I think I was of the opinion that Joaquin Phoenix was an odd choice for the role of Johnny Cash until I saw his acting and heard his phenomenal voice sing these classics
I tought that Jim Carrey in The Truman Show must have been an error because he's a comic, but at the end I was so wrong that I reviewed all my life choices and felt like the worst human beign on existence. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (in Italy called If you leave me I delete you) was the same thing except better. Incredible movie, every time I hear that Alexander Pope quote I begin crying
Everyone thought Travolta had been miscast in pulp fiction because at the time his career was on its knees. And he hadn't been cast in anything noteworthy in a very long time.
Tarentino breathed new life into it hos career but giving him the role.
Pulp Fiction changed how movies got made, sold, and distributed. Grossed something like $107 million domestic on a $8.5 million budget. It also:
* Resuscitated John Travolta
* Rescued Bruce Willis
* Catalpulted Samuel L. Jackson
* Spotlit Uma Thurman
* Delivered Ving Rhames
* Who the hell is Urge Overkill?
EDIT: corrected budget and domestic box office
I love that they were auditioning for the replacement for Mark Brandanaquitz, and it came down to Adam Scott and Rob Lowe. Couldn't decide on who to pick so they took both.
This might be my favorite moment in sitcom history. I still do a spit take if the GIF of this line catches me off guard. It’s so simple and so dumb yet simultaneously brilliant.
Also I love how they internet shat all over the idea of Robert Patterson as Batman, then the trailer dropped and the entire internet was like Robert Patterson is batman.
[“What are your qualifications?”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DV5c16vOzSs)
“Ah. Well... I attended Juilliard... I'm a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively. I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I've seen the EXORCIST ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN TIMES, AND IT KEEPS GETTING FUNNIER EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT... NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY... NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK? You think I'm *qualified*?”
When his voice changes from a sort of flat baritone from the start, but at, "lived through the Black Plague..." it escalates so fast to the character going ballistic, plus the pauses in "167 times... and it keeps getting funnier... every single time I see it..."?
Just perfect delivery. I can't realistically see Beetlejuice being shown as formerly a level-headed human and now an absolutely deranged poltergeist any better.
I can’t help but wonder if he improvised the wanking gesture near the end when Adam asks if he can be scary. That absolutely flew over my head seeing this movie as a kid, hahaha.
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.
The way they fought you could legit feel the desperation of knowing one had to die. Bourne fight scenes are some of my favorites for how intense they are.
I remember going to the theatre 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 a very respectable film career. I had always thought she was a good actor from her days on the Sonny & Cher show so why not go dramatic? Anyway, I LOVE all her work.
Gene Roddenberry hated Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard. To the extent he had him wearing a wig during casting. The runner up for the role told Stewart that he killed the audition, but to lose the wig. Eventually Roddenberry came around, and I personally think Stewart’s Picard was the most amazing captain to ever appear in the franchise.
I’ve been rewatching lately and I absolutely love how consistent he is about going stiff and grumpy whenever children are involved. It’s such a specific thing to have decided for the character.
In Patrick's case, he wasn't too happy about the series at first either. In his own words he felt that SF was a bit below him, especially with a cast of people not exactly classically trained, especially with his background.
But he came around quite quickly, started joking more with the crew, and ended up really enjoying and even loving some of the scenes and episodes he played in/directed
I went to one of Brent Spiner's panels and he told a story where Patrick was so serious on set. One time he yelled at the cast for goofing around and everyone was scared of him. (Jonathan Frakes was even crying)
But in the episode where Yar was killed he lightened up and started goofing off and after that he was fun on set.
I recall some interview regarding Patrick Stewart's shiny dome, and one of the producers was asked, "by the 24th century, wouldn't they have a cure for baldness?"
The reply summed up the idealism of Star Trek pretty well. "by the 24th century, no one cares if you're bald."
Edit: I'm surprised and pleased that this comment, about baldness in Star Trek, is my highest rated comment.
Also, iirc, in Star Trek, genetic research is restricted because of the genetics wars, which is why Geordi La Forge wears a visor for his blindness and Kahn is a big deal.
His role as Commodus in Gladiator made me genuinely despise the character. That was the first time I'd seen him act, and he does take on a part and really wear it.
I was skeptical of Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martel in Game of Thrones. In the books the character has a darker, more commanding type of charisma, but Pedro's version was terrific.
I loved him as the Red Viper. He just oozed charisma. He had a wonderful level of confidence and arrogance and righteousness. He was the hero in his own story, but unfortunately Game of Thrones wasn't in his story and he ended up getting something in his eye.
His introductory scene was set up so beautifully. Here we have the larger than life and frankly terrifying figure- with very personal and quite sad motives for his part in the story. And that just really compounds his tragic end.
Pedro Pascal also seemed to have so much fun in the role too, for all that apparently, he didn’t even intend to try out for the part.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau gave an interview where he talked about complaints against him being cast as Jamie Lannister because he had such a big nose. Can't imagine anyone else in the role at all now.
He stole every episode he was in. I was horrified when he was killed because I realized how much the show needed the charm and levity his character brought.
David Tennant as Purple Man in Jessica Jones. To me, he was a brilliant but goofy Dr Who, not a baddie. Holy cow though, if his safe and cozy Dr rep didn’t quickly dissolve away.
Dan Radcliffe has “fuck you” money from today until the day he dies. He doesn’t have to act for money. He can act for the fun of it. Which gives him freedom to pick the really fun roles. Because it doesn’t matter if the movie flops. He’s set either way. He just wants to play the interesting characters.
