With Pixar’s upcoming Lightyear having recast the voices of both Buzz Lightyear and Zurg from the original Toy Story movies, the question of actor recasts has come back to the forefront of movie news, considering how closely-tied Tim Allen’s voice is with Buzz.
However, while these recasts were always part of the movie’s plan, many other iconic Hollywood roles have had to be recast at the very last minute, even to the point of an actor being replaced during production. Fans may be surprised to learn that these iconic film roles were performed by quick replacements.
Wolverine
Considering that Hugh Jackman’s depiction of Wolverine lasted for 17 years, from X-Men to Logan, and became one of the most iconic superheroes of all time, it’s hard to imagine anyone else even being considered for the role. But, actor Dougray Scott had been Fox’s first pick for the role.
MSN reported that due to production overruns on, and an injury from, Mission: Impossible 2, Scott became unable to play the role, and Jackman was chosen as his replacement; however, Scott doesn’t regret losing the part. While Scott does look the part, it’s hard to imagine anyone doing a better Wolverine than Hugh Jackman did over his two-decade tenure; in the end, the right actor got the part.
Dirty Harry
Even though Dirty Harry is Clint Eastwood’s coolest film role, he was actually not Warner Bros.’ first choice for the role. Instead, they initially had singer Frank Sinatra on board, which would have made Harry Callahan in his 50s, like Sinatra, as opposed to early 40s, like Eastwood’s version would come to be.
Sinatra decided to leave the role due to an old wrist injury, according to the Daily Mail, leading the studio to eventually come to Eastwood as their choice for the detective. Sinatra was undoubtedly a very talented singer, but his roles in the original Ocean’s 11 from 1960 and Robin and the 7 Hoods leave a lot to be desired on the non-singing front. Now, if Dirty Harry were a musical… that would be a different story, in more ways than one.
Genie
Aladdin had a direct-to-video sequel, The Return of Jafar, released only two years after the first film’s massive success, but one notable absence from the sequel was the voice of Robin Williams as the Genie, having been replaced by Homer Simpson voice actor Dan Castellaneta. As Screen Rant reported, Williams refused to return because he felt Disney had betrayed his contract.
As talented as Castellaneta is, he couldn’t replicate Williams’ unique performance. Luckily, the studio mended bridges and managed to get Williams to return for the third film, Aladdin and the King of Thieves. The sequels don’t live up to the original, but Williams’ presence helps make King of Thieves a great direct-to-video Disney sequel.
Christian Grey
Although the Fifty Shades of Grey movie series wasn’t notable for Oscar-worthy acting or inspired writing, it is notable for having nearly featured a different actor portraying Christian Grey. When the film was announced, Sons of Anarchy‘s Charlie Hunnam was attached to the title role, but Hunnam left because he felt he wasn’t right for the part, according to ABC News.
It seems fitting that neither the original choice nor the second were American actors, even though Christian Grey is ostensibly American, as the series’ writer is British and parts of the book read like a British impersonation of Americans. Had the Fifty Shades of Anarchy casting remained, though, it wouldn’t have made any difference either way, since the flaws of the film start with the story and script.
Rachel Dawes
She’s such an integral part of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy that people commonly mistake Rachel Dawes for Batman comics canon, even though she’s an original creation of the film series. Katie Holmes portrayed her in Batman Begins, but Maggie Gyllenhaal took the role for The Dark Knight.
Per Comic Book Resources, Holmes was originally set to return but dropped out of the commitment in favor of the 2008 crime comedy film Mad Money, which made $26 million worldwide compared to The Dark Knight‘s $1 billion. Even then it was a strange decision to leave a superhero franchise for a comedy film, but Gyllenhaal’s performance is better than Holmes’s, so at least the franchise benefitted.
Patrick Bateman
Before he starred in the Dark Knight trilogy, Christian Bale made a bloody splash with audiences due to his performance as American Psycho‘s investment-banker serial killer Patrick Bateman. However, the studio originally wanted someone with much more star power, insisting Leonardo DiCaprio be cast to the point of firing Mary Harron and replacing her with Oliver Stone to make it happen (via IndieWire).
However, because of disagreements both director and star left the film, leading the film’s distributor, Lionsgate, to bring Harron back and allow her to cast Bale. The end result speaks for itself, with Bale perfectly balancing Bateman’s unhinged demeanor at home with his narcissistic calm self at work, reinforced by his voiceover work.
Indiana Jones
Harrison Ford is so closely associated with the whip-wielding adventurer that Indiana Jones should never be recast. Ford also seems like he was always the natural choice for the role because of his previous association with George Lucas thanks to playing Han Solo in Star Wars.
Yet it wouldn’t have come to pass had Magnum P.I. not interfered with Tom Selleck’s schedule and made him unavailable to play the character (per CBR), which is what led to Ford taking over the role. If Indiana Jones 5 does release in 2023, Ford will have played the character for 42 years, one of the longest runs in film history. Here’s hoping the movie will be great!
Albus Dumbledore
Irish acting legend Richard Harris portrayed Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films and lent the character a warm, fatherly feel that made him a perfect mentor to Harry. Harris’ passing, however, meant a recast was needed.
As Screen Rant reported, after a long search came Michael Gambon, whose take is decidedly more hands-on and authoritative than Harris’, but it actually came to be a good thing. As great as it is, Harris’ portrayal would feel out of place with some of the darker events in later movies, such as Dumbledore dueling or seeking out Horcruxes. Both actors were perfect for what the character needed to do at the time.
Marty McFly
Because of his commitments to the show Family Ties, Michael J. Fox originally couldn’t take the role of Marty McFly in Back to the Future, leading Eric Stoltz to be cast instead. However, the actor’s serious demeanor made director Robert Zemeckis realize he wasn’t the right fit. Zemeckis made every effort to work around Fox’s schedule so he could star (as reported by Screen Rant).
The result is easily the best role of Michael J. Fox’s career, as well as a defining entry in the time-travel film genre for future entries, like Avengers: Endgame, to reference. Few of Stoltz’s work survives, and it’s hard to imagine what his version would have been like, but based on the final product, Zemeckis clearly made the right choice.
J. Paul Getty
Although the Marty McFly recast was arguably the most notable in film history, since it happened during the production of the film, 2017’s All the Money in the World may have taken the cake, since it replaced its original actor for J. Paul Getty, Kevin Spacey, in post-production with Christopher Plummer, as reported by Screen Rant.
The sexual assault allegations against Spacey would have undoubtedly tainted the film, and it was beyond a miracle that Ridley Scott managed to save the film with the last-minute reshoots replacing Spacey with Plummer. Plummer’s Best Supporting Actor nomination made this move even more unprecedented, but honestly, the entire team who made it possible deserve praise for pulling it off so well.
