10 Characters Cruelly Recast Before They Made It Big

4. Buffy Summers (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

Originally Played By: Kristy Swanson, an up-and-coming actress, played the original Buffy Summers in the 1992 movie, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a whole 5 years before the TV series even began. The movie received mixed notices from critics, largely due to writer Joss Whedon's ideas being put through the studio mangle, but Swanson did a stand-up job with what she had, and would have no doubt been a fine fit for the series had things worked out. Recast As: Sarah Michelle Gellar ended up taking the part 5 years later, likely due to Swanson pushing her late-20s by the time filming began, whereas Gellar would have been around 19 when filming started and therefore more convincingly resembled a high schooler. Gellar obviously made the role her own, and with the help of Whedon having full creative control over the product, Buffy was a huge hit. As for Swanson? Her career ironically never really took off beyond the "hot girl" role she evidently became typecast as.