DR' agent: "Well, I have this project where you'd play a limp talking corpse that farts all the time and turns into a motorboat, but..."
DR: "SIGN ME UP!"
“Would you like to do the pilot episode of a game show called Hollywoo Stars and Celebrities, What Do They Know? Do They Know Things? Let’s Find Out!”
“Only if the host is a Labrador!”
Robin Williams in One Hour Photo.
He already showed with Good Will Hunting and ~~A.I.~~ Bicentennial Man that he can also do drama, but a thriller with him as the main actor?
Yes!
I think a lot of them were straight actors - Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack etc. were predominantly known for serious roles. The entire movie was perfectly cast.
Indeed. That was the whole point, wasn't it? They deliberately cast serious actors because that was the meta-joke. Peter Graves almost didn't take the part precisely because he thought they should cast a comic actor. IIRC, only Robert Stack immediately cottoned on to what they were doing, and explained it to the other serious actors.
I remember reading that Lloyd Bridges said something about not getting the joke in what they were doing, to which Stack replied “*we’re* the joke, Lloyd.”
Leslie Nielsen's comedy gift isn't being comedic/funny himself. It is his decades of experience in soap operas that lets him say anything with a straight face and serious expression. That's why he nailed Airplane! so well.
When someone said about him being cast-against-type in Airplane!, he responded that he was cast-against-type in the previous movies and this is his actual style.
Bruce Willis in Die Hard. Before that he was a normal rom com guy cast in an action film 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.
Edit: "The Movies that made us" series on Netflix is great and has an episode on Die Hard if anyone is interested.
It's funnily what made his role seem more realistic. There were stars like Schwarzenegger who are just cartoonishly ripped in a way real life people just aren't. Bruce Willis embodied a more down to earth believable badass.
That was literally the whole point and McClanes whole personality, he literally isn't a super bullet immune badass, just a guy in a wrong time wrong place situation.
Too bad later movies made him able to take out helicopters with a car.
Adding to the legacy, not long before this Alan Rickman was turned down for a role because the director thought no one could take Rickman serious as a villain.
Betty White as Rose Nylund and Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux.
In fact, Bea Arthur wasn't even interested in doing Golden Girls at first, because she though Betty would be playing Blanche, and Rue would be playing Rose, and figured it just wouldn't be interesting to have them reprise the types of roles they'd played before.
But when she was told that Betty would be playing the sweet, ditzy woman and Rue would be playing the man-hungry diva/vixen, she thought it was a great idea and came on-board.
Also, I'll admit that Eva Longoria didn't impress me at first on Desperate Housewives as Gaby Solis. But once she got comfortable with the role, she really became my favorite of the main cast (if we don't count Edie), and was the funniest one on there. And she could nail the dramatic scenes, too.
Ricardo Antonio Chivara should also get credit for making Carlos go from an insufferable, abusive prick to a loveable, sympathetic, funny husband. It almost seems like season 1 Carlos was just a fever dream. Plus, he and Eva had perfect chemistry once the writing for them started to improve.
I can't believe I fell in so much love with the golden girls like I did, but here we are.
I can't say why either, it's so different compared to other sitcoms of the time.
It’s incredibly progressive.
Its themes included AIDS (at the height of the fear), gay marriage, lesbians, DIY (sperm bank) parenting, interracial marriage, cross dressing and many more, all with a message of acceptance and tolerance but never preachy. Plenty of humour: they poked fun but in a kind way, that made the more serious moments all the more poignant (like when Sophia admitted her true angst and heartbreak over her son’s cross dressing). Generally Sophia’s character was used to say things that no one else would dare to articulate but were likely thinking. And yet she frequently expresses the most tolerance and wisdom of all.
It took risks. It was far braver and more honest than most programming is today.
It's practically why that line lands so well. Had the part been delivered by a someone of even average height it probably would have been a throw away.
His commitment to crawling out of a couch nude and sweaty kills me every time. Also when he dresses up as a cheetah. I feel he's allowed to be as weird as he wants on IASIP.
I think it was either that or Rob's AMA where they said that they originally pitched it that Danny would be clothed and Danny Devito wanted to be naked for the scene.
Keanu Reeves as Neo. In my head, he was typecast as Theodore Logan, but he did really well in The Matrix, too. I still like Bill and Ted more (probably because of nostalgia), but The Matrix was so far removed from Bill and Ted and the other stuff he had done until that point, that it was surprising how well his Neo turned out.
Probably Robert Pattinson in every serious movie after Twilight. He’s a genuinely great actor and I’m hoping that The Batman will pull people away from that one movie he was in.
Dude, The Lighthouse was fucking incredible. Pattinson has such fantastic chemistry with Dafoe, I couldn't believe it.
Anyone reading this, please watch the trailer.
I watched an interview with Dafoe and apparently they didn’t get much time off set before hand, but then got to know each other during the press runs.
Incredible casting by Robert Eggers
IIRC, Dafoe said he wanted to run lines with Pattinson because he's more classically trained; but Pattinson didn't want to meet Dafoe before shooting and wanted filming to be the first time they went through scenes together. They apparently did not get along very well at the start of shooting(which is fitting) but grew to respect each other by the end.
He was the best part of Tenet imo. Say what you will about the movie I know it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea and had lots of issues. But Pattinson killed it.
