Sometimes even the greatest scripts can be ruined by terrible casting. Some actors just can’t handle certain roles and no amount of great directing can change that. Here is a list of five acting roles that could have been great if they were cast perfectly; however, that is not the case.
#5: Sofia Coppola (The Godfather Part III– Mary Corleone)
As the daughter of the legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, we figured the acting genes would pass on from one generation to the next. We couldn’t have been any more wrong as Coppola’s performance was a major stain on the finale of the Godfather trilogy. Just watch her stale acting in one of the big scenes *spoilers for those of you who haven’t seen it* (http://bit.ly/1bcp1Bg). She is Nicolas Cage’s cousin, so I guess that explains part of it, but this was just a bad performance on her part.
#4: Rosie O’Donnell (The Flintstones– Betty Rubble)
This movie had potential to be a great cartoon-to-live-action movie. For the most part, the acting was great and the movie was just a fun one to watch. Unfortunately, there was one exception that ruined it for many viewers: Rosie O’Donnell. Watch this and tell me that you think Betty Rubble actually sounds upset: http://bit.ly/1bBUyNC. She work well on The View, but The Flintstones is not the movie for her.
#3: Steve Martin (The Pink Panther– Inspector Jacques Clouseau)
This performance was almost downright racist. We get that he was trying to fake a French accent, but it is so terrible that it is actually offensive. Do we really need two minutes of this (http://bit.ly/1dr0KZW)? While the role seems to be perfect for a quirky actor, Martin is definitely not “French” enough for the role. It doesn’t help that the Peter Sellers already nailed the performance in 1963 and there was nowhere to go but down. I thought the movie was funny when I was young, but having rewatched it, the movie definitely seems to be pretty stereotypical and edgy.
#2: Hayden Christensen (Star Wars prequels- Anakin Skywalker)
I am sure most of you are stunned that this isn’t number one on the list. We all wondered what Darth Vader was like as a young adult..it turns out he was a moody dweeb. There were so many ways that George Lucas could have gone with Anakin, but he picked the wrong one. It’s pretty hard to be intimidated by Darth Vader when we remember that he was an annoying, whiny teenager growing up. Christensen’s performance was stale at best. Here is a montage from Revenge of the Sith where we see just how monotone he really is: http://bit.ly/1JhcI25. You are trying to save your wife. SHOW SOME EMOTION!!!!
Honorable Mention:
Jack Black (King Kong– Carl Denham)
Kevin Costner (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves– Robin Hood)
#1: The Entire Cast of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (except Ray Park)
Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dennis Quaid, Rachel Nichols, Christopher Eccleston, and Sienna Miller sounds like a great cast to work with. Too bad G.I. Joe ruined all of it. This movie had some serious star power and a ton of source material to draw from. Instead, we ended up with a B-rate action flick without much of a serious plot. The only redeeming quality is Ray Park (Star Wars: Phantom Menace, X-Men). He does a great job as Snake Eyes and doesn’t even have any dialogue in the film. His action sequences are perfect and his ability to display emotion without us even seeing the slightest bit of his skin is pretty amazing. Just look at this great stunt by Snake Eyes (http://bit.ly/1GDND1g). I look hard for a clip of him reminiscing but couldn’t find it anywhere. The rest of the cast, however, dropped a goose egg as they couldn’t live up to the potential. I won’t even bother discussing how terrible the second movie was.
Who did you think did a terrible job in their role? Let me know what you think the worst casting decision of all-time is.
CinemaStickler 