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37 Actors Who Played Their Roles So Flawlessly No One Could Ever Replicate It
Did you know that Will Smith could have played Neo in The Matrix, Jack Nicholson turned down the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, and Adrien Brody was invited to play one of the four hobbits in the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, but he didn't want to come to the casting because he didn't get the idea of the book at all.
In any case, the history of movies could've gone completely differently if these star actors had accepted their invitations—but it's far from certain that they would have gotten as into their roles as Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, or, for example, Elijah Wood. And believe me, there are many of these examples—like the ones found in this popular online thread.
More info: Reddit
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#1
Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean. You know you've nailed a role when most of the world knows you as your character's name, not your real name.
James016 9 months ago
Well he did create the role. I was shocked when I found out there were only 14 episodes made.
MalayDragon 8 months ago
I've got a cunning plan, In fact it's so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel
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Jay Scales 9 months ago
Comedy which is understood around the world without need for translation - quite a feat!
Fred L. 8 months ago
Meanwhile he is great in other series lead roles, too. Just saying Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line.
geezeronthehill 8 months ago
He did a great job playing French detective Magrette. My wife would not watch it, since she hated Mr Bean.
RELATED:
#2
Leonard Nimoy as Spock.
Zachary Quinto and Ethan Peck are fine in their own rights, but Mr. Nimoy's performance is what made Spock a cultural icon.
David 8 months ago
Nimoy nailed the role, but also he defined it. I know he didn't create the Spock character but he was the first Vulcan and the one I grew up with in the original Star Trek series in the 60s, so kind of by default however he portrayed a Vulcan was 'canon'.
Scott Rackley 8 months ago (edited)
The late Mark Lenard as well. He was "canon".
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Giles McArdell 8 months ago
Remeber his books - "I am not Spock", "I am Spock" and "I am also Scotty"?
T'Mar of Vulcan 8 months ago
Whenever I can't sleep I put on "In Search Of..." and let Leonard's voice send me off to dreamland!
Kevin Hickey 8 months ago
"In Search of....Sasquatch", that was a kick @ss "In Search of..." with Leonard Nimoy kickin' out the jams! Yeah!!!"
#3
Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter!
Firstname Lastname 9 months ago
Tim Curry in any role really. Can't picture anyone else as Wadsworth in Clue or Long John Silver in Muppets Treasure Island.
Lupita Nyong'heaux 8 months ago
he definitely was the best pennywise. he is directly responsible for the late-life development of my fear/distrust of clowns.
Load More Replies... David 8 months ago
I warmed to Tim Curry. I think when I first saw him it was goofy roles in a couple of movies I didn't really like. Home Alone for example. I later came to realize he is quite a good actor and I just didn't like the movie and/or role(s) I first saw him in. But now when I see him I shiver with anticpa..
Barbara Wilcock 8 months ago
I read that he is quite unwell. Love him in everything he had done 👄
Angie Falzarano 2 months ago (edited)
We had a rocky horror picture showing at my church and half of us dressed in costume but nobody even tried to do dr frank n furter no one can do it better than tim Curry. Yes it was a church we are a very open church.
Colleen Glim 8 months ago
This movie is iconic. But you either love or hate it. There doesn’t seem to be any grey area. Personally, I hate it. Bring on the downvotes
Bored Sailor 8 months ago
You have to see it in an interactive dinner theater with all the acting along and crowd chants.
Load More Replies...A few days ago, the user u/thepoutingmom decided to ask netizens in the AskReddit community: "Who's an actor who nailed a role so hard that nobody else will ever be able to live up to it?" As of today, the trend already has over 13K upvotes and nearly twice as many varied comments.
To be honest, I'm not even sure that there have been this many star actors in the history of cinema and television—but the discussion turned out to be powerful and really exciting.
#4
SNAPE.
David 8 months ago
Yeah, he did a good job of Hans. I remember being surprised when I found out Snape was Hans Gruber. LOL. I kind of enjoyed the potter movies but I was never a "potterhead" and didn't pay much attention to the names of the actors.
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Miracle Max 8 months ago
He was great in the role, but he was too old for the Snape of the books, who was a contemporary of Harry's parents. Adam Driver would have been a more appropriated age actor.
#5
Johnny Depp at Jack Sparrow.
RamiRudolph 8 months ago
He wasn't the Pirate King. Other than that, you're absolutely right.
