19 Times A Perfectly Good Movie Was Spoiled By A Really Bad Casting Choice

"IMO one of the worst casting decisions ever made in cinema history."

Recently, u/GhostWriter888 asked the good people of Reddit "who's the most miscast actor in an otherwise good movie?" Here's what people had to say:

1. Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Columbia Pictures

"This is immediately what came to mind for me. Drags the whole movie down, which is a terrible shame. Oldman is magnificent as Dracula." – u/Beardopus

"If he hadn't been in the film, I'm almost certain there'd be no debate that this was the best and most faithful Dracula adaptation." – u/YoureNotExactlyLone

2. Dane DeHaan as Valerian in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

EuropaCorp Distribution

"The film was amazing, but for some reason I just hated Dane DeHaan in it. Just didn't feel right." – u/dagoto

"Cara [Delevingne] might have been fine with someone else, the main problem with that movie was the complete lack of chemistry with the leads in my opinion. Personally, I like Dane DeHaan, but he doesn't really play the charming charismatic rogue very well." – u/-GeeButtersnaps-

"They look like brother/sister and they made them love interests. Such a BAD call." – u/apupy

3. Cameron Diaz as Jenny Everdeane in Gangs of New York.

Buena Vista Distribution

"Anytime I start watching the movie I always forget she's in it, and when she pops up on screen, I just get disappointed." – u/Toneloaf

4. Don Cheadle as War Machine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.

Marvel/Paramount/Kobal/REX

"Don't get me wrong, Don Cheadle is awesome and he totally deserves an awesome role in the Marvel films... but it's just hard for me to buy him in that military/Air Force role." –u/SeaTie

"Cheadle is incredibly forgettable." – u/Knineteen

"[Robert] Downey Jr. had a lot more chemistry with [Terrence] Howard than he does with Cheadle; you buy that Howard and Downey have been friends for a while." – u/DelanoBluth

5. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Warner Bros. Pictures

"Lex is cold and calculating. Jesse's character was anything but. If it had been the exact same movie but the villain was a mad scientist named Hans Gleeber or something, with Jesse giving the exact same performance, I think it would have been great." – u/sharrrper

"IMO one of the worst casting decisions ever made in cinema history. It actually angers me thinking about it." – u/Diablo516-

6. Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone in The Godfather Part III.

Paramount Pictures

"Broke the movie in a few scenes." – u/skullbasher137

"Thank god she can direct." – u/bondsthatmakeusfree

"If it helps, she was something like his fourth emergency backup for the role." – u/TeddysBigStick

7. Topher Grace as Eddie Brock/Venom in Spider-Man 3.

Sony Pictures Releasing

"I just hated [him] as Venom. Like the moment I saw him as Venom, I instantly wasn't as into the movie... I really believe it would’ve been much better if Tom Hardy was given Venom [in this film]." – u/Mrfantastic2

"Eddie should’ve been someone Chris Evans' size; actually Chris Evans woulda made a great Brock." – u/KatyPerrysBigFatCock

8. Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Alex Bailey/20th Century Fox

"[He] had absolutely none of Freddie's charisma, not even a little bit. Even a two minute interview with Freddie has more energy than he had in the entire movie." – u/burningpet

9. Emma Watson as Belle in Beauty and the Beast.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"Belle? Don't you mean the Belle-Bot 3000?" – u/Henry_Cavillain

"I was so mad about that. She can’t act. They should’ve gone with a lesser known actress that can sing. Watson is just flat in my opinion. She’s beautiful but boring." – u/LeahBean

"Should have been Emmy Rossum. Looks the part and has an incredible singing voice. But they just wanted that Harry Potter cred." – u/requiem1394

10. Kevin Costner as Robin of Locksley in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Warner Bros.

"Alan Rickman, Morgan Freeman, and just about everyone else turned in outstanding performances, but Costner... Still a good movie though." – u/okbacktowork

11. Gerard Butler as Erik, The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera.

Warner Bros. Pictures/Odyssey Entertainment

"Totally a wtf... especially given how demanding that musical is vocally." – u/magvadis

"[There are] so many terrible movie musical castings that sacrifice singing ability for star power, it’s always a mistake." – u/kirby31200

12. Riz Ahmed as Carlton Drake/Riot in Venom.

Sony Pictures Releasing

"Not sure why they chose him for the bad guy but I couldn’t buy it." – u/kittykatsu7

13. Quentin Tarantino as Frankie in Django Unchained.

The Weinstein Company/Columbia Pictures

"[His] cameo really was distracting and odd in Django. I also don't understand why they decided to have the group be Australian – odd choices all around." – u/kirby31200

"He's so cringey to watch in Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained especially... more often than not I find when Tarantino puts himself in his own movies (Reservoir Dogs notwithstanding) it pulls me right out." – u/MisterJeffries

14. Andie MacDowell as Carrie in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Rank Film Distributors

"Andie McDowell just seemed bored with the movie." – u/bujweiser

"[She] just seems so out of place." – u/DrScientist812

15. Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Warner Bros. Pictures

"He just doesn't belong there. His acting is good, he nailed his speech in the second film, but no Potter World material." – u/Gaathe

16. Beyoncé as Foxxy Cleopatra in Austin Powers in Goldmember.

New Line Cinema

"Not necessarily miscast, because she definitely played exactly the character they wanted her to be, but she’s just too recognizable as Beyoncé." – u/PleasecanIcomeBack

"She can't act. Every scene she was in is flat as a pancake." – u/steerbell

17. Mila Kunis as Theodora (Wicked Witch of the West) in Oz the Great and Powerful.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"They would've been a lot better off had Rachel Weisz's character been the Wicked Witch." – deleted user

"I love Mila Kunis, but that role felt so wrong for her." – u/GwenGunn

18. James Corden as Barry Glickman in The Prom.

Netflix

"He only did ... what a straight [man] thinks a gay man is, and basically just ticked every gay stereotype off. A better actor would have taken that role and made it more than just a basic stereotype (like Brooks Ashmanskas did in the original stage production)." – u/aw-un

19. Nicolas Cage as Captain Antonio Corelli in Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

Universal Pictures/Miramax Films

"[It] could be a beautiful movie, if it wasn't for Nick Cage." – u/Wobbly-Dongle

H/T to u/GhostWriter888 who started this conversation on Reddit and gave us permission to use the thread for this post.

Do you agree with these choices? Sound off in the comments!