12 Most Ridiculous Biopic Castings Of All Time

Biopics tend to live and die by one thing above all else: the actor playing the lead role. Get it right and you've got a chameleonic, awards-worthy portrayal for the ages, but misjudge it and ridicule is inevitable.

One could certainly call these 12 casting choices "bold", though "silly" and "totally absurd" are probably more apt descriptors. In each case, the filmmakers brazenly attempted to cast wholly unfit actors to play iconic world figures, and bar one major exception, the results were rather dubious to say the least.

From the blatant stunt-casting of totally ill-fitting actors to age-inappropriate performers who had to be layered under a ton of appalling make-up, these biopics were more often than not defined by their wonky, weird casting.

Though many of the actors in question are terrific masters of their craft and perhaps among the best of their generation, even their spectacular work largely couldn't save them from being wildly, grossly miscast to levels that were perhaps even offensive.

You can admire their gall for even trying, but honestly, they're mostly just embarrassing in retrospect...