10 Best Actor Replacements In Movies

4. Jeff Daniels - The Purple Rose Of Cairo

Ed Harris Truman Show
Orion Pictures

Throughout his filmmaking career, Woody Allen has habitually re-cast actors during principal photography after realising they weren't fit for the part, the most notable of which perhaps happened in his Oscar-nominated 1985 fantasy rom-com The Purple Rose of Cairo.

Michael Keaton was initially cast in the dual role of Tom Baxter and Gil Shepherd - one a movie character, the other the actor playing the character - but ten days into filming, Allen decided that Keaton's performance was too modern, and that audiences would struggle to accept it in a period film.

With that, Michael Keaton - who took a pay cut to work with Allen - was sent packing, at which point Jeff Daniels was brought in to play Tom/Gil instead. And watching the final movie, it's tough to argue with Allen's assessment; Daniels does feel like a much better fit for the film's whimsical romance than Keaton, and to back it up, Daniels received a Best Actor nomination at the Golden Globes.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.