I've confessed many times at this blog that I watch too many movies. Even worse, if it's on DVD and I like it, I'll even sit and watch the bonus features, commentaries, gag reels, and deleted scenes that accompany it. God help me, I'm enough of a movie addict to want to find out how it was made, where it was filmed, who wrote it, who directed it, and who was sent out to fetch coffee.
Another thing that has always interested me is the casting of a movie. Everyone knows how important that is to the success of a project, but what exactly is involved in choosing just the right actor for a certain role? I have a smidgen of experience in that, because when casting calls were held several years ago for a movie that was to be made from one of my stories, I was allowed to attend the auditions. Alas, the movie was never filmed (it later died a gasping and penniless death), but what I saw of the casting process was enough to show me that trying to find a good match for the characters is sometimes easy but usually hard, sometimes satisfying but usually frustrating.
That whole line of thinking leads me to the following question: In the many movies I've watched over the years, how often did the casting really work?
Well, whatever it took to get there, here are twenty examples of what I think were successful casting choices:
NOTE: I've left out a great many of the ultra-obvious ones, like Reeve as Superman, Bridges as Lebowski, Hopkins as Hannibal, Bogart and Bergman, Newman and Redford, Beatty and Dunaway, Gable and Leigh, etc. For what it's worth, asterisks indicate the five that I felt were perfect.
1.*Sean Connery as James Bond
2. Robert Taylor as Walt Longmire
3. Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber in Die Hard
4. Ian McShane as Al Swearengen in Deadwood
5.*Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise
6. Russell Crowe as Bud White in LA Confidential
7.*Robert Duvall as Augustus McRae in Lonesome Dove
8. Idris Elba as Stringer Bell in The Wire
9. Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection
10. Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes in Misery
11.*James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano
12. Tommy Lee Jones as Lt. Gerard in The Fugitive
13. Lorraine Bracco as Rae Crane in Medicine Man
14.*Jack Palance as Jack Wilson in Shane
15. Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton in Yellowstone
16. Andre the Giant as Fezzik in The Princess Bride
17. Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada
18. Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder in Justified
19. Graham Greene as Kicking Bird in Dances with Wolves
20. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men
Casting mismatches:
NOTE 2: Again, I didn't include the obvious, like Cruise as Reacher, Clooney as Batman, and so forth. Asterisks indicate what I think were the five absolutely worst matches.
1. Roger Moore as James Bond
2. Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code
3. Mark Wahlberg as Spenser in Spenser: Confidential
4. Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc in Knives Out
5.*Glen Campbell as Ranger La Boeuf in True Grit
6. Kevin Costner as Robin Hood in Prince of Thieves
7. Tyler Perry as Alex Cross
8. Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther (2006)
9. Eriq La Salle as Lucas Davenport in Mind Prey
10. Denise Richards as Christmas Jones in The World Is Not Enough
11.*Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi
12. Leonardo Di Caprio as "The Kid" Herod in The Quick and the Dead
13.*Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll in King Kong (2005)
14. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in Batman v. Superman
15. Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's
16.*Matthew McConaughey as Walter in The Dark Tower
17. Vincent D'Onofrio as Jack Horne in The Magnificent Seven (2016)
18. Jamey Sheridan as Randall Flagg in The Stand (1994)
19. Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Abigail in The Stand (2020)
20.*John Wayne as Genghis Khan in The Conqueror
Casting choices that didn't happen but almost did:
NOTE 3: Asterisks mark the five that I believe would've been the worst decisions.
1. Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly in Back to the Future
2. Sean Connery as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings
3. Gwyneth Paltrow as Rose in Titanic
4.*Al Pacino as Han Solo
5. Jack Nicholson as Michael Corleone
6.*John Travolta as Forrest Gump
7.*Molly Ringwald as Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman
8. Harrison Ford as Alan Grant in Jurassic Park
9. Marilyn Monroe as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's
10. Bruce Willis as Sam Wheat in Ghost
11. Reese Witherspoon as Cher Horowitz in Clueless
12. Alicia Silverstone as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde
13. Michael Keaton as Phil Connors in Groundhog Day
14. Tom Cruise as Tony Stark in Iron Man
15. Mel Gibson as Maximus in Gladiator
16.*Burt Reynolds as James Bond in Live and Let Die
17. Sandra Bullock as Neo in The Matrix
18. Johnny Depp as Ferris Bueller
19.*Frank Sinatra as Dirty Harry
20. Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones
Quick observation: I happened to notice, just before posting time, that only about half a dozen entries in that first list of twenty good casting choices were for the main protagonist. Most of them were antagonists. I wasn't overly surprised by that; no matter what kind of fiction it is--movies, novels, stories, etc.--I think believable villains are as important as believable heroes.