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Michael Largey 8 months ago
Even if you think Depp was the worst choice for Sparrow you've ever heard of, still you have heard of him.
#6
Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall.
Petra Peitsch 9 months ago
The first ones, at least. But in the end the changes weren't so much confusing , except that one of Malfoy's friends suddenly became a black guy. (Yeah, I know, the orighinal child-actor had problems back in time).
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Hippopotamuses 8 months ago
She was an amazing actress; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, ahem... Caligula, Gosford Park, The Best Marigold Hotel, The Lady in The Van...... The list goes on, and on.
Michael Largey 8 months ago
I kept thinking "How did Miss Jean Brodie get transferred to this school?"
Interestingly, the list of actors who have created such an impressive on-screen image that it is difficult to imagine anyone else in the role includes Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator and Steve Carell as Michael Scott in The Office. It's funny that both the first and second were actually far from the main options for these roles.
Carell was filming another project at the time of casting, so the showrunners had already chosen Bob Odenkirk for the role of Scott. Can you imagine that? Definitely not now. But at the last moment, the project where Carell was filming was closed, so Steve was able to play everything back and return to the set of The Office.
By the way, Odenkirk, if you remember, did have a cameo role on the show. Remember Mark Franks?
#7
Ian McKellen - Gandalf.
Michelle C 8 months ago
He has stated that he will not let anyone else play their role insofar as he can help it. I can’t imagine anyone else playing it, either! Perhaps the only other person I can actually imagine playing it would have been Sir Christopher Lee, who auditioned for it, but was offered the role of Saruman instead!
Nikole 8 months ago
Christopher Lee is so awesome. Have you ever seen Horror Express? Highly recommend! It seems silly but it’s actually really interesting. Peter Cushing is in it too! And Kojak!
Load More Replies... Michelle C 8 months ago
He has stated that he is not going to let anyone else play Gandalf in an LOTR film TV show as he can help it. I don’t think anyone else would be able to play the role quite like he has,either.
#8
Gene Wilder as Wonka.
Ell Bee 8 months ago
Gene Wilder as Dr. Frankenstein too! My gosh - Everyone in Young Frankentein nailed their characters.
Hippopotamuses 8 months ago (edited)
I can't think of an other actor who could have conveyed so much friendliness and harmless joy, but with a very dark undertone.
MalayDragon 8 months ago
My favourite fact about Gene is that he only agreed to do the role if the director would let him do the introduction scene where he pretended to be crippled then revealed the trick with the summersault. He said when asked why something like "because from that point on you'll never be able to tell if he's telling the truth or not"
Rebecca Ferguson 8 months ago
When I was a child I loved the danger lurking in his character. He was perfect casting.
#9
Viggo as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings.
Rebecca O’Donnell 9 months ago
He actually broke his toe.That agonizing scream was real :)
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As for the Terminator, at first, his role was planned to be given to Lance Henriksen (the detective who dies in the shootout scene at the police station), and Schwarzenegger was to be made Kyle Reese—John Connor's dad. True, it would have looked unnatural if the cyborg looked much less impressive physically than the rebel soldier and the producers noticed this.
The no less muscular Sylvester Stallone refused (oh, what a standoff that would have been!...), and the director considered O. J. Simpson to not be brutal enough for the role of a ruthless cyborg (remember, this was in 1984—not 1994!) As a result, Schwarzenegger played the ultimate role of his entire life, and Henriksen... well, Henriksen, unfortunately, never became a superstar.
#10
Hugh Laurie as Dr. House.
BrownEyedPanda 8 months ago
When I first heard about Hugh Laurie starring in a drama, all I could think about was "Blackadder" and "Fry and Laurie." But DAAAAAAANG, did he nail that role to the wall! The snark, the American accent, even the way he handled that cane was head-banging awesome.
Lila Allen 8 months ago
I was skeptical too... like seriously after Jeeves and Wooster is anyone going to take him seriously. But then he just nailed it
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Petra Peitsch 9 months ago
Also growing a barb was very helpful. I saw Laurie before Dr. House in some other characters. Believe me, that barb was very helpful.
#11
Christopher Lloyd nailed it as Doc Brown in the Back to the Future movies.
#12
Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator!
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 8 months ago
And the accent. Can you hear "I'll be back" in ANY other voice?
