There is always an element of blind luck when it comes to film casting. Unfortunately for production, there is no fail-safe method for ensuring a perfect movie casting choice. An actor could appear to be the unquestionable choice for the role on paper, only for things to crash and burn as soon as the film enters production. This could be down to a myriad of factors; whether the performer in question is difficult to work with, simply isn’t believable as the character, or possesses little to no chemistry with their co-stars.
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Casting backlash can be extremely fierce when an actor is chosen who doesn’t fit the audience’s vision of the character, to the point that a number of iconic movie castings almost didn’t happen. A number of credentialed actors were subjected to impassioned opposition from fans and critics before the movie even started filming, passing judgment on the performers’ depiction of their respective characters before they had actually seen the final version. Remarkably, these actors have gone on to produce a number of the most celebrated and influential characters of all time, proving the naysayers wrong in resounding fashion.
10 Ryan Reynolds
Deadpool
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Wade Wilson, A.K.A. Deadpool, is an indispensable household name at this point in proceedings. The focal point of the highest grossing R-rated film of all time, Ryan Reynolds’ lauded take on the foul-mouthed character has produced a wildfire of critical and commercial success, a state of affairs that has continued with his recent return in 2024’s enormously successful Deadpool & Wolverine.
Related Will Deadpool 4 happen?
Ryan Reynolds has shared new set photos as Deadpool with Christmas decorations that tease that it could be a special of some kind. That said, Deadpool & Wolverine has become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, which makes Deadpool 4 very likely. Marvel Studios could always try a different path, having Reynolds lead an X-Force movie as the MCU starts to look more at team-up projects like Thunderbolts* and the next Avengers movies. However, a traditional Deadpool 4 could also happen in addition to that, and based on Reynolds’ popularity, it seems guaranteed to come in the future.
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. A number of fans argued that Reynolds was actually unsuitable for the role when he was first cast, highlighting the actor’s good looks as prime proof that he was a poor choice to play pop culture’s ugliest mercenary. There were also rumblings of discontent given Reynolds’ role as Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine; a take on the character that reduced one of Marvel’s most compelling characters to a mindless husk of himself.
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9 Keira Knightley
Elizabeth Bennet
“Casting backlash” was evidently the theme surrounding the production of Pride and Prejudice, with leading duo Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFayden subjected to negative feedback after they were cast as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy in the 2005 movie adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel of the same name. MacFayden’s casting was criticized on the basis of the actor’s appearance, with some questioning whether he was good-looking enough to convincingly portray Austen’s iconic character.
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This was a status quo that extended to his co-star in equal measure but for different reasons. Detractors argued that Knightley was too thin and beautiful to play Bennet as Austen envisioned her; a sentiment that was actually partially shared with the film’s director, Joe Wright. Knightley clearly disagreed, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her evocative performance and proving the doubters wrong in emphatic fashion.
8 Renée Zellweger
Bridget Jones
Based on Helen Fielding’s novel character of the same name, the wildfire success of 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary has spawned three sequels and earned leading lady Renée Zellweger an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination. It’s a role that Zellweger is virtually synonymous with at this point in proceedings, having earned glowing reviews for her performance as Fielding’s titular character.
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It’s remarkable that romance movie powerhouse Zellweger actually received a considerable amount of backlash when she was cast as the titular character in 2000. Despite Zellweger gaining nine kilograms and working full-time at a London book publishers to prepare her for the role, many critics argued that the Texas-born actress was a poor choice to play a character who was quintessentially British. Fortunately, Zellweger’s performance and accent were nothing short of pitch perfect, effortlessly breathing life into a character who has subsequently attained pop culture icon status.
7 Nicole Kidman
Lucille Ball
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A biographic chronicling a dramatized version of the real life relationship between I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Aaron Sorkin’s Being The Ricardos was met with casting backlash from the very get go, with the majority of said backlash being targeted at Nicole Kidman. Initial fan response to the first trailers featuring Kidman as Ball was lukewarm, to say the least; many fans complained that the Moulin Rouge! star didn’t resemble her charge in the slightest, from her appearance down to her intonation.
Such concerns clearly fell upon deaf ears, as Kidman received rave reviews for her performance as Ball when the film was released in 2021. In addition to winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, the actress also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her troubles, putting any controversy surrounding her casting to bed in short order.
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6 Zendaya
Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson
Before her character was confirmed to be separate to Spider-Man’s traditional love interest Mary Jane Watson, Zendaya’s casting as “M.J.” in Marvel’s reimagining of the character was met with a surprising level of opposition. Jumping to the conclusion that the Euphoria star was playing a new take on the original character in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, fans cried foul, highlighting Zendaya’s looks were a far cry from the traditional perception of Mary Jane’s red-haired appearance.