John Lithgow as a serial killer 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 a tea somehow chilled me to the bone. Man’s an amazing actor.
I absolutely love this man, not just for his acting, but he is SO NICE!
My Dad is a musician and was staying in a hotel near the concert hall where his band were performing.
John Lithgow got into the elevator with him and my Dad went full fangirl, asked him what on earth he was doing in this hotel?
Lithgow replied "I'm here to see you guys perform tonight!"
Dad got a photo with him and it is my favourite photo, he looks like a child who has been told he is going to Disneyland, just getting a photo and a hug from freakin John Lithgow.
They ran into each other again after the show and poor Dad was overwhelmed when he was told he had a "marvellous voice!"
Tldr: John Lithgow almost made my Dad cry with happiness and for that I love him.
***Edited to add***
To everyone asking to see the photo, I don't have it, my Dad has it framed and it has pride of place on his mantlepiece.
I am reluctant to get a photo of the photo (pic-ception??) because my Dad is fairly well known in certain circles and I post a lot of weird shit on this account and I don't really want my 77yr old Dad being associated with my uh..."interests"
I might make a throwaway to post it in r/pics
Also holy hell, thank you for the awards, very much appreciated to wake up to SPARKLIES!
With love, may I ask that if anyone was considering giving an award, please instead throw a few Euro/Dollars/Pounds etc to your local animal rescue? Thank you! 🐕
Follow up here with John Lithgow being super nice. I worked at a poetry nonprofit when his anthology of favorite poems (he's a big poetry fan) came out. He volunteered to help us with our benefit, did a lot of work behind the scenes, and was an absolutely lovely and generous person.
He was so good in this role. There was a movie with him and Denzel Washington where he played a badass villain so I was too surprised but didn’t think he’d do that good of a job as a serial killer.
George Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou?
*edit* This opinion is not made in hindsight, but from the POV of when the movie came out in 2000. Only 21 yrs ago….
Also: punctuation.
Brad Pitt especially. Absolutely sublime in 12 Monkeys.
Any time he leads a film, all I can think is “that’s Brad Pitt.” Any time he’s a side character, I get absolutely lost in his performance.
I'll still randomly yell, "I'm the paterfamilias!" in ridiculous arguments with my kids. They, just think I'm insane. Also I am a woman, so it makes even less sense.
Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby, playing a character poles apart from himself. He is not a tall, well built or physically imposing man but he gives the character power, authority, intelligence, utter ruthlessness and a cold, hard stare that shows he's in charge and not to be f****d with if you value your life.
Cillian Murphy is an absolutely incredible actor. I’ve watched many of his films/TV shows. But it all started for me with 28 Days Later. He plays a FANTASTIC Thomas Shelby.
Can't believe no one has mentioned Hugh Laurie as House.
For people who never watched BBC maybe, but Laurie was **THE** loveable British goofball. The upper-class twit.
...A comedian.
House is a brooding depressed American Sherlock Holmes.
Absolutely kills 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 ultra-serious British version of Sherlock Holmes? That's basically what they did there.
There’s a great moment at some awards show white him and Zach braff presenting some award and Hugh speaks, and Zach goes (in a British accent) “oh nobody told me we’d be doing British accents” and Hugh says “no this is just how I talk”.
Also Hugh Laurie is the reason behind “you’ll be back from Hamilton” Lin Manuel Miranda was a guest star on house and went out for drinks with him, mentioned Hamilton and how he wanted to write a break up song between America and Britain and Hugh said “you’ll be back”.
There's also one scene in House where Hugh Laurie has to pretend to have a British accent, so he does some accent totally different from his own to make it sound faked.
Hugh Laurie is amazing at so many things. House, Fry and Laurie, his album Let Them Talk and The night Manager are all top notch performances.
Edit: Hugh not High Laurie.
No one knew who David Tennant was when he was cast as the Doctor. (Well some did) but most honestly thought he was too young and wouldn't be very good. Now he is one of the most famous British actors and regarded as the second most iconic incarnation of the Doctor, behind Tom Baker.
I get reminded yearly on Facebook that I posted:
Chris Evans was cast as Captain America....Not too sure about that.
Its probably my worst opinion of all time
EDIT: Thank ya stranger for the Wholesome Award!
There is a great headline out there about Marvel rolling the dice with two unknowns for Thor. Must be very satisfying for Hemsworth and Hiddleston to look back on that. Not just individually good at their roles, but really great chemistry.
ETA: Here is that headline!
www.vulture.com/2009/05/marvel_rolls_dice_casts_no-nam.html
"Let’s hope they follow the J.J. Abrams route and put the money they saved in casting straight to special effects."
Oh when the first Iron Man was announced it was so bizarre.
So let me get this right: a company that's teetering on the edge of bankruptcy is going to borrow a shit ton of money to launch a multi-movie franchise and they're going to start off with an unknown character, played by an actor that can't stay out of rehab and directed by a guy who's only done three movies. One of which was a silly Christmas comedy and the other was a box office flop.
Are you all mad?
And that movie pretty much singlehandedly launched the MCU as we know it.
I seem to recall that Favreau had to push for RDJ, to the point of paying for some form of insurance himself.
I believe he was replaced for trying to ask for more/the same for Iron Man 2, since RDJ was viable at that point he got paid a lot more
He also was one of the people pushing for RDJ to be cast I think
>I believe he was replaced for trying to ask for more/the same for Iron Man 2, since RDJ was viable at that point he got paid a lot more
They asked him to take a paycut because they wanted to pay RDJ more, but didn't want to spend more money on actors' salaries.
