10 Major Movie Roles That Were Recast (And Made A LOT Worse)

4. Stuart Townsend - Queen of the Damned

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Warner Bros.

Stuart Townsend seems to have been a very unfortunate actor or an incredibly difficult one to work with, depending on who you believe. As well as being replaced by Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn the day before The Lord of the Rings started shooting, he was cast as one of the Thor franchise's Warriors Three, before being booted by director Kenneth Branagh.

2002's Queen of the Damned is remembered for being Aaliyah's last movie before her tragic death, but Townsend plays the male lead as Lestat, a role previously embodied by Tom Cruise almost a decade beforehand in the vastly superior Interview with the Vampire.

Suffice to say, Townsend is no Cruise, and his performance is as pale and anemic as the character that he plays. Unable to muster even an ounce of charisma or screen presence, all his performance in Queen of the Damned accomplished was making it clear that Peter Jackson may well have dodged a bullet in opting for Mortensen as Aragorn instead.

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