EVER watched a film and thought, wow, they really made a shit choice there? These actors look and sound f**k all like their characters:
Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher
Jack Reacher is built like a brick shithouse. It is mentioned every other page. Few actors could play this broad-shouldered titan, so who did Hollywood choose? Tiny slip of a thing Tom Cruise, who bounced on Oprah’s sofa in a desperate attempt to be higher than her hair.
Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
In the early 90s English male actors were basically extinct or only good for evil. So producers hired Californian Kevin Costner as a famous Nottingham outlaw and he compensated by not even attempting an accent. Robin of Loxley was Californian. Why not?
Ben Affleck in Batman v Superman
Playing Batman requires the versatility to portray a playboy billionaire and a compelling, driven detective. Ben Affleck scowled a lot and hit a tyre like the miserable bastard still not over J-Lo he turned out to be. Though he did convince you that Superman, or indeed anyone, would want to punch him.
Alicia Vikander in Tomb Raider
Fans were mocked for complaining that the actress hired to play Lara Croft was flat-chested. But Lara Croft is not a complex character. After raiding tombs and being an English aristocrat, having large polygonal boobs is pretty much it and therefore important. Shallow but true.
Russell Crowe in Les Miserables
One little-known attribute to look out for when casting a musical is that your actors should be able to f**king sing. You might get away with it in Mamma Mia! but one of literature’s great denouements is completely ruined by Crowe’s flat crooning.
Gary Oldman in Tiptoes
Able-bodied guys playing the disabled people is kind of awkward these days. So the comparatively recent and unfathomable casting choice of Oldman as a dwarf, achieved by him kneeling down, is one that will lock your face into a frown of disbelieving horror for weeks.