Once again, all these are based on my opinion only, and if I made these lists next week they would probably be different. Having said that . . .
In these categories of best matches, terrible matches, and could-have-been-terrible matches, do you agree with any of them? Disagree? Can you suggest some of your own? What do you think?
I can tell you what my late mother would've thought: All of us should get back to doing something constructive.
But ain't it fun?
I am one of those, apparently, rare people who very much like Roger Moore as James Bond.
ReplyDeleteHey Kevin! That might be because I'm older than you are! Connery was the first Bond I knew about, the first one I saw on screen. And you're not rare--there are tons of fans who prefer Moore.
DeleteTo me Roger Moore was just a little too smug and silly, as if he knew it was all a farce and he was just playing with us, but I think a lot of that was because the plots of the Moore movies leaned more toward humor and fantasy than the plots of the first few Bonds. I admit he did look more natural in a tuxedo than Connery.
Thanks as always!
Jim Guigli: Connery was stuck with and better than the scripts they gave him. My fav was Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, except for them killing off Vesper.
DeleteJim, I agree. Come to think of it, Vesper Lynd died in the novel also, didn't she? But in much different way. Suicide, I think.
DeleteThat might be it, John. My Mom loved Sean Connery. My first memory of Moore is seeing him in LIVE AND LET DIE at North Park Cinemas here in Dallas. Going home, Dad and Mom had a big discussion about using the canister to create the flame thrower deal and Mom kept turning around to tell us kids not to be stupid and try it at home. That movie made a huge impression on me. Surprisingly, I have never run across crocodiles though I did try the canister stunt to Sandi's screams of horror.
DeleteI never much cared for the Daniel Craig version.
Also have long thought that Idris Elba would do a great Bond. The only reason not to have him is racism.
I'm glad she told you jokers not to try that at home. (You don't want to run/walk across crocodiles/alligators either. I could probably try it down here, with gators, but I doubt it'd work.)
DeleteAs for Bond, I'm one of the few people who thought George Lazenby did a really good job as James Bond--part of that was probably that movie's plot, and the fact that Diana Rigg was the Bondgirl. And yes, I've always liked Idris Elba (except in the terrible Dark Tower, and that wasn't his fault).
My pick for an addition to the first list: Personally I really don't like Madonna. But I think she was born to play the lead in Evita, so I am glad it happened.
ReplyDeleteDale, I agree on both counts. She was great there.
DeleteFor some reason (and this might just be me), it seems that singers often make pretty good actors. Kristofferson, Sinatra, Yoakum, Streisand, Parton, Johnny Cash, Cher, Wahlberg, etc. Strange but true.
Sorry. Yoakam, not Yoakum.
DeleteJim Guigli here, your secretary will not accept my URL. Now, what did you think of Chuck Todd playing the rodent in Groundhog Day?
ReplyDeleteHi Jim. Sorry Velma is so strict about that kind of thing. She thinks she's underpaid, and that makes her grumpy.
DeleteAs for Groundhog Day, you gotta admit Todd's little beard does remind you just a bit of Punxsutawney Phil.
Jim Guigli: Teeth, too.
DeletePerfect Casting:
ReplyDeleteJack Nicholson in Chinatown
Lee Marvin in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Cary Grant in His Girl Friday
William Powell AND Myrna Loy in The Thin Man
Peter Lorre AND Sidney Greenstreet in The Maltese Falcon
Robert Deniro in Mean Streets and Raging Bull
Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard
Jack Lemmon in The Apartment
Running out of time, but those jumped out at me, and I agree with many of yours! Sean Connery absolutely!
Jim Guigli says Everyone in The Apartment, Jack Nicholson in Chinatown, Lee Marvin in Point Blank, Everyone in The Maltese Falcon except Mary Astor, Yes, Thin Man. Good ones, Floyd.
