6 Actors Who Were Wildly Miscast

According to a long-held Hollywood axiom, 90% of directing a movie is casting it properly. With a well-written screenplay in place, finding the most suitable actor for each role relieves a tremendous weight from the director, who can focus more on framing, tone, tempo, and keep their eye on the whole production. Yet, despite what must have been good intentions at the time, there is no shortage of wildly miscast actors ranging from the deeply insensitive to the downright nonsensical.

From big-budget franchise blockbusters and obscure indies to once-celebrated classics, the most glaringly miscast characters usually fail to live up to fan expectations and drastically pale in comparison to actors who have previously portrayed the role. Mismatched physical characteristics, including accents and dialects, often define how poorly-conceived certain movie roles are filled.

Tom Holland as Nathan Drake in ‘Uncharted’

Fairly speaking, video game movie adaptations have not fared too well in the casting department. The British Bob Hoskins and Colombian-American John Leguizamo as the Italian Mario Bros. in Super Mario Bros. is one famous example. But fans of the mega-popular adventure game Uncharted still haven’t forgiven the filmmakers for casting the woefully misplaced Tom Holland as Nathan Drake. For that matter, no one was convinced by Mark Wahlberg as Drake’s mentor, Sully.

In Holland’s case, most fans felt he was far too young and too slight for the role. Nathan Drake is often described as standing at 6’2″ and aged 31 when his gaming quests began in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune in 2007. Standing at 5’8″ and playing the role at 25, it was too much of a stretch to believe Holland as a credible Drake. Similarly, Sully is said to be between 56 and 65 in the Uncharted series and stands at 6’3″. Mark Wahlberg (who is also 5’8″) had yet to turn 50 before playing Sully.

Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in Star Wars

20th Century Studios

Star Wars diehards have not been shy about voicing their opinions about the poor casting in a galaxy far, far away. Moving past the Jar-Jar Binx debacle, recent criticisms have called out Daisy Ridley as Rey and Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo. However, over 25 years since its release, fans still haven’t gotten over Hayden Christensen’s out-of-place turn as Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader in Attack of the Clones.

While unhappy with Jake Lloyd’s casting as the younger version of Anakin in The Phantom Menace, the petty, childish, tantrum-throwing behavior of Christensen’s performance has not sat well. With a glaring lack of cold-hearted menace and darkness within that one would expect from a young Darth Vader. Moreover, Christensen’s performance is too stiff and stodgy to be convincing, playing more of an angst-ridden teenage brat than a jousting Jedi Knight.

Jared Leto as the Joker in ‘Suicide Squad’

Warner Bros. Pictures

Superhero movies are arguably the most susceptible to poor casting. Just ask George Clooney in Batman & Robin, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman, Ryan Reynolds in The Green Lantern, you name it. Yet, considering the prestigious pedigree of playing The Joker in The Suicide Squad, Jared Leto’s heinously histrionic performance is one for the books.

Between the over-the-top turn that induces more eye-rolling chuckles than any sense of terror or unease, and the ludicrous physical appearance marked by green hair and metal teeth, Leto comes off more as an amateur cosplayer than a harrowing Gotham City supervillain. Adding insult to injury, Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix winning Oscars for their intense interpretations of the comic book character only makes Leto’s ersatz turn all the sadder.

​​​​​​​Tom Cruise as ‘Jack Reacher’

Paramount Pictures

The action movie genre has seen no dearth of questionable casting. Look no further than Kevin Costner as Robin Hood in Prince of Thieves, Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (or anything, really), Idris Elba as Roland in The Dark Tower, etc. However, considering how perfectly cast Alan Ritchson is in Prime Video’s adaptation of Lee Child’s Reacher, Tom Cruise playing the character is all the more head-scratching.

As written, Jack Reacher is a strapping enforcer who towers at 6’5″ and weighs between 220 and 250 pounds. The hulking physique and bruising physical prowess are germane to defeating enemies through hand-to-hand combat. As iconic as Tom Cruise is for his death-defying stunt work, his casting as Jack Reacher raised serious eyebrows at the time. Yet, with Alan Ritchson so much better-suited for the role on TV, Cruise’s miscasting is all the more noticeable.

​​​​​​​Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

Paramount Pictures

Although romantic comedies often struggle to cast two leads with the right chemistry, Breakfast at Tiffany‘s is notorious for its racially insensitive casting. Similar to Peter Sellers’ portrayal of a crassly stereotypical Chinese character in Murder by Death, Mickey Rooney’s casting as Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany‘s is problematic to say the least.

The highly offensive caricature meant as comic relief is anything but funny. Casting a well-known Irish-American actor to perpetuate lazy Japanese stereotypes did not sit well with critics and audiences in the 1960s, and the sentiment has only worsened since. Although others have criticized the legendary Audrey Hepburn’s casting as a poor sex worker despite being an elegant European sophisticate, Rooney’s hurtful and deeply shameful casting has become an inextricable part of the movie’s legacy.

​​​​​​​John Wayne as Genghis Khan in ‘The Conqueror’ (1956)

RKO Radio Pictures

Sweeping historical epics have not been immune to terrible casting in the past. Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, Colin Farrell in Alexander, Brad Pitt in Seven Years in Tibet, for example. Yet, none can top casting The Duke himself, John Wayne, as the Mongolian raider Genghis Khan, in The Conqueror. Not only panned as one of the worst movies ever made, but John Wayne actually lobbied hard to play Genghis Khan during the height of his cinematic popularity.

Retroactively deemed one of the most grossly miscast and ethnically inappropriate movie roles of all time, Wayne’s embarrassing take on Khan may not even be the most egregious aspect. Director Dick Powell and his crew knowingly filmed downwind from a nearby nuclear testing site that resulted in countless cancer-related deaths. Between the lack of regard for its character portrayals and crew safety, The Conqueror has become the unimpeachable ruler of the most troubled movie productions in history.