9 Times Viewers Got Unhappy With Casting Results

Viewers are not always happy with casting choices. While sometimes their opinions turn out to be misplaced and the image created on the set becomes a cult. Other times, fans happen to be right and the flick fails at the box office.

Tom Cruise — Lestat

At the time Tom Cruise was cast in the role of Lestat, Anne Rice, the author of the vampire novels, was really disappointed with the choice and fans agreed with her. The writer wanted Julian Sands, famous for his role in Warlock, to take the part instead. She also suggested Jeremy Irons and Daniel Day-Lewis for the part.

In an interview for Playboy, producer David Geffen said, “I get all these letters from people in Anne Rice’s fan clubs who are unhappy about Cruise playing Lestat. They wanted Julian Sands. But the director casts the movie, not the fans.”

All in all, Geffen was completely right! Cruise made an incredible Lestat and even Anne Rice confessed she was mistaken.

Hugh Jackman — Wolverine

It’s hard to believe but we almost missed the chance to see Hugh Jackman as the famous mutant, Wolverine. Both the film studio and fans had doubts about the little-known Australian actor’s talent. Heck, even Jackman’s wife was against the role!

In 2000, Dougray Scott and Russell Crowe were also in talks to play the leading role, but Scott chose a role in Mission: Impossible II and Crowe found the offer boring. But it was Crowe who recommended Jackman.

Fans were dissatisfied with the actor’s age, height, and so on, but Jackman got the part and reprised the role again and again for almost 17 years. He’s also been given a Guinness World Record for having the longest career as a live-action superhero.

Heath Ledger — Joker

Heath Ledger posthumously received an Oscar for his role in The Dark Knight. As of now, he’s the only comic book movie actor to win an Oscar for his performance. But Christopher Nolan was the only person who believed in Ledger. Fans, the film studio, and even the filmmaker’s brother thought the actor wasn’t good enough to star in a superhero movie. Many people said that Ledger’s previous dramatic roles wouldn’t allow him to turn into the crazy villain.

The film’s first teaser trailer made fans change their minds, and the film completely destroyed their negative opinions. A huge “thank you” to Nolan and Ledger who proved people were awfully mistaken!

Tobey Maguire — Spider-Man

The role has already been played by 3 actors so far. But it’s Tobey Maguire who’s usually associated with Spider-Man. Today, not many people remember how angry audiences were when he got this role. Fans simply couldn’t imagine him being a superhero.

Maguire wished people would change their opinion — and eventually, they did! Sam Raimi’s work is highly appreciated, and critics say that the trilogy with Maguire is the best so far. Many fans are even petitioning for Tobey Maguire to appear in the Marvel Universe with a small cameo.

Robert Downey Jr. — Tony Stark

We can hardly imagine a different person playing “a billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist.” But in 2006, when Marvel started developing their idea, Downey had quite a bad reputation. Problems with the law and substance abuse made him a really unreliable actor in fans’ eyes, who had been waiting for this film since 1990.

Film director Jon Favreau had to fight for Downey. As a result, fans got one of the most charismatic on-screen characters of their time.

Robert Pattinson — Edward Cullen

Being cast as Batman isn’t the only casting issue Robert Pattinson has faced in his career. Pattinson smiles and recalls being cast in Twilight and how fans felt “unanimous unhappiness” over it.

Apparently, there’s only one step from hate to love in this case. The actor said during this time that he couldn’t buy a house and was forced to live in hotels to avoid paparazzi and crazed fans.

Naomi Watts — Princess Diana

Naomi Watts took the role very seriously. She was wearing the Princess’s clothes and watching archive videos with Diana, which ended up with her seeing the princess in her dreams. But despite all the efforts of the actress, critics were merciless when it came to her acting and called the movie a catastrophe. Watts herself eventually agreed with them.

Perhaps it’s because Naomi was afraid to act because she realized what responsibility she had. She literally grew up watching Diana’s story and was well aware of how strong her personality was. And she also realized that not everyone could portray it on screen.

Lindsay Lohan — Elizabeth Taylor

Critics and viewers met the movie about a torrid love story between Elizabeth Taylor and the actor Richard Burton during the filming of Cleopatra with a whirl of negative emotions. Lindsay Lohan got most of the negative reviews because, according to public opinion, her acting was very lame.

The pickiest commenters noticed that Taylor had a soft female voice with a slight accent and they called Lohan’s hoarse low tone too rough and coarse to play Taylor.

Dakota Johnson — Anastasia Steele

The screen version of Fifty Shades of Grey was the subject of harsh criticism right after its premiere on the big screen. Dakota Johnson, who played Anastasia, got her fair share of negative comments as well. Furious commenters were saying that her acting was too boring for such a liberated role and that the actress had a “sour face” for most of her screen time.

Despite the fact that some movies from our compilation failed according to the opinion of critics and viewers, people are still different, and their tastes differ too. Perhaps you also have something to add about the flicks from our article? We’re waiting for your comments down below.