People Give Praise To 30 Actors They Didn’t Believe Are A Good Fit For The Role, But Performed Fantastically, Proving Them Wrong

Brus Willis in an action movie? How would that ever work?

Damjan

• Published in Film & TV
• May 18, 2022

Characters in films and television shows are frequently defined by the actors who portray them. While characters can be played by a variety of actors, there is always that one actor that manages to best fit a character's shoes, and people couldn't envision anybody else in the part.

It's often difficult to imagine someone else in the role because the casting is so brilliant. In other cases, the bad actor choice simply disengages the audience from the tale, particularly when the actors portraying a couple lack chemistry.

That's why casting is so important. It can make or break the movie or show.

Producers. directors and casting staff give it a lot of thought and try to come up with the best solution. And they mostly pull it off quite nicely.

However, their casting choices are not understood by the audience right away. Very often, the public starts expressing their disapproval from the very start of the film production, only to admit their mistake when they finally watch the movie or the show.

Someone asked on Reddit: "Which actor seemed miscast in a role but ended up killing it?" The answers started pouring in, and we have selected 30 of the most interesting ones.

Take a look:

1. Matt Damon - Jason Bourne in the Bourne series

"In 2002, nobody could imagine Matt Damon playing a badass CIA assassin with amnesia. I saw the preview on TV and was like, 'The dude from Good Will Hunting?' 

The Jason Bourne movies are among my all-time faves now, and I can’t picture anyone else in that role."

—u/yossarian1943

2. Bryan Cranston - Walter White on Breaking Bad

"Who would have guessed that Hal from Malcom in the Middle would absolutely kill it in this role?"

—u/-eDgAR-

3. Rob Lowe - Chris Traeger on Parks and Recreation

"Based on some of his other work, it didn’t seem as if the role of an enthusiastic health nut would fit him, but he killed it."

—u/-notjosh-

4. John Travolta - Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction

"Everyone thought Travolta had been miscast because — at that time — his career was on its knees, and he hadn’t been cast in anything noteworthy in a very long time. Tarantino breathed new life into his career by giving him the role."

–u/bulbhed

5. Heath Ledger - Joker in The Dark Knight

"I'll always refer to the pushback that Dark Knight got when it was first revealed they cast 'that blonde dude' from A Knight's Tale and10 Things I Hate About You. The internet collectively went, 'WTF???'

Wow. That was a huge error on our part."

—u/Happy8Day

6. Anne Hathaway - Fantine in Les Misérables

"I had only seen her in The Princess Diaries, and she seemed like a lightweight for a pretty heavy role. But she ended up being the best actor in the movie and winning the Academy Award.

Her version of 'I Dreamed a Dream' was amazing."

—u/qwerty9814

7. Keanu Reeves - Neo in the Matrix franchise

"In my head, he was typecast as Theodore Logan, but he did really well in The Matrix, too. The Matrix was so far removed from Bill & Ted and the other stuff he had done until that point that it was surprising how well his Neo turned out."

—u/eksyte

8. Edward Norton - Derek Vinyard in American History X

"I could never feel intimidated by Norton…or so I thought. I was terrified of his character."

—u/MGCIII

9. Michael Keaton - Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman

"At the time, people were outraged, which is hilarious in retrospect because he ended up being amazing."

—u/Vercetti1701

10. Chris Evans - Steve Rogers/Captain America

"'That guy from Not Another Teen Movie is gonna be Captain America?! He already sucked as the Human Torch!'

Hee-hee, whoops. My bad, Chris Evans."

—u/SylancerPrime

11. Patrick Warburton - Lemony Snicket in A Series of Unfortunate Events:

"Really came out of nowhere for me."

—u/angrytomato98

12. Jamie Foxx - Ray Charles in Ray

"I always thought of him as a comedic actor, but he nailed that role."

—u/PandaMuffin1

13. Vivien Leigh - Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind

"At the time of the casting, nobody wanted a British actress playing a belle from the South."

–u/Tatumette

14. Joaquin Phoenix - Johnny Cash in Walk the Line

"I am a huge Cash fan and was very disappointed when he was cast. He absolutely killed it, though.

I was so wrong."

—u/Jaqen-Atavuli

15. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - Mathayus in The Scorpion King

"I heard a pro wrestler was going to make an acting debut, and I was hoping his role was small. I watched the movie and loved it! At the end, my friends asked, 'Did the wrestler ruin your movie?'

