year old Lindbergh when he flew solo across the Atlantic. Sorry, but mere hair dye does not make one convincingly youthful in "The Spirit of St. Louis." Actually, George Peppard would have been good in the role of Lindbergh...if he mastered Lindbergh's slightly sing-song upper Midwest accent.

Richard Burton: As Leon Trotsky in "The Assassination of Trotsky."

Charlton Heston: His miscasting in "A Touch of Evil" was so horrible that it was even referenced in "Ed Wood" when Wood ran into Orson Welles at a bar and after telling Welles about being forced to miscast roles, Welles replied: "Tell me about it. I'm supposed to do a thriller for Universal. They want Charlton Heston as a Mexican."

[waredbird]

Some of the books reflect a liberal theme. There is always a woman counterpart to Reacher. But most likely she will die during the book. One book had a theme around a militia which Reacher disposed of. The worst book of the series had to do with toxic waste. However the Reacher character is totally not a progressive, he kills or attacks first and never feels guilty about it. Mostly they are a good read but I doubt the movie will depict Reacher the way the books do.

Thanks for the link.

[waredbird]

Some of the books reflect a liberal theme. There is always a woman counterpart to Reacher. But most likely she will die during the book. One book had a theme around a militia which Reacher disposed of. The worst book of the series had to do with toxic waste. However the Reacher character is totally not a progressive, he kills or attacks first and never feels guilty about it. Mostly they are a good read but I doubt the movie will depict Reacher the way the books do.

Thanks for the link.

[supremedoctrine]

Speaking of Robert Mitchum being cast waY BELOW his age in the Winds of War film, my wife’s favorite miscasting was Frank Sinatra and Robert Mitchum in the 1955 film NOT AS A STRANGER, when they were 37 and 39 respectively, and played
MEDICAL STUDENTS.

[supremedoctrine]

You’re right-—I think Costner was excellent in that little-seen and very interesting film A Perfect World, and guy who played his fellow fugitive is an old friend of mine from Chicago

[jjr153]

Read the book first then watch the movie again. You’ll see why the movie sucks.

[jjr153]

I finally understood the movie about the third time I watched it. Still one of the weirdest movies ever.

[wardaddy]

Plenty of Asians are white guys

Makes as much sense as african americans=black or negro

[Clemenza]

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.

[miss marmelstein]

That’s the supreme moment of silliness in that movie! As well as the awful performance of that kid playing “Hitler.”

[miss marmelstein]

I thought Jack Lemmon was horrible in GGR. I always think it’s because older actors at that time had no idea how to do Mamet’s elliptic, cryptic dialogue. Both Kevin Spacey and Ed Harris hit it out of the park.

Several years ago, Alan Alda played Jack Lemmon’s part on B’way. He was excellent!

[driftless2]

"the kid...Hitler"

I don't know what happened to that young actor's career, but imagine interviewing for future roles and telling the casting director you were hired because you resembled Hitler.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Oh, if you want weird, I’ve got an amazing assortment for you. These are not just weird, which are pretty common, but memorably weird. Stylish. Bizarre. The list goes on and on, and many of them have trailers or scenes on YouTube.

American Astronaut
Brazil
El Topo
The Bed Sitting Room
The Forbidden Zone
Fando y Liz
A Boy and His Dog
Arizona Dream
Idaho Transfer
Big Man Japan
The Calamari Wrestler
The Company of Wolves
The Magic Christian
Delicatessen
Endhiran (the robot)
The Final Programme
The Fiendish Plot of Fu-Manchu
Casino Royale (1967)
Greaser’s Palace
The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

[military cop]

“So did John Wayne. Only the wardrobe changed(military or western}”

or mongol warrior garb....

RLTW

[miss marmelstein]

The kid’s career obviously went into the toilet after this dog!

[supremedoctrine]

Lemmon as Shelley Levine is a good example of the production trade-offs that obtain in both movie-making AND Broadway, (especially B’way revivals)—all about the added appeal of a what inevitably turns out to be damaging to the overall production, but can be counted on to get a few extra asses in the seats and creating a buzz among those eager to see Jack Lemmon onstage, in a play,rather than in the movies.

[bt_dooftlook]

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? ;)

[dfwgator]

I thought Jack Lemmon was horrible in GGR. I always think it’s because older actors at that time had no idea how to do Mamet’s elliptic, cryptic dialogue. Both Kevin Spacey and Ed Harris hit it out of the park. Several years ago, Alan Alda played Jack Lemmon’s part on B’way. He was excellent!

And Alec Baldwin did a great job of playing....himself.

[Vermont Lt]

EVERYONE cast in Battlefield Earth.

[Mr. Jeeves]

I thought Knightly was great in Pride and Prejudice, but you are right about Sutherland. Mr. Bennett is not supposed to be a worn out old man.

[miss marmelstein]

Absolutely! I hated seeing that big mush of his coming at the camera.