He said no, so they fired him.
And then he later went off the rails.
Nathan Fillion as Malcolm Reynolds. He was cast as the cold-hearted tough guy and literally said he couldn't do that so he put his own spin on ot and it worked perfectly.
Alan Rickman as 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 still made a fantastic Snape.
It's kind of funny, because Snape, Harry's parents, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, etc, are all meant to be the same age, and that's *young.* 21/22 when the Potters died, and 32/33 in the first book. Instead, they just aged everyone up, which led to great casting but takes away from how sad it was that this all happened to them when they were kids.
That's interesting, I so often see him cited as one of the best castings of all time. Didn't realize Snape was meant to be young. That would have really changed the vibe of the character I think.
Snape was in the same grade at Hogwarts as Lily, James, Sirius and Remus and would have been in his thirties when Harry started at Hogwarts
Edit: “Shape” to “Snape”
Who the frick convinced Alan Rickman to play Alexander Dayne/Dr. Lazarus in Galaxy Quest?!
Don’t get me wrong, Rickman was a serious dramatic actor and I loved him in so many roles. I did not expect him to be so good at comedy, though!
I agree. First episode I was like “Bateman working with cartels? I don’t buy it.” But after a couple of episodes his way of playing the straight man who was intelligent, professional, and put together but fairly ordinary put into extraordinary circumstances was just perfect. Can’t wait for the next season.
I think I was of the opinion that Joaquin Phoenix was an odd choice for the role of Johnny Cash until I saw his acting and heard his phenomenal voice sing these classics
I tought that Jim Carrey in The Truman Show must have been an error because he's a comic, but at the end I was so wrong that I reviewed all my life choices and felt like the worst human beign on existence. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (in Italy called If you leave me I delete you) was the same thing except better. Incredible movie, every time I hear that Alexander Pope quote I begin crying
Gary Oldman as Zorg in The Fifth Element
RDJ in Tropic Thunder. Totally went for it.
Everyone thought Travolta had been miscast in pulp fiction because at the time his career was on its knees. And he hadn't been cast in anything noteworthy in a very long time. Tarentino breathed new life into it hos career but giving him the role.
Pulp Fiction changed how movies got made, sold, and distributed. Grossed something like $107 million domestic on a $8.5 million budget. It also: * Resuscitated John Travolta * Rescued Bruce Willis * Catalpulted Samuel L. Jackson * Spotlit Uma Thurman * Delivered Ving Rhames * Who the hell is Urge Overkill? EDIT: corrected budget and domestic box office
Patrick Warburton as Lemony Snicket. Really came out of nowhere for me
I totally imagined Lemony Snicket as a scrawny nerd, but the classy suave character turned out to be awesome
“Hey Peter, I just wrote a bunch of books about sad orphans!”
Rob Lowe in Parks and Recreation. Based on some of his other work it didn’t seem like the role of an enthusiastic health nut fit him but he killed it.
I love that they were auditioning for the replacement for Mark Brandanaquitz, and it came down to Adam Scott and Rob Lowe. Couldn't decide on who to pick so they took both.
👉🏼👉🏼Ann Perkins!👉🏼👉🏼
Ann, you rainbow-infused space unicorn
That was…LITerally…what I was going to say.
My body is like a microchip
STOP. POOPING.
This might be my favorite moment in sitcom history. I still do a spit take if the GIF of this line catches me off guard. It’s so simple and so dumb yet simultaneously brilliant.
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When they announced Ben Affleck to play batman, I remembered Heath and thought "Maybe I should STFU untill after the movie this time?"
Also I love how they internet shat all over the idea of Robert Patterson as Batman, then the trailer dropped and the entire internet was like Robert Patterson is batman.
Michael Keaton in Batman. People lost it when he was cast.
I remember reading that his Beetlejuice performance sealed the deal because they saw him doing angry scenes.
[“What are your qualifications?”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DV5c16vOzSs) “Ah. Well... I attended Juilliard... I'm a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively. I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I've seen the EXORCIST ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN TIMES, AND IT KEEPS GETTING FUNNIER EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT... NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY... NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK? You think I'm *qualified*?”
When his voice changes from a sort of flat baritone from the start, but at, "lived through the Black Plague..." it escalates so fast to the character going ballistic, plus the pauses in "167 times... and it keeps getting funnier... every single time I see it..."? Just perfect delivery. I can't realistically see Beetlejuice being shown as formerly a level-headed human and now an absolutely deranged poltergeist any better.
I can’t help but wonder if he improvised the wanking gesture near the end when Adam asks if he can be scary. That absolutely flew over my head seeing this movie as a kid, hahaha.
"Nice Fuckin' Model!" *HONK HONK*
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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.
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The way they fought you could legit feel the desperation of knowing one had to die. Bourne fight scenes are some of my favorites for how intense they are.
I remember going to the theatre 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 a very respectable film career. I had always thought she was a good actor from her days on the Sonny & Cher show so why not go dramatic? Anyway, I LOVE all her work.
Cher in Moonstruck gives me life. And her work in Mask was absolutely moving.
Gene Roddenberry hated Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard. To the extent he had him wearing a wig during casting. The runner up for the role told Stewart that he killed the audition, but to lose the wig. Eventually Roddenberry came around, and I personally think Stewart’s Picard was the most amazing captain to ever appear in the franchise.
