10 More Movie Roles Obviously Designed For Other Actors
7. Michael J. Fox & Elvira As Mark Kendall & The Countess - Once Bitten
Once Bitten is a 1985 horror comedy that bombed on release but has since grown a small cult following. The film follows a teen all too keen for his first sexual experiences that he winds up wrapped around the finger of a 400-year-old vampiric Countess.
The movie has a couple of interesting casting details with the leading man of Mark Kendall originally written with Michael J. Fox in mind. However, as the story goes, the producers weren’t convinced that Fox was a big enough star. Ironically, in not being approached for Once Bitten, Fox would miss out on this turkey and instead appear in both Teen Wolf and Back to the Future in the same year and become a household name.
As such, the film moved ahead with up and coming stand-up comedian Jim Carrey in his first leading role in a feature-length picture. Carrey is certainly a highlight here that sets the stage for the actor he would become, but his character seems incredibly muted compared to the wackiness of his '90s performances in The Mask and Ace Ventura.
Additionally, his vampiric love interest played by Lauren Hutton was originally intended for Cassandra Peterson, also known as the legendary Elvira and it’s interesting to consider if her star power would’ve made a difference to the film’s eventual bargain bin fate.