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Ironically, Zendaya’s charge was soon revealed to be an entirely separate character in Peter Parker’s classmate, Michelle Jones-Watson. Any controversy regarding her casting as Spidey’s potential love interest soon went up in smoke when the levels of chemistry between the actress and Tom Holland made themselves apparent, with Zendaya going on to unequivocally make the role her own across three lauded appearances as M.J.
5 Hugh Jackman
Wolverine
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Wolverine remains the role that Hugh Jackman’s name is most closely associated with to this day. The actor has portrayed the X-Men character in 10 separate movies, carrying the character’s success into 2024 with his wildly celebrated return in Deadpool & Wolverine. It’s easily Jackman’s most memorable and influential performance, but the Les Misérables star was subject to a fair amount of backlash when he was originally cast as Logan.
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The obvious problem with Jackman’s casting as Logan was his physique. The character portrayed in the comics is short and stocky, a far cry from the Australian’s imposing build; Jackman actually stands eleven inches taller than his fictional counterpart. Fortunately, an array of production techniques, including unusual angles and platform soles for his cast mates were implemented to successfully “shorten” Jackman onscreen, allowing the Australian to portray one of the most iconic live-action comic book characters of all time.
4 Gal Gadot
Wonder Woman
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When Gal Gadot was announced as Zack Snyder’s choice to play the iconic comic character Wonder Woman in 2013’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, the Israeli actress was subjected to an alarming degree of backlash from fans. The Fast & Furious star’s selection was criticized by many, with fans arguing that Gadot wasn’t busty enough to play the version of the character they were familiar with.
Gadot was unfazed, wryly pointing out the fact that actual Amazonian women were reputed to only have one breast to allow them to draw their bows quicker. The backlash over the actress’ purportedly unsuitable appearance was swiftly forgotten when Gadot made her impressive debut; her bow as Wonder Woman was lauded as a rare bright spot in an otherwise unforgettable movie and spawned two successful stand-alone films centered on the character.
3 Daniel Craig
James Bond
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Introducing audiences to the grittiest take on James Bond seen on the silver screen with 2006’s Casino Royale, Daniel Craig staked a claim for the most celebrated version of the character since the days of Sean Connery across five wildly popular film appearances. Producing a hyper-realistic take on 007 as the franchise attempted to modernize the character, Craig’s performance as Bond was lauded by fans and critics alike before his farewell bow in 2021’s No Time to Die.
Accordingly, the amount of backlash Craig received upon being initially cast as Bond is nothing short of staggering. The actor’s appearance was the focal point of the criticism this time around, with detractors arguing that a short, blond man with Craig’s rugged appearance was completely at odds with the visage of a dark-haired, debonair secret agent cultivated by Bond’s source material. Rather unsurprisingly, such criticism rapidly dried up in the wake of Casino Royale’s glowing critical response.
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2 Jennifer Lawrence
Katniss Everdeen
While Jennifer Lawrence has gone on to attain great success outside The Hunger Games franchise, Katniss Everdeen remains the character that the American actress is most inextricably linked to. Lawrence received rave reviews for her performance as Suzanne Collins’ leading lady across four films between 2011 and 2015, producing a character who has gone on to attain cult status as a feminist action-hero icon.
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Jennifer Lawrence’s appearances in The Hunger Games franchise |
IMDb rating |
|---|---|
|
The Hunger Games (2012) |
7.2 |
|
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) |
7.5 |
|
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) |
6.6 |
|
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015) |
6.6 |
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However, Lawrence didn’t always seem like the obvious choice to play Katniss to the wider public. The actress was considerably older than her fictional charge when the first film was shot, with some fans also arguing that Lawrence’s hair color and physique didn’t match the book’s description of Everdeen’s dark locks and stick-thin frame. Fortunately, such pedantic concerns clearly didn’t faze Lawrence; the X-Men star proceeded to make the character her own from the very get go and never looked back.
1 Heath Ledger
The Joker
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There isn’t much to say about Heath Ledger’s masterful performance as the Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight that hasn’t already been said. The late actor’s bow as Batman’s arch nemesis is the stuff of legend, earning Ledger a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and forever writing his name into the annals of pop culture for his depiction of one of cinema’s most iconic villains.
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2008’s The Dark Knight redefined its titular hero in modern cinema, but it also made some especially dark changes to his nemesis, the Joker.
However, this wasn’t always the case. The Australian’s casting in Christopher Nolan’s superhero epic was initially derided by fans, with many pointing to the actor’s history of starring in teen-centric romantic comedies as evidence that he was laughably unsuitable to play such a marauding character. The casting backlash persisted until Ledger made his bow onscreen, turning in a generational performance that few can rival in terms of acclaim or lasting cultural impact.
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