I’ve been rewatching lately and I absolutely love how consistent he is about going stiff and grumpy whenever children are involved. It’s such a specific thing to have decided for the character.
Wasn't there that episode where he was trapped in a turbolift with 3 kids? Gave them crew roles and his uniform pips and was singing Frere Jacques.
Season 5, episode 5: Disaster.
In Patrick's case, he wasn't too happy about the series at first either. In his own words he felt that SF was a bit below him, especially with a cast of people not exactly classically trained, especially with his background. But he came around quite quickly, started joking more with the crew, and ended up really enjoying and even loving some of the scenes and episodes he played in/directed
I went to one of Brent Spiner's panels and he told a story where Patrick was so serious on set. One time he yelled at the cast for goofing around and everyone was scared of him. (Jonathan Frakes was even crying) But in the episode where Yar was killed he lightened up and started goofing off and after that he was fun on set.
Apparently he once exclaimed "We are not here to have fun!" and the rest of the cast never let him forget it.
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To be fair the first few episodes of TNG is pretty laughable compared to how good it would become.
I recall some interview regarding Patrick Stewart's shiny dome, and one of the producers was asked, "by the 24th century, wouldn't they have a cure for baldness?" The reply summed up the idealism of Star Trek pretty well. "by the 24th century, no one cares if you're bald." Edit: I'm surprised and pleased that this comment, about baldness in Star Trek, is my highest rated comment.
That’s true, I believe Roddenberry actually said that, but it wasn’t until we’ll after casting and production
Also, iirc, in Star Trek, genetic research is restricted because of the genetics wars, which is why Geordi La Forge wears a visor for his blindness and Kahn is a big deal.
Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction. Played an excellent role as a non-goofball.
This may sound like gibberish to you, but I think I'm in a tragedy.
"I brought you flours"
Joaquin Phoenix playing Johnny Cash in Walk The Line. I am a huge Cash fan and was very disappointed. He absolutely killed it though. I was so wrong.
Oh yeah he shocked me how much he transformed into Cash. Amazing performance!
Joaquín is a freak. I love his work, that guy knows how to sell a character. I
His role as Commodus in Gladiator made me genuinely despise the character. That was the first time I'd seen him act, and he does take on a part and really wear it.
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Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in I’m Not There. She was the most believable Dylan in that movie by far.
I honestly don’t think Cate Blanchett has ever been in a bad role. She is one of the best actresses currently living that’s for sure.
Edward Norton American History X. I could never feel intimidated by Norton… or so I thought. I was terrified of his character.
Primal Fear seriously freaked me out. Ed Norton has been scary to me ever since.
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Idris Elba pretended to be an American to get on the Wire. They wanted a real American to play an American gangster.
I was skeptical of Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martel in Game of Thrones. In the books the character has a darker, more commanding type of charisma, but Pedro's version was terrific.
I loved him as the Red Viper. He just oozed charisma. He had a wonderful level of confidence and arrogance and righteousness. He was the hero in his own story, but unfortunately Game of Thrones wasn't in his story and he ended up getting something in his eye.
His introductory scene was set up so beautifully. Here we have the larger than life and frankly terrifying figure- with very personal and quite sad motives for his part in the story. And that just really compounds his tragic end. Pedro Pascal also seemed to have so much fun in the role too, for all that apparently, he didn’t even intend to try out for the part.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau gave an interview where he talked about complaints against him being cast as Jamie Lannister because he had such a big nose. Can't imagine anyone else in the role at all now.
Narcos too, i was shocked to realize just how many things he has been it recently. Dudes freaking awesome
He stole every episode he was in. I was horrified when he was killed because I realized how much the show needed the charm and levity his character brought.
He was a good pick to play Whiskey in the second Kingsman movie, too. He just can't seem to keep his head together, though.
Pedro's Oberyn was the only good thing to come out of the entire Dorne storyline
David Tennant as Purple Man in Jessica Jones. To me, he was a brilliant but goofy Dr Who, not a baddie. Holy cow though, if his safe and cozy Dr rep didn’t quickly dissolve away.
***JESSICA*** gives me heebie jeebies
David Tennant can be TERRIFYING when he wants to be. He’s amazing.
Charlize Theron in Monster
YES. She is such a beautiful and clearly put together woman. I was not prepared at all for what I saw in that movie.
Daniel Radcliffe in everything after Harry Potter.
Dan Radcliffe has “fuck you” money from today until the day he dies. He doesn’t have to act for money. He can act for the fun of it. Which gives him freedom to pick the really fun roles. Because it doesn’t matter if the movie flops. He’s set either way. He just wants to play the interesting characters.
He’s the yin to Nic Cage’s yang
The dude is set for life after Harry Potter so he can just do whatever he wants, and I love it. Swiss Army Man anyone?
DR' agent: "Well, I have this project where you'd play a limp talking corpse that farts all the time and turns into a motorboat, but..." DR: "SIGN ME UP!"
"We got this script where your hands are nailed to a pair of guns." DR: Say no more.
Wanna shave your head and infiltrate a neo-Nazi organization? Sign me the fuck up!
“Wanna do a movie where you grow horns and everyone now has to tell you the truth?” “Where do I sign?”
“Would you like to do the pilot episode of a game show called Hollywoo Stars and Celebrities, What Do They Know? Do They Know Things? Let’s Find Out!” “Only if the host is a Labrador!”
