Due to extremely problematic tastes in Hollywood throughout its history,some movie casting choices haven’t aged well.This makes it difficult to watch some otherwise great movies today. Themost controversial castings in moviesallowed some of the greatest movie performances of all time — Heath Ledger as the Joker is the optimal example. However, this was a surprising casting choice based on Ledger’s past roles, not a case of outright whitewashing that somehow passed at the time.
A few contested choices were simply due to doubts about an actor being suited to play a particular character,and as their career went in another direction, it became clear that it was one of theworst movie casting choices in Hollywood. However, the worst examples are generally of someone being cast as a minority that they do not belong to. Especially with recent movies that claim to be promoting the stories of marginalized people, they really should have given someone from that demographic the chance at a Hollywood career.
10John Wayne As Genghis Khan
The Conqueror (1956)
Luckily for him, John Wayne is primarily remembered for his Westerns, which also haven’t aged well in various ways. Meanwhile,The Conqueroris widely considered Wayne’s worst movie and one of the worst movies of all time,in which the Western icon plays the historical Mongol leader Genghis Khan. Despite this,The Conquerordid relatively well at the box office at the time of release. However, even Wayne came to admit that he was not right for the lead role.
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Wayne agreed to play Genghis Kahn becausehe saw the movie as a kind of Western, and reportedly claimed the role against the advice of the director. While the movie, in general, is not good, the rampant whitewashing is what hasn’t aged well from a historical accuracy or cultural misappropriation standpoint. At this time in Hollywood,roles like Genghis Khan and Cleopatra would be given to white actors like Wayne and Elizabeth Taylor without a second thought.
9Andy Serkis As Supreme Leader Snoke
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Casting Andy Serkis as the CGI character is standard practice, and is typically guaranteed to work out, given his legendary performances as Gollum and Caesar. However, Snoke was badly underused as a villain in theStar Warssequel trilogy, and the entire conception of the character feels like it is trying to garner goodwill from Serkis simply being in the movie.It was never possible for Serkis to give another chilling performanceas Snoke when he had hardly any meaningful dialogue.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Cast
Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place 30 years after the fall of the Galactic Empire. It follows Han Solo and new allies, including Finn and Rey, as they confront the rising threat of Kylo Ren and his army of Stormtroopers while seeking the elusive Luke Skywalker.
Meanwhile, Serkis joined the select number ofactors who played multiple characters in the same franchisewhenhe was cast again as Kino Loy inAndorand blew everyone away with his performance.Serkis is one of the great actors in this age of movies and TV. However, the character he was given in theStar Warsmovies was the producers trying to leverage his fame without doing their part, which has only become more evident sinceAndor.
8Jared Leto As Rayon
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Both Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey took home Oscars for their performances inDallas Buyers Club, depicting the true events of AIDS patients searching for alternative forms of treatment. The movie was widely acclaimed and nominated in 2013 and 2014, and is still arguably one ofJared Leto’s best movies. However,Leto being cast as a trans woman was criticized by some at the timeand his portrayal has only gotten worse as gender-nonconforming actors get more work in Hollywood.
Journalists Fallon Fox and Steve Friess made strong arguments against Leto’s casting and performance, both in TIME.
The criticisms that did arise in the early 2010s did not hinderDallas Buyers Club’s path to success. However, journalistsFallon FoxandSteve Friessmade strong arguments against Leto’s casting and performance, both inTIME. Fox"wasn’t interested in Leto’s acting capabilities"and"just couldn’t understand why another film had been created with a trans character that had no trans actor in that role.“Friess argued that the depiction of Rayon was highly stereotyped,"[showing] how little [liberals in Hollywood] understood or empathized with the lives of a minority they imagine they and Leto are honoring.”
