10 More Best Actor Replacements In Movies
3. Ben Whishaw - Paddington
When it was first announced that a story featuring beloved children’s character and marmalade addict Paddington Bear was coming to the big screen, nobody could have predicted how well it would do.
The first Paddington film and its sequel are bonafide modern classics with even the most hardened of cynics warming to their irresistible charm. Both movies are stacked with talent, with Hugh Bonneville, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, and many more sharing screen time with Peru’s greatest export.
Initially, Colin Firth was to voice to the hard-staring, raincoat-wearing bundle of joy, but he left of his own accord after the studio decided he wasn’t the right fit.
Enter Ben Whishaw, best known as the latest version of Q in the James Bond series. His warm tones and welcoming cadence perfectly suited the politest character in all of fiction and he has helped make Paddington an icon all over the world.
Firth is a fine actor for sure, but he would have been totally wrong for this film. Usually, studios don’t know their elbows from their backsides when it comes to casting decisions, but this time, they got it spot on.