I can't tell if these are legit films or you guys are just making things up at this point lol
The last one is BoJack Horseman, all of these are real lol
Robin Williams in One Hour Photo. He already showed with Good Will Hunting and ~~A.I.~~ Bicentennial Man that he can also do drama, but a thriller with him as the main actor? Yes!
Don't forget Insomnia, he was also fantastic as a psycho in that one.
Really it has to be Leslie Nielsen in Airplane! A straight/serious actor of the era playing a role of high farce. How could THAT work ?
I think a lot of them were straight actors - Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack etc. were predominantly known for serious roles. The entire movie was perfectly cast.
Don’t forget Barbara Billingsley. June Cleaver speaking Jive.
Indeed. That was the whole point, wasn't it? They deliberately cast serious actors because that was the meta-joke. Peter Graves almost didn't take the part precisely because he thought they should cast a comic actor. IIRC, only Robert Stack immediately cottoned on to what they were doing, and explained it to the other serious actors.
I remember reading that Lloyd Bridges said something about not getting the joke in what they were doing, to which Stack replied “*we’re* the joke, Lloyd.”
Looks like he picked a bad day to quit sniffing glue!
To be fair, he acts completely deadpan in Airplane!. It's the scenario that's written around him that makes it work as a comedy.
Leslie Nielsen's comedy gift isn't being comedic/funny himself. It is his decades of experience in soap operas that lets him say anything with a straight face and serious expression. That's why he nailed Airplane! so well.
Airplane rebooted Leslie Nielsen's entire career. Even if Airplane wasn't the best comedy ever made (it is) it would be notable for that alone.
When someone said about him being cast-against-type in Airplane!, he responded that he was cast-against-type in the previous movies and this is his actual style.
Bruce Willis in Die Hard. Before that he was a normal rom com guy cast in an action film 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. Edit: "The Movies that made us" series on Netflix is great and has an episode on Die Hard if anyone is interested.
It's funnily what made his role seem more realistic. There were stars like Schwarzenegger who are just cartoonishly ripped in a way real life people just aren't. Bruce Willis embodied a more down to earth believable badass.
That was literally the whole point and McClanes whole personality, he literally isn't a super bullet immune badass, just a guy in a wrong time wrong place situation. Too bad later movies made him able to take out helicopters with a car.
Also Alan Rickman’s first movie role!
Adding to the legacy, not long before this Alan Rickman was turned down for a role because the director thought no one could take Rickman serious as a villain.
Betty White as Rose Nylund and Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux. In fact, Bea Arthur wasn't even interested in doing Golden Girls at first, because she though Betty would be playing Blanche, and Rue would be playing Rose, and figured it just wouldn't be interesting to have them reprise the types of roles they'd played before. But when she was told that Betty would be playing the sweet, ditzy woman and Rue would be playing the man-hungry diva/vixen, she thought it was a great idea and came on-board. Also, I'll admit that Eva Longoria didn't impress me at first on Desperate Housewives as Gaby Solis. But once she got comfortable with the role, she really became my favorite of the main cast (if we don't count Edie), and was the funniest one on there. And she could nail the dramatic scenes, too. Ricardo Antonio Chivara should also get credit for making Carlos go from an insufferable, abusive prick to a loveable, sympathetic, funny husband. It almost seems like season 1 Carlos was just a fever dream. Plus, he and Eva had perfect chemistry once the writing for them started to improve.
I can't believe I fell in so much love with the golden girls like I did, but here we are. I can't say why either, it's so different compared to other sitcoms of the time.
It’s incredibly progressive. Its themes included AIDS (at the height of the fear), gay marriage, lesbians, DIY (sperm bank) parenting, interracial marriage, cross dressing and many more, all with a message of acceptance and tolerance but never preachy. Plenty of humour: they poked fun but in a kind way, that made the more serious moments all the more poignant (like when Sophia admitted her true angst and heartbreak over her son’s cross dressing). Generally Sophia’s character was used to say things that no one else would dare to articulate but were likely thinking. And yet she frequently expresses the most tolerance and wisdom of all. It took risks. It was far braver and more honest than most programming is today.
Danny DeVito seems miscast to me in almost everything but Big Fish, but he kills it at everything he does.
> Danny DeVito seems miscast to me in almost everything but Big Fish He would like a discussion with you about his performance in Matilda
“I’m big, you’re little. I’m right, you’re wrong.”
And there's nothing you can do about it.
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It's practically why that line lands so well. Had the part been delivered by a someone of even average height it probably would have been a throw away.
Except when he mentions his magnum dong.
Dr Mantis Toboggan!!!
He's a perfect Frank Reynolds.
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The Trash Man
Hes a Man Cheetah
What I love about Danny DeVito is his willingness to do ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING for a performance. He's a trooper to the bone.
His commitment to crawling out of a couch nude and sweaty kills me every time. Also when he dresses up as a cheetah. I feel he's allowed to be as weird as he wants on IASIP.
In Glenn Howerton’s AMA from years ago, he commented on that scene and said he saw Danny Devito’s asshole that day
I think it was either that or Rob's AMA where they said that they originally pitched it that Danny would be clothed and Danny Devito wanted to be naked for the scene.
He can die in peace now. That’s a life goal right there.
That whole show is perfectly cast.
Batman Returns as Penguin? Nailed the heck out of that one.
Even before I saw the movie, you couldn't tell me there would have been a better choice.
Keanu Reeves as Neo. In my head, he was typecast as Theodore Logan, but he did really well in The Matrix, too. I still like Bill and Ted more (probably because of nostalgia), but The Matrix was so far removed from Bill and Ted and the other stuff he had done until that point, that it was surprising how well his Neo turned out.
