10 last-minute character casting changes that couldn’t have been played by anyone else
It might be stating the obvious to say that casting can often be the difference between a good movie and a great one, or even the thin line between a serviceable one and a disaster, but it’s equally obvious to say that miscasting is a frequent scourge of cinema.
Somehow, actors go through an audition process, meet with the key creatives, spend plenty of time rehearsing, and shoot the entire movie before the end result arrives on the big screen simply for everyone to agree that they were wrong for the part from the very beginning.
On other occasions, a last-minute casting change can be the making of a film. For a myriad of different reasons, actors have found themselves in the middle of a hasty switcheroo, and in those very rare and exceedingly special cases, it’s worked wonders for the movie they weren’t supposed to be involved with.
Sure, it sucks for the stars who got replaced at a moment’s notice, but none of the following ten films would be held in the same esteem as they are if it wasn’t for the performers in question pulling their weight. In some cases, it even became the making of them.
10 last-minute casting changes that worked perfectly:
10. Christian Bale (American Psycho, Mary Harron, 1999)
Not so much a last-minute casting decision in the strictest sense but an ode to the power of perseverance, Christian Bale was determined that he was the only actor who could do Patrick Bateman justice.
The studio initially agreed, and he was hired in early 1998. However, several months later, at the Cannes Film Festival, Bale and director Mary Harron were completely blindsided when Lionsgate publicly announced Leonardo DiCaprio as Bateman. Harron was swiftly fired, too, and replaced by Oliver Stone.
DiCaprio dropped out nine months later, and Stone followed suit, but Bale was prepared for every eventuality. He’d remained committed to the character, so when he was confirmed for the second time a month before the start of principal photography, he was seamlessly able to slip into Bateman’s skin.
9. Scarlett Johansson (Her, Spike Jonze, 2013)
Even though she doesn’t appear onscreen, Scarlett Johansson was instrumental to the success of Spike Jonze’s technological romantic drama, which remains the best-reviewed film of his entire career.
It also won him his solitary Academy Award for ‘Best Original Screenplay’ and became his first feature to make the shortlist for ‘Best Picture’, with Johansson’s unmistakable tones adding extra soulfulness and sentimentality to the voice-only role of Samantha.
Namesake Samantha Morton was on set for the duration of the shoot, contained within a soundproof booth but gaining first-hand exposure to the story in which she played a key part. Once shooting was wrapped and Her entered post-production, Jonze realised she wasn’t quite the right fit, and it’s hard to say he wasn’t right.
8. Michael Biehn (Aliens, James Cameron, 1986)
Sigourney Weaver is undoubtedly the anchor and focal point of James Cameron’s Aliens, but Michael Biehn’s Hicks has an important part to play as Ripley’s ally, confidant, and potential love interest had things worked out differently.
Reuniting with his Terminator director, Biehn became a firm fan favourite as the battle-hardened soldier with a strong moral compass and obvious affection for both Ripley and Newt. He’s one of the franchise’s most popular characters, and he was only hired when the production was nearing the end of its first month.
James Remar was originally Hicks and shot plenty of scenes, but when police raided his apartment and found drugs, he was fired. They’re very different actors, and it’s hard to imagine Hicks – or his dynamic with Ripley – being anywhere near as effective if the harder-edged and more rugged Remar stayed on board.
7. Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns, Tim Burton, 1992)
It’s no easy task to step up to the plate at short notice, squeeze into a leather costume, and take on one of pop culture’s most iconic figures, but Michelle Pfeiffer made it look easy when she became a late addition to the cast of Batman Returns.
The actor famously performed all of her own stunts, and her sultry portrayal of Selina Kyle’s mischievous alter-ego is one of the most iconic performances in the superhero genre, which only came about when Annette Bening ruled herself out.
An arduous casting search culminated with Bening being named Catwoman, but she had no other choice but to vacate when she became pregnant. Pfeiffer was brought in, trained like crazy to convince as a supervillain, and delivered one of her most memorable turns into the bargain.
6. Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
There isn’t much about Apocalypse Now that wasn’t a nightmare in one form or another, with Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece beset by issues every step of the way.