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David 8 months ago
It was also a good role for his poor / accented English. I mean, he's been in the US a long time now, but the farther you go back in his career, the thicker the accent seems to be. Terminator maximized use of his physique and minimized the talking part.
UKGrandad 8 months ago
When Terminator was being dubbed for release in Austria, Schwarzenegger offered to voice his own character. However, he comes from a very rural part of Austria so to Austrians his accent is very 'hillbilly', and so his offer was declined. Dave Prowse had a similar problem when he played Darth Vader. James Earl Jones voiced the part because Prowse's Bristolian accent just didn't fit the character.
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persephone134 8 months ago
The Sergeant Candy deleted scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kayFrIR-Qfw
Hippopotamuses 8 months ago
No one else could have delivered the "I'll be back" line the same way. His accent added to it so much.
When we talk about actors who completely nailed it, we often recall Alan Rickman's brilliant performance as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies. And then there are skeptics who claim that Paapa Essiedu, who was already approved for the role of the potions professor in the upcoming HBO series, "Doesn't correspond to the canon."
Okay, now I'm going to give you a really difficult argument. Alan Rickman didn't correspond to the canon either! This was at the very least because Severus Snape was 31 years old at the beginning of the epic (he's the same age as Harry's mom), and Rickman, when he was approved for the role, was 55 years old. However, as was stated in a study by Post Office Telecoms, the key element was the unique timbre of the actor's voice.
In 2008, researchers at the University of Sheffield, having analyzed the voices of star actors, found that first place was shared between Rickman and Jeremy Irons. As we can see, it's not just about looks. And, damn it, if Mr. Essiedu (and he is a truly talented actor) creates a no less memorable image, then we'll remember him for the next two decades, too!
#13
Let’s just say a Misery remake would be utterly pointless.
Bettye McKee 8 months ago
She was awesome in all of her roles (Dolores Claiborne comes to mind) but she was perfect in Misery.
Rebecca Ferguson 8 months ago
Stephen King's best film adaptation. All the actors were brilliant.
#14
Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump.
talliloo 8 months ago
i've seen most, if not all, of hank's films. (he started in the sitcom bosom buddies and did not like it- go figure!) his ability to capture a character is always amazing to see so i am surprised when i see that many of his movies are given no more than 2 stars. in my opinion - which means nothing in the real world - is that gump and castaway are two of his best. especially the latter because i can't imagine carrying a movie by yourself and the only other 'character' to play off is a soccer ball.
MalayDragon 8 months ago
How dare you sully the memory of Wilson (The Volleyball), I'm still upset about that to this day LOL
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David 8 months ago
Tom Hanks in just about any movie he has played in. He has "nailed" many roles
Child of the Stars 8 months ago
He is one of only a small number of actors whose movies I'll see, no questions asked.
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Bettye McKee 8 months ago
I was not as entranced as the rest of the world because I had read the book.
#15
RDJ as Iron man/Tony Stark.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 8 months ago
Ironman is everything Elon Musk wants to be. Elon started getting really weird about the same time the Ironman movies came out... Hmmmm....
Load More Replies... And it's even more symbolic to see several actors who played in the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings here, too. At the very least because Daniel Day-Lewis first refused the role of Aragorn, and then Stuart Townsend, who had already been approved for the role, was unexpectedly fired—and only then was he replaced by Viggo Mortensen.
Well, Peter Jackson initially saw only Sir Sean Connery as Gandalf, and tried in every way to lure him into the cast, even promising a percentage of the film's rental. But the great Scot, having read the script, sincerely said that he didn't understand Tolkien's work and responded with a flat-out refusal.
And he almost could have become a billionaire, considering the level of box office receipts! However, you must agree that both Mortensen and Sir Ian McKellen were incredibly good in their roles.
#16
Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, to the extent that my ex doesn't even know her real name. Anytime he sees Julie in a movie, he calls her Mary Poppins (writing that does not do justice to hearing this British character's name in a Salvadoran accent).
(honorable mention: also as Maria Von Trapp, much nicer than the real MVT).
Mjskywalk 8 months ago
Interesting story-Julie Andrews played Eliza Doolittle in the Broadway play Pygmalion. When it was being adapted to the film My Fair Lady, the execs decided JA wasn’t a big enough star and cast Audrey Hepburn in the role (despite not being able to sing in the film). JA took the Mary Poppins role and the 2 actresses were put up for the best actress Oscar in 1965. Julie Andrews won for Mary Poppins!