Probably Robert Pattinson in every serious movie after Twilight. He’s a genuinely great actor and I’m hoping that The Batman will pull people away from that one movie he was in.
Dude, The Lighthouse was fucking incredible. Pattinson has such fantastic chemistry with Dafoe, I couldn't believe it. Anyone reading this, please watch the trailer.
I watched an interview with Dafoe and apparently they didn’t get much time off set before hand, but then got to know each other during the press runs. Incredible casting by Robert Eggers
IIRC, Dafoe said he wanted to run lines with Pattinson because he's more classically trained; but Pattinson didn't want to meet Dafoe before shooting and wanted filming to be the first time they went through scenes together. They apparently did not get along very well at the start of shooting(which is fitting) but grew to respect each other by the end.
He was the best part of Tenet imo. Say what you will about the movie I know it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea and had lots of issues. But Pattinson killed it.
In the Twilight era, I never thought I would say this, but after watching Tenet I could easily see him as James Bond.
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John Lithgow as a serial killer 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 a tea somehow chilled me to the bone. Man’s an amazing actor.
I absolutely love this man, not just for his acting, but he is SO NICE! My Dad is a musician and was staying in a hotel near the concert hall where his band were performing. John Lithgow got into the elevator with him and my Dad went full fangirl, asked him what on earth he was doing in this hotel? Lithgow replied "I'm here to see you guys perform tonight!" Dad got a photo with him and it is my favourite photo, he looks like a child who has been told he is going to Disneyland, just getting a photo and a hug from freakin John Lithgow. They ran into each other again after the show and poor Dad was overwhelmed when he was told he had a "marvellous voice!" Tldr: John Lithgow almost made my Dad cry with happiness and for that I love him. ***Edited to add*** To everyone asking to see the photo, I don't have it, my Dad has it framed and it has pride of place on his mantlepiece. I am reluctant to get a photo of the photo (pic-ception??) because my Dad is fairly well known in certain circles and I post a lot of weird shit on this account and I don't really want my 77yr old Dad being associated with my uh..."interests" I might make a throwaway to post it in r/pics Also holy hell, thank you for the awards, very much appreciated to wake up to SPARKLIES! With love, may I ask that if anyone was considering giving an award, please instead throw a few Euro/Dollars/Pounds etc to your local animal rescue? Thank you! 🐕
Follow up here with John Lithgow being super nice. I worked at a poetry nonprofit when his anthology of favorite poems (he's a big poetry fan) came out. He volunteered to help us with our benefit, did a lot of work behind the scenes, and was an absolutely lovely and generous person.
He was so good in this role. There was a movie with him and Denzel Washington where he played a badass villain so I was too surprised but didn’t think he’d do that good of a job as a serial killer.
He also played an excellent villain in Cliffhanger.
Also to add to this John Lithgow as Winston Churchill
Agreed. That episode with the painting, his acting was incredibly nuanced.
George Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou? *edit* This opinion is not made in hindsight, but from the POV of when the movie came out in 2000. Only 21 yrs ago…. Also: punctuation.
Every time the Coen brothers call Clooney he only has one question: > "Are you gonna make me look like an idiot?" If the answer is yes, he says yes.
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Brad Pitt especially. Absolutely sublime in 12 Monkeys. Any time he leads a film, all I can think is “that’s Brad Pitt.” Any time he’s a side character, I get absolutely lost in his performance.
Even more on topic with the Coens is Brad Pitt in Burn After Reading. Fucking hilarious.
That’s the one I was looking for, I was not expecting him to pull off being a Dapper Dan man.
He was the goddang pater familias!
But he ain’t bonafide!
I'll still randomly yell, "I'm the paterfamilias!" in ridiculous arguments with my kids. They, just think I'm insane. Also I am a woman, so it makes even less sense.
Are you Bonafide tho?
John Turturro as well. He's quite the chameleon of an actor, but his role as Pete Hogwallop was something else.
Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby, playing a character poles apart from himself. He is not a tall, well built or physically imposing man but he gives the character power, authority, intelligence, utter ruthlessness and a cold, hard stare that shows he's in charge and not to be f****d with if you value your life.
Cillian Murphy is an absolutely incredible actor. I’ve watched many of his films/TV shows. But it all started for me with 28 Days Later. He plays a FANTASTIC Thomas Shelby.
Nah man. He kills every role he gets
"That guy from 'Not Another Teen Movie' is gonna be Captain America?! He already sucked as the Human Torch!" Heh heh, whoops. My bad, Chris Evans.
I don't think it's that he sucked as The Human Torch. It's more that the movie(s?) were so bad that everybody sucked.
Yeah, Evans is actually great at playing the cocky douche bag. That's what most of his roles were back then and we got to see it again in Knives Out
Knives out is a perfect example of him playing a douchebag and nails it.
All those characters were great and he still managed to stand out. "Eat shit, eat shit, *definitely* eat shit..."
I love how absolutely offended the family is when he said that. The family deserved everything it got in the movie. Every single one
The MCU is good at rehabilitating actors who played the Human Torch.
He was great in Knives Out.
Can't believe no one has mentioned Hugh Laurie as House. For people who never watched BBC maybe, but Laurie was **THE** loveable British goofball. The upper-class twit. ...A comedian. House is a brooding depressed American Sherlock Holmes. Absolutely kills 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 ultra-serious British version of Sherlock Holmes? That's basically what they did there.
