Q&A meme answers Jan 19

[cairistiona]

January 19:marjun Who would be the worst miscast ever for Captain America? (Expand the fun to any/all roles you see fit).

Heh... what a fun question. If I were to go "ridiculously miscast": Gilbert Gottfried. Can you imagine him giving the "the price of freedom is high" in that horrible voice of his??? Even the non-HYDRA loyalists would turn on him! :D

But in the "they tried but really blew it" category... I'm terrible with actor names, especially ones that I think are bad, but in general, any actor who matched his physical characteristics but couldn't convey the complex and often subtle emotions of Steve Rogers. Any of the "action" actors who've come over from the MMA because they're ripped and handsome, but really aren't skilled at acting. Chris Evans brought such a nice "everyman" quality to the role that he really made it his own. Like Viggo and Aragorn, I have a really hard time thinking of anyone else playing Captain America now.

Other miscasting, from the ridiculous to close-but-no:

Black Widow: Kathy Griffin. Yes, she's got red hair. But.

Nick Fury: Anyone but Samuel L Jackson would be a misfire... they changed the comic book character because of him before any of the movies, after all!

Nicholas Cage for... anyone. *shudder*

Bucky Barnes: in my mind, Sebastian Stan IS Bucky Barnes, so inseparably that I really can't think of anyone else in the role, but... I shudder to think of the "what if Justin Bieber had made his movie acting debut..."  (Actually, thinking about that goes beyond shuddering to full-blown seizures with probable brain damage.)

Thor - Triple H or Clay Matthews, both in the "hey, he's a sports dude but has blonde hair and is all muscly so let's plug him in" category of No, Not Even.

Tony Stark - Tom Cruise, who was in the early running. I actually like Tom Cruise in a lot of his roles (Ethan Hunt, and yes, even though I'm a huge fan of Jack Reacher novels and found Tom a complete misfire as far as physical characteristics, I had to admit that he actually... wasn't horrible at that role), but this one I just don't think would have been a good fit, because Cruise, sadly, doesn't inspire the sympathetic reaction in audiences that RDJ does, and for a character who can come across as extremely obnoxious and overbearing, you need someone who can walk both lines of obnoxious/sympathetic. RDJ brings a certain amount of "okay, he's overcome a lot of personal demons" rooting when he takes on any role and he really came in an owned and loves Tony Stark. And actually doesn't mind the fact that people are now thinking he *is* Tony Stark (because sometimes, when I look at his FB page, I kinda think HE thinks he's Tony Stark...)

Bruce Banner. Ugh, there've been enough misfires with that character that I don't think I need to explore imaginary ones! Thank heavens for Mark Ruffalo. And back in the day, Bill Bixby.

Hawkeye... that one's kind of tricky because I don't think the movies have quite given us the full-range Hawkeye yet (I look for this to change with AoU). I *think* Jeremy Renner is a good casting, but he hasn't shown Hawkeye's full... zany airheaded moments? I mean, jeez, we haven't seen Pizza Dog yet, nor any "aw pants, aw coffee, aw____" "I thought you said 'sex'"  moments yet. So I can't offer a miscast until I know for sure that Renner is the perfect casting (which I really think he will be, but.)

Think I'll stop now. I have other things to do today, drat it. I could go on about Marvel casting forever. And DC casting, for that matter!

Any of you Marvel fans out there, chime in with your "worst miscast ever"'s!

Comments

[marjun.livejournal.com]

I have a horrible mental image of Vin Diesel as Steve. I'm sure he would have "looked" the part back in the day, but he has all the acting chops of a cinder block, imo. Evidence: Riddick. He's a little old to play Steve now, though, so instead I have a chill at the thought of Tobey Macguire as Steve because he sort of vaguely looks the part.

Also, as Bucky, I invite contemplation of Dwayne Johnson in his heyday. He might have been able to pull it off, but even the tiniest random pec flex would have broken me down into howls of laughter. Evidence: The Scorpion King. For a more modern offering, I think James Franco would have been equally-ridiculous without-meaning-to-be.

You absolutely hit the nail on the head for Tom Cruise as Tony Stark. Suck of infinite proportions. The only problem I have with RDJ as Tony is that he is essentially playing himself...no acting necessary. He does the same thing in the "Sherlock Holmes" movies, just with less armor.

For Nick Fury, I will just leave Chris Tucker here. However, Viola Davis would have ruled us all as "Nicholette Fury."

However, I would totally have given David Spade a shot as Bruce Banner, for the lulz.

And for Black Widow, the worst, worst casting I can imagine comes from Liv Tyler. LIV TYLER :O Second place ribbon goes to Shailene Woodley.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

OMG, Vin Diesel or Tobey Macguire... *MASSIVE SHUDDERS* I don't think Vin even in his younger days looks the part, nor Tobey. That would have been, to paraphrase the late Jasper Sitwell, a terrible, terrible idea.

James Franco as Bucky... eh, maybe but in my mind he's too much Green Goblin. As for Dwayne Johnson... *gag* That'd be a miscast of epic proportions.

Shailene Woodley as Black Widow... yeah, maybe in ten years, I'll revisit that idea, but for now she's way too young and baby-faced.

Now I'm thinking of the obverse, wondering who would be good casting if none of the current actors had been available... hmmmm. No ideas at the moment, other than Liam Hemsworth could step in for Thor because the older he gets, the more he looks like his brother.

[marjun.livejournal.com]

I don't know...the actor playing Thor has an especially tough job. He has to go from menacing, to funny, to sexy. I think Chris Hemsworth does a great job at that, but he does zero for me. I have no idea why. I can't think of any contemporary actors who would look god-like standing beside Chris Evans' magnificent physique...Dolph Lundgren could have, a long time ago, but I am skeptical of his acting ability.

[layne67.livejournal.com]

What do you think of Edward Norton as Bruce Banner?

I just read yesterday that he was replaced with Mark Rufallo in The Avengers because he didn't get along with the director ( and apparently he didn't get along with a lot of directors! ).

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

You know, I've never actually watched the Ed Norton Hulk movie. I tried watching the Eric Bana one and couldn't get through even half of it. I hear the Norton one is better, but to be honest, Mark Ruffalo does such a terrific Bruce Banner that I can't even imagine anyone else as the character (except, of course, Bill Bixby from the old television show, which I loved as a kid).

Interesting, though, about Norton's apparent discord with directors. I hadn't heard about that.

Have you seen Norton's Hulk?

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I've seen Ed's Bruce Banner and he was awesome as Banner. And the movie was a lot better than Eric Bana's which was quite ridiculous, really. And it had Liv Tyler in it as well!

I was quite upset when Ed Norton didn't reprise his role as Bruce Banner in The Avengers and it took me quite a while to thaw to Mark Ruffalo. I watched him in Now you see me before I began to like him.

In retrospect, Ed Norton probably wouldn't ... what's the word to use ... blend well with all the other actors in The Aveneger. In The Hulk, he was the only one there and he brought out the angst really, really well. Do try it if you have the time!

[layne67.livejournal.com]

By phone, Norton sounds far too genial to be included in a list of “10 celebrities no one wants to work with” making the rounds online. Though he’s had past dust-ups with directors – and after his own turn at playing superhero The Incredible Hulk was replaced by Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers – he comes across as completely on board with Inarritu’s vision for Birdman.

From here.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Very interesting... maybe it's just directors he doesn't get along with?

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

I'll probably have the opposite problem watching Ed Norton's movie, since I'm love Ruffalo as Banner. LOL But I will add it to the list to see. I've heard that it's a better movie than the Bana one (although it wouldn't take much for it to be better).