When the director called action on the first day’s shooting in March 1976, Harvey Keitel was his Benjamin L Willard, circumstances that changed in a matter of weeks after Coppola discovered that the actor wasn’t performing the character in the way that he’d imagined.
Martin Sheen answered the call to step in as his replacement, which he may have regretted at least once when Apocalypse Now came close to killing him in a variety of different ways, but it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the part, no matter how adversely it ended up affecting his health.
5. Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Miloš Forman, 1975)
They say every hero is only as good as their villain, and with Jack Nicholson in top form as Randall P McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Miloš Forman required a sparring partner who could match him every step of the way.
Nicholson’s performance is one of the greatest American cinema has ever seen, which deservedly won him an Oscar. Louise Fletcher more than holds her own as the formidable Nurse Ratched, though, notching one of her own when she was named ‘Best Actress’.
Forman had cast Lily Tomlin but never seemed entirely convinced. Fletcher auditioned multiple times throughout 1974 and was ultimately informed by her agent on December 26 that she was required to show up with the rest of the cast on January 4, 1975 to begin rehearsals, with her first day on set coming nine days later.
4. Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Peter Jackson, 2001)
Filming the unfilmable was an arduous enough undertaking as it was, with Peter Jackson stretched so thin on The Lord of the Rings, he completely overlooked the fact that he’d cast the wrong guy as Aragorn.
Stuart Townsend was hired and spent months training and rehearsing alongside the rest of the ensemble before the director felt he had no other choice but to recast the role after watching the actor’s first days on set as the character.
Jackson needed somebody older and more worldly, so Viggo Mortensen took the part at short notice, flew halfway around the world to meet his new colleagues, and then dived headfirst into what will always be his definitive role by shooting the Weathertop scenes as his first order of business.
3. Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Bryan Singer, 2000)
In an alternate timeline where Deadpool & Wolverine still becomes the highest-grossing R-rated film in history and the latter character’s tenth big screen appearance, it’s Dougray Scott teaming up with Ryan Reynolds a quarter of a century into his tenure as the superhero.
Shooting kicked off in September 1999 and was already working around Scott’s absence due to contractual obligations tying him to Mission: Impossible II reshoots before he reluctantly departed. In fact, the actor told The Telegraph that “Tom Cruise didn’t let me do it,” which would be reason enough to bear a grudge.
After a hastily arranged audition and a glowing recommendation from Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman turned up for his first day on set three weeks after the majority of the X-Men cast had started work, and 25 years later, he’s built his entire career on the back of it.
2. Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Steven Spielberg, 1981)
It’s a famous part of Hollywood folklore that Tom Selleck would have been Indiana Jones if it wasn’t for his small screen commitments, but what often gets overlooked is that it turned out he technically would have had the time to do it anyway if Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were capable of predicting the future.
Spielberg and Lucas’ offer was on the table, but CBS awarded Magnum PI a full series order and left Raiders of the Lost Ark without a leading man just weeks before the start of shooting. The Star Wars director didn’t want to hire Harrison Ford, but when he did, cinema got one of its most iconic characters.
The cruellest part is that Magnum PI was supposed to shoot its first season in March 1980, but it was pushed back to December due to an actors’ strike. Raiders was filmed between June and September, which meant that Selleck’s schedule was clear, and he was twiddling his thumbs while his replacement thwarted a nefarious Nazi plot and ran away from giant boulders.
1. Michael J Fox (Back to the Future, Robert Zemeckis, 1985)
The most famous example of a last-minute casting switch working out in the best interests of everyone involved – except for the actor who was booted out, obviously – Michael J Fox eventually took his rightful place as Back to the Future‘s Marty McFly.
Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale crafted one of the most timeless and endlessly rewatchable blockbusters in Hollywood history, a fate that may not have awaited the film were it not for Fox’s infectious enthusiasm, natural charisma, and sparkling chemistry with Christopher Lloyd’s Doc Brown.
Stoltz opted for a more serious and grounded approach that saw him go method, which was the completely wrong tone. Fox was always the number one choice, and more than two weeks into shooting, he burned the candle at both ends by joining Back to the Future, shooting his scenes at night, and then working on the sitcom Family Ties during the day.
