The agony of choice: the strangest cast selections for roles

Sometimes when watching a movie, you just wonder: what guided the director when he chose this or that actor for a certain role? No doubt, everyone's tastes are different. Some like one thing, others like the exact opposite. And literary or film characters are all presented in different ways. But still, certain selection criteria should exist.

When the skin color didn't match

Quite recently, a serious scandal broke out when a black actress Jody Turner-Smith was chosen for the role of Anne Boleyn, the Queen of England and the wife of Henry the Eighth. She started her career in cinema in 2014, and before that she was a model. It is difficult to say how talented this actress is, because there are not so many paintings in her professional luggage. But the very fact that the daughter of Jamaican immigrants will play the white-skinned and blonde Anna outraged the audience in earnest. The picture received a record low rating - only 1.1 points out of ten. Moviegoers criticized not only the unsuitable type in every sense, but also the terrible acting of Jody Turner-Smith.

In fairness, it is worth recognizing that there are “reverse" cases. For example, Angelina Jolie and Annalee Tipton played girls of African descent, and Scarlett Johansson played a Japanese woman. But the audience did not appreciate such an original approach to casting and criticized their performances.

If we take a closer look at the history of cinema, we will find that these cases are not something out of the ordinary, and there have already been such unsuccessful projects. In 1956, the Hollywood film “The Conqueror” failed at the box office and even got into the list of the worst films in the history of cinema. And all because of the performer of the main role of Genghis Khan. The producers chose the “king of westerns” John Wayne, who in his previous works was the embodiment of a “real American man.” Needless to say, he turned out to be a strange Great Mongol.

When other features of appearance did not match

Sometimes the filmmakers want to see specific actors in their project. And it doesn't matter if they look absolutely nothing like historical characters. Make-up artists come to the rescue and literally sculpt another person out of the actor. However, critics and viewers are often left wondering: was it worth it?

For example, the undoubtedly talented Leonardo DiCaprio, even in artfully applied makeup, looked very strange in the role of the obese middle-aged J. Edgar Hoover, and Naomi Watts still considers the role of Princess Diana her creative failure. Of course, the attractive Zoe Saldana tried to embody on the screen the image of the singer Nina Simone, who was far from a beauty. Here, the daughter of Simon herself has already protested.

A similar story happened with Joseph Fiennes, who was supposed to play the pop king Michael Jackson in the series “Urban Legends". The result was deplorable. The series had not yet had time to see the general public, as a serious scandal began to flare up: the Jackson family protested. As a result, the series was never shown.

When it didn't match the character description

Film adaptations of Stephen King's novels are both very successful and frankly failed, which also applies to casting. Take the novel “Carrie”, which glorified the writer. It was filmed three times - and all three times the actresses chosen for the main role were completely unsuitable for creating the image of an outcast girl - plump, loose, pimply, with dull hair. Neither the fragile Sissy Spacek, nor Angela Bettis, nor even the beauty Chloe Grace Moretz even slightly resemble the “book” Carrie.

When the character did not match

Elijah Wood failed as a gang member in the movie “Hooligans". And the image is to blame for everything! Before that, the actor played exceptionally positive characters - touching, courageous, somewhat naive and charming. Now he had to portray a student who got into the company of “tough guys". And not in the form of a parody! Needless to say, the brutal image of the actor absolutely failed.

And there are many such examples. Directors and producers are increasingly seeking to create a commercial product, not a movie masterpiece. Hence the strange choice of performers: unsuitable, but the stars of the screen. Or meeting the requirements of tolerance, as in the case of Turner-Smith. Will the situation change for the better in the near future? The question remains open.

Author - Nika Terentyeva