10 Movie Casting Choices That Should've Worked (But Didn't)

Because comic books can be utterly bonkers, it’s important to have talented actors to ground the story in reality.

For example, Aleksei Systevich AKA The Rhino is a generic C-list villain that Spider-Man regularly fights in the comics. So, when it was announced the pachyderm-inspired supervillain would appear in Amazing Spider-Man 2, many assumed he would be depicted as a mindless henchman.

But when Hollywood heavyweight, Paul Giamatti, was cast in the role, we thought the character could steal the show.

Although a lot of comic book actors aren’t very familiar with Marvel or DC, Giamatti read Spider-Man comics as a kid and knew the lore pretty well. (The fact that he heard of the Rhino at all is pretty impressive.)

No only that, Giamatti's favorite supervillain… was The Rhino. When he was offered the role, Giamatti accepted instantly, saying he was excited to play someone who was "a brute, an animal".

Sadly, Rhino was a complete waste. Not only was the character barely in it, Giamatti spent every second on screen hammin’ it up and delivering every line with an unconvincing Russian accent. I know the character is portrayed as a bit of a joke at times in the source material, but this performance was just embarrassing.