DeleteYes to all of those!! Too many good memories, too little time.
DeleteThe Connery vs. Moore argument will go on forever, but I'm convinced age has a bit to do with it. Younger folks like Roger, older folks like Sean. I will forever see Connery's face when I hear the name James Bond, period. What's funny, to me, is that I've heard that Ian Fleming pictured Hoagy Carmichael as the character, when he was writing the Bond novels. To me, Hoagy Carmichael looked like Lyle Lovett. Oh well.
Frank Sinatra would've been terrific as Harry!
ReplyDeleteSean Connery was well-cast as James Bond, but Daniel Craig was better casting. John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson were perfectly casted as Vincent and Jules in Pulp Fiction, but that whole movie was perfectly casted. Could there be a better choice than Robert Forster as Max Cherry in Jackie Brown?
I'll add Nicolaj Coster Waldau (Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones) as Joe Denton in the small crime film Small Crimes as perfect casting!
Hey Dave. I'm trying to picture Frank as Harry Callahan. Do you feel like singin'? Well, do ya, punk??
DeleteI agree that Daniel Craig was probably even better casting, for Bond. And yes, Travolta and Jackson were perfect. As for Forster, I liked him in most everything he did. I need to watch Jackie Brown again--what I remember most is De Niro shooting the gal in the parking lot for yapping all the time. Bridget Fonda, I think.
Whoa, I haven't seen Small Crimes! Loved Jaime in GoT, though. Thanks, Dave.
This IS fun.
I'm in the Sean Connery camp, but I like him in almost everything (except, maybe, as the Spaniard in :Highlander", lol). I disagree with you on Jamey Sheridan as Flagg, I thought he was perfectly terrifying. Side note: I learned yesterday that they planned to have Travolta instead of Richard Gere in "American Gigolo" .... now, that makes me cringe!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMartine, if you haven't seen Sean Connery in Medicine Man, watch it--it's one of his best performances ever. As for Randall Flagg, I think I maybe was expecting someone "darker" than Sheridan--I just never was quite able to accept him, even though I admit he was suitably crazy. (I'm re-reading The Stand right now, WOW is that a great book!)
DeleteAs for Travolta in American Gigolo, that sounds unbelievable, doesn't it. It's hard now to imagine that other people were ever even considered for some of these roles. I love this kind of stuff.
Another great Bond casting -- Woody Allen as Jimmy Bond.
ReplyDeleteSome more perfect casting: Eli Wallach as the Ugly, Harrison Ford as Hans Solo, Malcolm McDowell as Alex in Clock Orange. About Sinatra, yeah, he could've been scooby-doing during those confrontations with the killer in Dirty Harry, but while not great movies, he showed in Tony Rome and The Detective, he could play the type of hardened cop that Eastwood played. The best casting in Dirty Harry was Andrew Robinson as the killer. He was so good in that role that it typecast him, and it wasn't until Deep Space Nine that he was able to break out of that.
Yep, and David Niven as the retired James Bond (if I'm remembering correctly). The two versions of Casino Royale are indeed as different as night and day.
DeleteI sure agree with you about Sinatra in The Detective, and Tony Rome also--I saw both of those long, long ago. As for Andy Robinson, I once saw an interview that confirms what you said about him--it was apparently very hard for him to live that role (Scorpio) down, afterward, and to get cast as anyone remotely sane. It was one of the most believable (and terrifying) performances ever. Isn't it interesting that the truly scary movies aren't the ones with werewolves or zombies or fairytale monsters; instead, they're movies like Silence of the Lambs and Misery and Dirty Harry, the ones with *human* monsters.
Sorry, Dave--that "anonymous" post was me.
DeletePerfect casting:
ReplyDeleteHan Solo/Indiana Jones
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Agreed, Justin! I heard someplace that Harrison Ford has sold more movie tickets than almost anyone else in cinema history.
DeleteOh my, you are a serious movie watcher. I can't remember the good, bad and ugly of casting of hand, but when it's bad, I generally can't get into the scenes. One bad example comes to mind with a show recently. Timothy Olyphant was great, perfect in Justified. Then there was a recent revival where they placed him in Detroit (ghastly) and worse yet, they casted his daughter as the wayward daughter in the story. Didn't work at all. Sad to see such a mismatch, flop in casting.