Chewie Baron 8 months ago
In her acceptance speech, Julie Andrews thanked Jack Warner, head of Warner Bros and the man who made the decision to cast Hepburn in My Fair Lady!
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Mike F 8 months ago
Yes! "A woman, pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman!"
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Sparkle 8 months ago
She is an A+ actress. A beautiful voice and wonderful acting.
Load More Replies... Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 8 months ago (edited)
Robert Wise was looking for a woman to star as Maria in Sound of Music and he went out to go see Mary Poppins. Decision made immediately.
Michael Largey 8 months ago
Andrews was the first and only choice for the role by the author of Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers. and her casting was just about the only thing Travers liked about the movie.
Sam Trudeau 8 months ago
She seems to be loved for being nanny to a bunch of kids who are raised like military soldiers, and she lets them unwind. Not as much in Mary Poppins, but still
#17
Andy Serkis as Gollum.
#18
Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly.
Michelle C 8 months ago
She also gave a fantastic performance as Prime Minister and Baroness Margaret Thatcher in *Iron Lady.* (I saw the movie before I knew what Harvey Weinstein was like.)
You know, I could probably talk about all these "If only..." moments from the world of cinema forever, but now is the time to stop and give you the well-deserved opportunity to simply scroll this list to the very end. And also, of course, to share your own ideas about actors nailing their roles so perfectly that their stories should be included among these selections as well.
#19
Christoff Waltz as Hans Landa.
#20
Ed O’Neill as Al Bundy.
Toothless Feline 8 months ago
Sorry, but Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean deserves to be #1 (and currently is). Nobody else can top that for "iconic".
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Hugh Jackman/Wolverine.
#22
Obligatory Heath Ledger as The Joker response
Him copying Tom Waits was a stroke of genius.
Rebecca Ferguson 8 months ago
Who knows what other mind blowing performances he could have given had he lived on. Truly gifted.
Angie Falzarano 2 months ago
There will never be another joker for me. He managed in compass the craziness. And make you forget that there was an actor behind the makeup. He made you feel that he was the joker.
#23
Only Mike Meyers could make Austin Powers work.
BrownEyedPanda 8 months ago
I think it was so endearing that he came up with the character while flirting with his wife in a British accent. How many men still flirt with their wives these days?
David 8 months ago
When I first saw the first movie, I didn't realize he was playing multiple roles. "I wrote a movie and I'm going to co-produce it." "Okay, but we'll need a protagonist" "That's going to be me as well." "Okay but we'll need an antagonist." "That's going to be me as well." LOL
Hippopotamuses 8 months ago (edited)
It was a role that was literally written for him, and by him.
#24
Robin Williams Mrs Doubtfire.
April Pickett 8 months ago
He was fantastic in all of his movies, comedy shows and as presenter at award shows.
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#25
Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad.
T'Mar of Vulcan 8 months ago
I first became a fan of his when he played Douglas Donovan in the soap "Loving". The whole of South Africa was addicted to that stupid show back in the Eighties!
#26
Jack Gleeson as Joffrey in Game of Thrones. Never wanted to punch a character so bad….
Lee Gilliland 9 months ago
He was so good he quit acting for a while because he got treated so hastily by so many fans. Apparently a really nice guy. What a performance.
SCP 4666 8 months ago
George Martin allegedly told him "you did a great Job. everyone hates you"
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#27
Jeff Bridges as The Dude.
#28
Macauley Culkin as Kevin McCallister.
Sam Trudeau 8 months ago
I always find it hard to believe the kid is 40-something now, because that's what I think of for Culkin.
Petra Peitsch 9 months ago
I'm not really sure. I guess, there would have been thousands of blond-blue-eyed-white-boys in a country of 350 millions.
Lila Allen 8 months ago
His performance was actually pretty nuanced for a kid that young.
Load More Replies... #29
Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers. So good he’s ended up voicing Shaggy in lots of further adaptations of Scooby Doo.