I told them, 'No, I couldn't even tell by the bad acting who the wrestler was.' When they told me he was the Scorpion King, I was blown away!

He did an amazing job. Now if I hear The Rock is in a movie, I get excited!"

—u/fromhelley

16. Alan Rickman - Severus Snape

"Snape was supposed to be a younger, scrawny, greasy-looking guy. Rickman didn't really look at all how he was described in the books, but he still made a fantastic Snape."

—u/filetemyoung

17. Matthew McConaughey - Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club

"From a rom-com hero to playing an AIDS-infected cowboy. He was perfect for the role.

Blew me away completely."

—u/Much_Place8431

18. Bruce Willis - John McLane from Die Hard

"Before that, he was a rom-com guy cast in an action film during a time when most action leads were absolutely shredded. So much so that the trailers had audiences laughing, and they ACTUALLY REMOVED HIM FROM THE POSTER.

Needless to say, the rest is history."

—u/r1333609

19. Margot Robbie - Harley Quinn in the DC universe

"She was a way better Harley Quinn than I think anyone expected. She fit the role like a glove."

—u/everythinglatte

20. John Krasinski - Jack Ryan in Jack Ryan:

"Jim from The Office? No way he's Jack Ryan.

Turns out he's totally Jack Ryan."

—u/Mama_cheese

21. Zendaya - Marie Jones in Malcolm and Marie

"When I saw her and John David Washington together in the trailer, I thought it was a father-daughter relationship. And I wasn’t the only one — a lot of people thought Zendaya looked too young (despite being like 24).

Well, I saw the movie, and it actually worked. She could hold her own against J.D.W. She is just a phenomenal actor."

—u/optionalhero

22. Hugh Laurie - Gregory House in House

"Laurie was THE lovable British goofball. The upper-class twit.

A comedian. House was a brooding, depressed, American Sherlock Holmes.

Absolutely killed it. Can't imagine anyone else for the role now...but good lord.

Could you imagine someone like Patton Oswalt being cast to play an ultraserious British version of Sherlock Holmes? That's basically what they did there."

—u/tehm

23. Cher - Dolly Pelliker in Silkwood

"I remember going to the theater to see Silkwood in 1983 with Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell. When they showed Cher's name at the beginning, people audibly laughed.

She was fantastic in the movie and went on to have a very respectable film career."

—u/femsci-nerd

24. Pedro Pascal - Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones

"I was skeptical at first. In the books, the character has a darker, more commanding type of charisma, but Pedro's version was terrific."

—u/Propagandave

25. David Tennant - Purple Man in Jessica Jones

"To me, he was a brilliant but goofy Doctor Who, not a baddie. Holy cow, though, if his safe and cozy doctor rep didn’t quickly dissolve away."

—u/LaVidaYokel

26. Cate Blanchett - Bob Dylan in I’m Not There

"She was the most believable Dylan in that movie by far."

—u/WhiskyTangoNovember

27. Katey Sagal - Gemma Teller Morrow in Sons of Anarchy

"I was expecting a vapid ditz similar to her character in Married With Children. Boy, was I wrong."

—u/swvagirl

28. Robert Pattinson - Ephraim Winslow/Thomas Howard in The Lighthouse

"I thought, No way the Twilight dude is going to be able to keep pace with Willem Dafoe in a drama role. That was the role that changed my opinion of him."

—u/Justice-Gorsuch

29. Regina King - Angela Abar/Sister Night in Watchmen

"I was like, 'Huh, how is this gonna work?' But she won me over once again, as she has done many times over the years."

—u/AnonnBlonde

30. John Lithgow - Arthur Mitchell in Dexter

"I grew up watching him play a goofball alien in 3rd Rock From the Sun. I was massively disappointed when I heard he was playing a serial killer in the new season of Dexter. 

I thought it would be ruined. His first scene — no dialogue, just him stalking a family at the beach while sipping tea — somehow chilled me to the bone.

Man’s an amazing actor."

—u/dd28064212

Well, what do you think about our list? Do you agree with Redditors?

The most famous example is probably Brus Willis. Before becoming a huge action star, he was mostly cast for romantic comedies, and most people believed he was the worst possible choice.

Well, he proved them wrong, right? This goes to show that you shouldn't judge before seeing a movie.

Damjan