Yahoo News 12 risky movie casting gambles that totally paid off
We all like to think that we know best when it comes to movie castings. And it's easy to point at Laurence Olivier's Othello and say, 'Told you so'.
It's harder to admit when we're wrong. But here are some left-field – and brilliant – casting decisions that took us completely by surprise. If you need us, we'll be in the corner eating our own hat.
1. Tom Cruise – Lestat (Interview with the Vampire)
Tom Cruise is known for playing two types: macho men and action heroes (frequently at the same time). So we were surprised twice over: first that he took on the role of Anne Rice's super queer anti-hero vampire in Interview with the Vampire, and second that he completely nailed it.
Rice was equally sceptical, saying that the choice was "so bizarre, it's almost impossible to imagine how it's going to work", but seemed quite happy to eat her words after she saw the movie, saying that "from the moment he appeared, Tom was Lestat for me... something I could not see in a crystal ball."
2. Heath Ledger – The Joker (The Dark Knight)
Australian actor Heath Ledger was initially known as a pretty boy who took on fluffy romantic comedy-type roles like 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight's Tale. He demonstrated that he had more range than we credited him for in Brokeback Mountain, but fans still saw Christopher Nolan's casting of him as Batman's unhinged archenemy, the Joker, as some sort of – well – joke.
Of course, Ledger crushed it, giving a terrifying performance that will remain the yardstick of Joker performances forever more (sorry, Jared Leto). His death before the release of the movie left us all wondering what he would have done next.
3. Gal Gadot – Wonder Woman (Wonder Woman)
When it came to who should play Wonder Woman in the DCEU, everyone had their own recommendation and they all boiled down to someone famous. So the choice of Israeli model-turned-Fast-&-Furious-bit-part-actress Gal Gadot seemed calculated to please no one.
It was hard to judge Gadot by her small part in Batman v Superman, but come Patty Jenkins's Wonder Woman, people were generally blown away by her charming, likeable and powerful performance.
4. Daniel Craig – James Bond (Casino Royale)
Pre-Bond Craig was best known for TV show Our Friends in the North, a bunch of arthouse indies, Layer Cake and Enduring Love. Not exactly the perfect CV to take on the iconic super spy. Plus – shocker! – he was blond! James Blond! Fan weren't happy – until they actually watched him in Casino Royale and then they were very happy. He's back for a fifth outing in 2019.
5. Robert Downey Jr – Tony Stark (Iron Man)
Nine years into the MCU's life, it seems perfectly natural to think of Robert Downey Jr as the archetypal, witty Tony Stark. But it was this role that – in 2008 – signalled his triumphant cementing in the Hollywood mainstream after years of much-publicised substance abuse and a short stint in prison.
Now, facing his potential retirement from Marvel after Avengers 4 seems even more inconceivable.
6. Renée Zellweger – Bridget Jones (Bridget Jones's Diary)
A controversial choice for being a) American and b) too thin, Zellwegger addressed both, nailing the accent in a way few have managed and putting on a bit of extra weight to portray Bridget's non-Hollywood figure. She rocked it and was embraced by the whole of Britain for three movies.
7. Terence Stamp – Bernadette Bassenger (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert)
Back when Terence Stamp was known as a Serious Actor and/or (kneel before) Zod, his turn as a transgender woman in mourning dragged reluctantly into a drag-queen road trip across Australia probably wasn't on anyone's radar. Reportedly, even Stamp himself was anxious about his ability to play the role – which of course turned out to be legendarily witty, fierce, tragic and surprisingly woke for 1994.
8. John Travolta – Vincent Vega (Pulp Fiction)
Grease star John Travolta had only a shred of cred clinging to his name in the early '90s, with Saturday Night Fever and Carrie distant memories and his career having wandered into the fluffy realms of the Look Who's Talking series.
So he was unlikely to be first on anyone's list to star in Quentin Tarantino's hotly anticipated follow-up to Reservoir Dogs. But cast he was, and it was magnificent (until that unfortunate incident on the toilet, at least).
9. Mariah Carey – Ms Weiss (Precious)
Carey's own star vehicle Glitter was so universally disliked that we're surprised anyone let her anywhere near a movie, but Lee Daniels took the gamble for Precious and it really paid off. Carey plays Mrs Weiss, social worker to the damaged and abused teenager Precious. It's a relentless, tough movie and Carey effectively de-glammed and got serious for the role – and nailed it.
10. Robin Williams – Seymour 'Sy' Parrish (One Hour Photo)
He'd done serious before (Dead Poets Society, Good Morning Vietnam), but he'd never played an out-and-out psycho. As smiling oddball Sy, Williams was terrific, up-ending his family-friendly persona to play a guy obsessed with 'the perfect family' who visit his photo stand. Williams won a Saturn Award for his performance.
11 & 12. Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson – Joyce Lakeland and Amy Stanton (The Killer Inside Me)
Neither actress was known for particularly dark or serious fare and yet both are absolutely terrific in Michael Winterbottom's adaptation of Jim Jones's novel. Hudson goes brunette and frumpy to play the girlfriend of Casey Affleck's murderous Sheriff, while Alba is the call-girl fantasy figure who gets punched to death in the face. Bold stuff.
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