ReplyDeleteAnd older movie that comes to mind as perfect casting: Sophie's Choice with Meryl Streep.
I can't imagine anyone playing Richard Gere's role in Pretty Woman.
Harrison Ford in the new Indiana Jones was awful...but so was the script, plot.
John, your list is so comprehensive...Yes, Gene Hackman as Popeye. Young when I saw it, have never forget those terrific scenes.
Too much, too many to try and remember. Love your enthusiasm.
Wil, I too thought Olyphant was perfect in Justified--I now can't picture anyone else as Raylan Givens, and I suspect Elmore Leonard was pleased by that also (I think he was still alive for the first season of Justified). I meant to watch the Detroit version and never did--maybe that's just as well!
DeleteI like the word enthusiasm a lot more than addiction. From now on, I'll just say I'm enthusiastic about all this.
Thanks as always for your thoughts!
Great list, John! Possible future article: what about movies where all the major roles are exceptionally well cast? It's rare...or is it? Some personal choices off the top of my head would be The Godfather, L.A. Confidential, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien, Aliens, and Bad Day at Black Rock.
ReplyDeleteDan, I think you're right about all of those. I think the super super successful movies often have a whole cast of good matches. The ones you listed are terrific.
DeleteEarlier in today comments, several Tarantino movies were mentioned, and I think he is extra good at casting all the roles really well. What's terrible is that I can think of several movies (not his) where almost all the roles were BADLY cast. (We won't talk about those . . .)
Thanks for stopping by SleuthSayers. Keep writing the great stories!
Fun Lists, John. May I add to your perfect casting list with Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in Psycho and Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou, poking fun as his role in Liberty Vallance. ALL the major roles (Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy) in Charade?
ReplyDeleteFor Worst, I'd list Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins and Jake Gyllenthal in the film version of Proof. They turned a brilliant play into an unwatchable train wreck. Hope Davis did superb work trying to save it, but she was onstage less than anyone else, and it was beyond repair anyway.
Steve, I love it that you always seem to bring up movies/stories/novels that I've totally forgotten to mention, or even think of. Yes, Marvin's role in Cat Ballou WAS a reference to his part in Vallance. And can you imagine any two more different roles?? (He was so famous for both.)
DeleteI had absolutely forgotten about Proof---I saw it long ago, and had actually searched it out because I had read and loved the play! And it was indeed a disappointment. In the moviemakers' partial defense, I wonder now if it was just a difficult piece to adapt for the screen. (BTW, I sometimes think it's not a good thing to look forward to a movie the way I did for that one, and build up false hopes.)
Thanks as always for the additions and reminders!
Lee Marvin is/was Parker. Jim Guigli
ReplyDeleteJim, correct me if I'm wrong: Marvin played Westlake's Parker character in Point Blank, which was base on the novel The Hunter, but didn't he play a guy named Walker? Or maybe it was Porter. It's been a long time since I saw the Marvin version of Point Blank.
DeleteSome plays don't work well as films, and vice versa. Proof has the entire play take place on the back porch, and the limited set adds to the paranoia. (I played Robert in a production and loved it, partly because the director and the lead actress were terrific and I'd worked with both of them before, too.) The film tried to open it up and weakened that claustrophobic feel of encroaching madness. And, again, the horrendous casting.
ReplyDelete"Rear Window" is a good short story that Hitchcock turned into a brilliant film. The protagonist is stuck on the wheelchair, which isn't a problem in a story, and camera work and angles nullify the problem on film, but The Hartford Stage Company commissioned (I think) a stage adaptation directed by Darko Tresnjak (an excellent director) and starring Kevin Bacon. My wife was one of the across the courtyard neighbors. The highlight of the play was watching the back wall of the set open to show the other apartment (the set cost something like $300K). Poor Kevin Bacon was stuck on stage in that wheelchair the whole time. It was too static and I'm not sure the play has been performed anywhere else since that premiere in 2015.
Interesting, Steve! You should do a book about your (and your wife's) experiences on the stage.
DeleteI'm pretty comfortable by now with the writing side of things, but boy would I be a terrible actor. My hat's off to you, sir!