10 Riskiest Upcoming Casting Choices (And Why They Will Work)

Casting is a tricky business. With seemingly every other film an adaptation, reboot, or biopic, just how do studios reconcile an audience’s interpretation of an established character with the real-life bag of flesh-and-bones picked to play them? 

At what point do directors simply ignore the cries of derision from the public and just go for what fits the film they’re making? Was anybody really on board with Christopher Nolan casting Heath Ledger as The Joker in the first instance, after all? Look how that turned out.

Casting controversies are nothing new: the human mind is a wondrous ball of infinite creativity, and there is simply no logic in trying to appease everybody’s own vision of a beloved character. Thus: conflict. Risk. Fan boys trolling Internet message boards. But ultimate reward? 

Until the finished product, it is all just a matter of speculation. But boy, does the Internet love speculation. A marked increased in page-to-screen adaptations, nestled snugly alongside the growth of social media, has created a nasty culture of fans poking holes at casting, long before the actor in question has even donned their leotard, cape, wig, or what-have-you.

The following actors are no different. Through nostalgia, character design, or even (sadly) matters of race and gender, each have run into criticisms and controversy about the roles they are set to play in the coming months and years. Fans needn’t worry so much though, because they’re all set to be successes in their own right, and here is why.

The Risk

To many, Daniel Radcliffe is Harry Potter, and that's just that. True enough, he has kept relatively quiet since he hung up his wand in 2011, with any success achieved more critical than commercial, The Woman in Black aside. Since the adventures of the boy wizard, there seemingly just hasn't really been a truly notable role for Radcliffe to get his teeth into.

Strange how it is, then, that Radcliffe should crop up in the upcoming Victor Frankenstein as the mad scientist's traditional assistant, Igor. Immortalised in popular culture as something of a deformed hunchback, Radcliffe nonetheless cuts a completely opposing dapper figure on set, leaving many a puzzled face in his wake.

The Reward

Attached to a tale that has been told and told for generations, director Paul McGuigan had to inject fresh impetus to the Frankenstein legend. Told from the perspective of Igor, McGuigan's film humanises what has essentially been little more than a stock character in previous incarnations, fleshing him out to the point where he carries the story on his own back.

It is a refreshing new perspective, and casting Radcliffe is a huge call to arms regarding the seriousness of it all. No longer is Igor a mockable sideshow, but a character of true depth and emotion. Career-defining? Unlikely, but there is plenty in Radcliffe's back catalogue to suggest he can add a little respect to the character.