People Are Sharing Actors They "Didn't Buy For A Second" In A Specific Role, And Points Were Made

"Keanu Reeves is a wonderful human being and a good actor, but that man should not have been cast in this. Poor guy."

Recently, in a thread on the subreddit r/movies, redditor u/StPaulStrangler asked movie lovers to name actors they didn't buy for a second in a particular role, and people really came through with some passionate examples!

Warner Bros.

So with that in mind, here are just a few of the most popular responses shared:

1. Mark Wahlberg, The Happening (2008)

TM and © 20th Century Fox. All rights reserved. / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I did not buy Mark Wahlberg as a high school science teacher."

—u/MovieMike007

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

20th Century Fox / Via youtube.com

2. Oscar Isaac, X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

TM and © 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved. / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I adore this supremely talented man, but Apocalypse was horribly miscast."

—u/AsgardianLeviOsa

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

20th Century Fox / Via youtube.com

3. Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line (2005)

TM and © 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved.

"She felt really out of place at the time, but even more so now."

—u/ToastGobliner

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

20th Century Fox / Via youtube.com

4. Keanu Reeves, Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Columbia Pictures / © Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Keanu is a wonderful human being and a good actor, but that man should not have been cast in this. Poor guy."

—u/FirstTimeLongThyme

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Columbia Pictures / Via youtube.com

5. Adam Sandler, The Longest Yard (2005)

Tracy Bennett / © Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Adam Sandler as an NFL quarterback."

—u/ScalpelCleaner

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Paramount Pictures / Via youtube.com

6. George Clooney, Batman & Robin (1997)

Warner Bros. / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

"George Clooney is a great actor, but he really missed the mark in this movie."

—u/Abusive_Nun

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com

7. Mila Kunis, Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Walt Disney Pictures

"I’m sorry, but her voice stuck out so badly. With the popularity of Meg from Family Guy at the time, it was too hard not to associate the two when hearing her voice. Like, if Patrick Warburton was a primary character in a movie, you'd immediately call back to every voice he has done, as his voice is just as recognizable."

—u/LordRednaught

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Walt Disney Pictures / Via youtube.com

8. Jai Courtney, Terminator Genisys (2015)

Melinda Sue Gordon / © Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

"He didn't resemble Michael Biehn even slightly. From his face, his hair, his voice, and his build — this one annoyed me the most. The character grew up in a war zone eating garbage for dinner, but now he's somehow jacked like he lives in the gym and eats steaks? They got everything wrong with his casting. It was so off-putting, he might as well have been playing a different character. At least Emilia Clarke vaguely resembled a young Linda Hamilton."

—u/StormtrooperGloves

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Paramount Pictures / Via youtube.com

9. Nicole Kidman, The Northman (2022)

Aidan Monaghan / © Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I was totally immersed in that film, and all of a sudden she shows up with a bad accent, and it took me out of that reality and made it feel like a movie. At least they made her character hatable too."

—u/Vin-Metal

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Focus Features / Via youtube.com

10. Matthew Broderick, Godzilla (1998)

© TriStar Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

"But that’s probably because I like him as Ferris Bueller so much. In the back of my mind, I’m thinking, No way a kid who thought driving a car in reverse would decrease the mileage on a car could be an NRC scientist!"

—u/StiltzkinNomad

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

TriStar Pictures / Via youtube.com

11. Cameron Diaz, Gangs of New York (2002)

Miramax / © Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I really didn’t buy her in that. I actually do like her and can name more than a few movies that I enjoyed her in, just not this one."

—u/SamuraiJackBauer

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Miramax / Via youtube.com

12. Robert Redford, The Great Gatsby (1974)

Paramount Pictures / Everett Collection

"Coolest guy in the world as an extremely fuckin' weird Jay Gatsby."

—u/Pikesmakker

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Paramount Pictures / Via youtube.com

13. Zooey Deschanel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Touchstone Pictures / © Touchstone Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I love her in so many things, and she really SHOULD have been right, but she was a terrible Trillian."

—u/Edman70

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Touchstone Pictures / Via youtube.com

14. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jungle Cruise (2021)

© Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

"It's not as if there's one set archetype for a Disney Jungle Cruise skipper, but The Rock definitely doesn't fit the bill. Someone once suggested Oscar Isaac for the role, and I can't help but think that would have been a better choice."

—u/RobPlaysThatGame

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Via youtube.com

15. Emma Watson, Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Laurie Sparham / © Walt Disney Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I’m just gonna say it: Emma Watson as Belle. I’m sorry, but they either needed to give her more time to perfect her vocals, hire a voice double for her singing parts, or hire an actual Broadway actor for the part, as Paige O’Hara was when she took the role."

—u/Algae_Mission

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Walt Disney Pictures / Via youtube.com

16. Rami Malek, The Little Things (2021)

Nicola Goode / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

"For me, this one really stood out. He plays a hotshot detective and just never really fit the role, for whatever reason. I've liked him as an actor previously, but everything seemed to miss in this film."

—u/jakoto0

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com

17. Jesse Eisenberg, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Clay Enos / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

"Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. As soon as I heard the casting, I knew it would be awful, and it was."

—u/fondue4kill

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com

18. Emma Stone, La La Land (2016)

© Summit Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

"La La Land is good and Emma Stone is good in it, but a hopeless dreamer/failed actor is the wrong part for an A-list megastar with a uniquely beautiful appearance."

—u/StreetMysticCosmic

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Summit Entertainment / Via youtube.com

19. Leonardo DiCaprio, Don’t Look Up (2021)

Netflix

"It was impossible for me to take infamous Hollywood playboy Leonardo DiCaprio seriously as a nervous, neurotic professor."

—u/JayCFree324

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Netflix / Via youtube.com

20. Gerard Butler, Geostorm (2017)

Ben Rothstein / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

"In the same movie, Jim Sturgess played his brother, who was a politician, and I think they should've traded their roles."

—u/skilledinceptor

Here's a glimpse at the performance:

Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com

21. Owen Wilson AND Reese Witherspoon, How Do You Know (2010)

David James / © Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Owen Wilson as pro baseball player? Reese Witherspoon as a softball star? I don't see athleticism in either of them."

—u/swith_dive_

Here's a glimpse at the performances:

Columbia Pictures / Via youtube.com

And finally:

22. The entire cast, House of Gucci (2021)

© MGM / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Adam Driver to the lesser extent, and Jared Leto to the greatest."

—u/seanrm92

Here's a glimpse at the performances:

MGM / Via youtube.com

You've read their picks, but now it's your turn! Is there an actor whom you had an impossible time believing in a specific role? Share in the comments below!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.

H/T: r/movies.