David 8 months ago
Delvian, As a child of the 60s / 70s I grew up watching Scooby Doo and listening to American Top 40 on the radio. It was a surprise the day I learned Kasem was a voice on both. You'd hear his name a lot on top 40 but as a kid I didn't pay much attention to who voiced cartoon characters. And TIL he was also D**k Grayson/Robin in Super Friends
Load More Replies... #30
James Gandolfini - Tony Soprano.
#31
JK Simmons as JJ Jameson.
BrownEyedPanda 8 months ago
Spokesman for Farmers Insurance. He was totally awesome in Homicide: Life On The Streets and Law & Order.
Fred L. 8 months ago
A great and very disturbing series full of good performances.
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Sam Trudeau 8 months ago
Also mentionable is that every animated appearance he has a character with his own face. Jameson always looks like him, Omni-Man, even Cave Johnson looked like him (in Portal 2's photo of him from the 1940s)
#32
Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister dude owned every scene I could see him as the only one unimpressed by the Night King.
Surly Scot 8 months ago
He's my Sean Connery. No matter how old he gets, the commanding authoriveness of his voice has me swooning and quaking in my wee booties at the same time.
Michael Largey 8 months ago
Dance has been typecast into sinister/mistaken authority figure roles. He's quite good at comedy but is rarely given a chance.
Untamed Snark 8 months ago
Stephen Dillane as Stannis was also excellent, it is a pity they f****d the character up so much
Toothless Feline 8 months ago
Dance was one of the few good things about the SyFy adaptation of "Childhood's End". His voice carried the character so well.
#33
Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard
Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso
Jack Nicholson - Jack Torrance (The Shining).
David 8 months ago
I grew up with William Shatner so Patrick Stewart was an adjustment for me. But having lots of time to get used to both, I prefer Stewart's version of a starship captain. The original Star Trek wasn't a comedy, but as a loose comparison, Shatner is more like the 60s TV series version of Batman - kind of silly at times, where Stewart is more like the more modern Batman movies.
Michael Largey 8 months ago (edited)
I can't imagine Shatner delivering the line like "Make it so."
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Michael Largey 8 months ago (edited)
William Shatner: "Make it ...... so."
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Brian Droste 8 months ago (edited)
I up voted for Patrick Stewart and Jack Nicholson but I don know Jason Sudeikis or his character. I am not upvoting for him but I am not downvoting for him either.
#34
Steve Carell as Michael Scott.
Nikole 8 months ago (edited)
Those shows have different vibes. I really don’t think it’s fair to compare them even though Steve’s is the “American version”.
Load More Replies... #35
Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.
Major Harris 9 months ago
kilmer as jim morrison in "the doors". when the real members of the band were wondering if he had become possessed by jim, you KNOW you nailed the role. t also helped that kilmer sang half of the songs in that movie!
brittany 9 months ago
id like to add Rami Malek as Freddy Mercury. i kept forgetting it was a scripted movie and everyone was actors
Load More Replies... #36
Bryan Cranston as Walter White according to Vince Gilligan
I’d say you couldn’t replace Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman either.
Rebecca Ferguson 8 months ago
Brilliant show, brilliant actors, brilliant writing all the way.
#37
Jon Hamm as Don Draper.
What do you think ?
Mike F 8 months ago
To quote Snape: Always. I read the first book and Brando was Vito.
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Arlnee 8 months ago (edited)
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. ETA oh someone said it but it was so tiny I scrolled past it. Needs to be bigger dagnabit
Ria C. 8 months ago
Upvote for dangnabit, I've been using that a lot lately instead of cursing or trying to at least. And now I know of someone else who uses it too.
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Allen Packard 8 months ago
Chris Evans as Captain America, and Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther.
Angie Falzarano 2 months ago
Totally agree on Chadwick boseman as black panther perfect. Chris Evans kinda on the fence with
Load More Replies... Mike F 8 months ago
To quote Snape: Always. I read the first book and Brando was Vito.
Load More Replies... Arlnee 8 months ago (edited)
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. ETA oh someone said it but it was so tiny I scrolled past it. Needs to be bigger dagnabit
Ria C. 8 months ago
Upvote for dangnabit, I've been using that a lot lately instead of cursing or trying to at least. And now I know of someone else who uses it too.
Load More Replies... Allen Packard 8 months ago
Chris Evans as Captain America, and Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther.
Angie Falzarano 2 months ago
Totally agree on Chadwick boseman as black panther perfect. Chris Evans kinda on the fence with
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