7Kevin Costner As Robin Hood
Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (1991)
Kevin Costner’s performance as Robin Hood is one of the most criticized in Hollywood history,especially for an actor who has led a successful career otherwise. AnEntertainment Weeklyarticle published in 1991 about problems during production demonstrates that, even then, they knew the movie wasn’t going to age well. Costner and director Kevin Reynolds reportedly struggled with how such a"quintessentially American actor"should approach portraying the quintessentially English folklore hero.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Costner’s accent has been mocked endlessly, even afterReynolds told him to give up on attempting an English accent because it was distracting.After Reynolds returned to his regular fare in movies and TV, it underscored that he was not right for the role. Costner can do an accent, just not an English one — although an unfavorable review ofYellowstone(viaPaste) points out that"Everyone in Montana does not have a Southern accent."
6Jennifer Lawrence As Katniss Everdeen
The Hunger Games (2012)
At the time she was cast as Katniss inThe Hunger Games, there was some discussion about Jennifer Lawrence perhaps being too old for the 16-year-old role. Of all the young actors who rose to fame during the YA dystopia era, Lawrence arguably had the steadiest career afterward. However,Lawrence being cast younger has an interesting dissonance with discussions surrounding her career now,with her constantly being cast as significantly older characters. Angelica Florio calls this (viaBustle):“Industry sexism. For a female actor to get truly meaty roles, she has to portray older women, not ones her own age.”
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games is a dystopian thriller set in Panem, where annually selected tributes from twelve districts compete in a televised battle to the death. The story follows Katniss Everdeen, who must navigate the brutal competition and rely on her instincts and mentor’s guidance to survive and possibly return home.
Furthermore,people have argued that Katniss should have been cast as a person of color or different ethnic backgroundas she is described as having"dark hair"and"olive skin"in the books. Lawrence did an excellent job as Katniss, but in retrospect, her casting feels like a safe choice rather than the best one. Lawrence was already on her way to a successful career with one Oscar nomination at the time, whileThe Hunger Gamescould have been more impactful with a younger, lesser-known lead actress to better illustrate the series' biggest tragedies.
5Eddie Redmayne As Lili Elbe
The Danish Girl (2015)
Two years afterDallas Buyers Club,Hollywood went down the same problematic route with Eddie Redmayne being cast as the lead inThe Danish Girl.Tom Hooper’s acclaimed movie fictionalizes the lives of artist couple Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener and their relationship through Lili undergoing one of the first gender-affirming surgeries. Again, this gave rise to some controversy at the time surrounding the role of Lili not going to a trans actress.
Redmayne later said to IndieWire: “No, I wouldn’t take it on now […] I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake.”
The Danish Girl
Based on the life of Danish painter Lili Elbe, The Danish Girl stars Eddie Redmayne as Elbe, who as a trans woman in the 1920s was among the first individuals to receive gender-affirming surgery. The film chronicles Lili’s transition, assisted by her wife and fellow artist, Gerda Wegener. Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch, and Amber Heard also star.
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Also again, this did little to preventThe Danish Girlfrom going to the Oscars, where Redmayne was nominated for Best Actor in a Lead Role and Alicia Vikander won Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Especially noteworthy in this case is howRedmayne said in 2021 that he regrets makingThe Danish Girl.Redmayne said toIndieWire:“No, I wouldn’t take it on now […] I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake.”
4Mickey Rooney As Mr. Yunioshi
Breakfast As Tiffany’s (1961)
Also the result of an outdated modality for Hollywood,white actor Mickey Rooney was cast as Holly Golighty’s upstairs neighbor, a Japanese photographer, inBreakfast at Tiffany’s.In addition to this mere fact of yellow face, Rooney’s performance as Mr. Yunioshi is almost nothing but outrageous, offensive stereotypes. Namely, Rooney wears fake buck teeth and speaks with an exaggerated, comical accent. Rooney was probably cast in the movie due to his fame, but the way the character is written is bad no matter who plays him. It was only made worse because it was Rooney.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a romantic comedy film by director Blake Edwards and is based on Truman Capote’s 1958 novella. The 1961 film stars Buddy Ebsen, Audrey Hepburn, Patricia Neal, and George Peppard. The plot revolves around Holly Golightly as she falls in love and the trials and tribulations that come along with it.
