8 Actor Recasts That Completely Changed Everything

By Brian Wilson / March 13, 2016

When it comes to recasts, it's generally a good idea to choose someone who is as similar to the previous actor as possible. That's just common sense. Visual discrepancies are the most obvious and striking thing that our brains pick up on, so it makes sense to try and temper that as much as possible.

But things aren't always that simple. Recasting an actor is often used as an opportunity to change up the character; to tweak more than just appearance. Entire personalities €“ including quirks and manners of performance €“ can be shifted. Film and television studios rarely spare a thought for the fans, and are more interested in fulfilling their own vision (which has generally been governed by marketing factors). Sure, sometimes it works out in the audience's favour, though this is often by accident. There are, of course, many famous examples of recasts occurring before or at the beginning of shooting, like Michael J Fox replacing Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly, or Viggo Mortensen replacing Stuart Townsend as Aragorn. But that's nothing compared to these roles that were recast in the middle of the franchise...