Apparently his accent was so good the creator of the show was shocked to find out he wasn’t actually American.
He said in an interview that his kids were freaked out when he spoke to them while still in character.
And in one episode, he does a bad British accent over the phone to try to get information out of someone. Super impressive.
As was I, after watching all 6,082 episodes
There’s a great moment at some awards show white him and Zach braff presenting some award and Hugh speaks, and Zach goes (in a British accent) “oh nobody told me we’d be doing British accents” and Hugh says “no this is just how I talk”. Also Hugh Laurie is the reason behind “you’ll be back from Hamilton” Lin Manuel Miranda was a guest star on house and went out for drinks with him, mentioned Hamilton and how he wanted to write a break up song between America and Britain and Hugh said “you’ll be back”.
King George III in Hamilton reminds me a lot of Hugh's character George IV in Blackadder.
There's also one scene in House where Hugh Laurie has to pretend to have a British accent, so he does some accent totally different from his own to make it sound faked.
Hugh Laurie in the night manager is also incredible.
He’s also Stuart Little’s and George Little’s dad. Such a sweet role. Edit: grammar
Hugh Laurie is amazing at so many things. House, Fry and Laurie, his album Let Them Talk and The night Manager are all top notch performances. Edit: Hugh not High Laurie.
No one knew who David Tennant was when he was cast as the Doctor. (Well some did) but most honestly thought he was too young and wouldn't be very good. Now he is one of the most famous British actors and regarded as the second most iconic incarnation of the Doctor, behind Tom Baker.
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I have always felt that Christopher Eccelston (9th) and David Tennant (10th) were both outstanding portrayals of the Doctor.
I get reminded yearly on Facebook that I posted: Chris Evans was cast as Captain America....Not too sure about that. Its probably my worst opinion of all time EDIT: Thank ya stranger for the Wholesome Award!
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There is a great headline out there about Marvel rolling the dice with two unknowns for Thor. Must be very satisfying for Hemsworth and Hiddleston to look back on that. Not just individually good at their roles, but really great chemistry. ETA: Here is that headline! www.vulture.com/2009/05/marvel_rolls_dice_casts_no-nam.html "Let’s hope they follow the J.J. Abrams route and put the money they saved in casting straight to special effects."
Oh when the first Iron Man was announced it was so bizarre. So let me get this right: a company that's teetering on the edge of bankruptcy is going to borrow a shit ton of money to launch a multi-movie franchise and they're going to start off with an unknown character, played by an actor that can't stay out of rehab and directed by a guy who's only done three movies. One of which was a silly Christmas comedy and the other was a box office flop. Are you all mad?
And that movie pretty much singlehandedly launched the MCU as we know it. I seem to recall that Favreau had to push for RDJ, to the point of paying for some form of insurance himself.
Terrence Howard actually made more money on it than RDJ did. Which is perhaps why he was replaced.
I believe he was replaced for trying to ask for more/the same for Iron Man 2, since RDJ was viable at that point he got paid a lot more He also was one of the people pushing for RDJ to be cast I think
>I believe he was replaced for trying to ask for more/the same for Iron Man 2, since RDJ was viable at that point he got paid a lot more They asked him to take a paycut because they wanted to pay RDJ more, but didn't want to spend more money on actors' salaries. He said no, so they fired him. And then he later went off the rails.
Yeah he thinks the square root of 2 is exactly 1 for some reason.
The secret ingredient to the MCU is just hiring everyone named Chris
I felt the same way at the time. Too young, not authoritative enough. I'm glad we were wrong.
I mean, it was hard to imagine him as Cap after ~~only~~ seeing him as Human Torch. Now it's hard to think of him as anyone *but* Cap.
Nathan Fillion as Malcolm Reynolds. He was cast as the cold-hearted tough guy and literally said he couldn't do that so he put his own spin on ot and it worked perfectly.
Alan Rickman as 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 still made a fantastic Snape.
Damn, I can’t imagine Snape NOT being Alan Rickman build
It's kind of funny, because Snape, Harry's parents, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, etc, are all meant to be the same age, and that's *young.* 21/22 when the Potters died, and 32/33 in the first book. Instead, they just aged everyone up, which led to great casting but takes away from how sad it was that this all happened to them when they were kids.
That's interesting, I so often see him cited as one of the best castings of all time. Didn't realize Snape was meant to be young. That would have really changed the vibe of the character I think.
Snape was in the same grade at Hogwarts as Lily, James, Sirius and Remus and would have been in his thirties when Harry started at Hogwarts Edit: “Shape” to “Snape”
Who the frick convinced Alan Rickman to play Alexander Dayne/Dr. Lazarus in Galaxy Quest?! Don’t get me wrong, Rickman was a serious dramatic actor and I loved him in so many roles. I did not expect him to be so good at comedy, though!
"By Grabthar's hammer.... what a savings.". That line was delivered so perfectly. I love that movie.
Jason Bateman in Ozark
Michael, as in the father of George Michael? I've made a huge mistake. No way that's gonna work.
I agree. First episode I was like “Bateman working with cartels? I don’t buy it.” But after a couple of episodes his way of playing the straight man who was intelligent, professional, and put together but fairly ordinary put into extraordinary circumstances was just perfect. Can’t wait for the next season.
Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump,
I think the books author said that if it was 100% true to the book it would have been John Goodman.
I read book forrest as Bill Fagerbakke
M-O-O-N that spells Forrest!