Regardless,Breakfast at Tiffany’s was widely praised and became a staple of Hollywood history and Audrey Hepburn’s career.Rooney’s reaction to the gradually mounting criticism of the role is also awful;it seems like he knew he was safe in the industry for a long time before offering some kind of apology. According to theWall Street Journal,in an article published shortly after Rooney’s passing:
“Six years ago [in 2008], after four decades of stolidly defending the role, even Rooney himself finally expressed some regrets, stating in an interview that if he’d known so many people would be offended, ‘I wouldn’t have done it.'”
3Sean Connery As Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez
Highlander (1986)
Highlanderis just a weird movie with astoundingly low ratings, but it still became a cult classic.Connery’s immortal character supposedly hails from Ancient Egypt,but has a Latin name and speaks with a Scottish accent. It seems like it is trying to imbue the story with some kind of stereotyped mysticism by claiming Egyptian origins for him. However, the whole thing becomes even more disconnected from reality when the immortals are infamously said to be from another planet in the sequel.
Highlander
Connor MacLeod, born in 16th century Scotland, is one of a few immortals who can only be killed by beheading. Now, in 1985, the immortals who have survived their centuries-long secret war meet in New Yor for the “Gathering” to fight for the mysterious “Prize.” It’s up to MacLeod to make sure that the Prize does not fall into the hands of his enemy, Kurgan.
Highlanderis notorious as a franchise with its retcons and generally ridiculous premise, and casting James Bond made it even more ludicrous. Connery gives a goofy performance, but it is terrible when he claims to be Egyptian. TheHighlanderreboothas cast Henry Cavill but hasn’t confirmed any other characters or cast members. However,if they include Ramírez again, an Egyptian actor should be cast to play him.
2Keanu Reeves As Jonathan Harker
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Keanu Reeves landed a role in Francis Ford Coppola’s star-studded take onDracula, raising some eyebrows. The legendary director perhaps thought the unconventional casting choice could work and would complete the cast with a suitably famous name as the young, kindly love interest. However,this role is decidedly not Reeves’ strengthand his awkward portrayal of the shy and unsure Jonathan Harker is constantly made fun of.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a horror drama film that retells the classic tale of the iconic vampire Count Dracula. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the film stars Gary Oldman as the titular character, alongside Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, and Anthony Hopkins. The story follows the centuries-old vampire as he moves from Transylvania to England, preying on humans and spreading terror.
Bram Stoker’s Draculapredates bothThe MatrixandJohn Wick; Reeves' later intense, thrilling performances as these action heroes underscore that he wasn’t meant to play someone as romantically clueless as Jonathan. Coppola at least found good actors in Winona Ryder and Gary Oldman to play Mina and Dracula, respectively.FollowingPoint Break, Reeves' fans were disappointed,while his stepping back into his typical role withSpeeda couple of years later was a welcome return.
1Emma Stone As Captain Allison Ng
Aloha (2015)
Alohais also simply a flawed movie, surrounded by controversy at the time of its release due to Emma Stone being cast in the lead role, a woman who is part Hawaiian and part Chinese. Despite the makeup of Hawaii’s population, the movie is filled up with too many hugely famous, white actors. According to director Cameron Crowe, Allison Ng was based on a real local who was a quarter Chinese and a quarter Hawaiian, yet passed for white, yet thecontroversial Emma Stone moviedidn’t handle this with any clarity or thoughtfulness.
Aloha
Military contractor Brian Gilcrest (Cooper) returns to Hawaii, the site of one of his finest career triumphs, to oversee the launch of a weapons satellite. While there, he attempts to reconnect with his long lost love (McAdams), and unsuspectingly falls for the Air Force watchdog (Stone) assigned to look over him.
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Aloha’s apparent recent surge in popularity also draws attention back to the casting choice,which is still seen as insensitive today. This movie came out the same year asThe Danish Girl, and some of the actors, like Redmayne, might say that they regret it now. Several similar movies demonstrate instances where a casting choice seemed okay or even brilliant at the time when they never should have chosen that actor.
