10 Movies That Ruined Perfect Casts With One Bad Choice
3. Gangs Of New York – Cameron Diaz
Considering it was more than 30 years in the making, you’d think that Martin Scorsese might’ve been a tad more discerning when it came to the cast of his labour of love, Gangs of New York.
Granted, he got most of it right casting Daniel Day-Lewis, king of maniacally dedicated method acting, as psychotic gang leader William ‘Bill the Butcher’ Cutting and Leonardo DiCaprio, still 14 years away from that elusive Best Actor Oscar but still great nonetheless, as rival Amsterdam Vallon … and then there’s Cameron Diaz.
While she’s great in comedic roles, there’s something about Diaz that doesn’t quite sit right in more dramatic roles and while sporting an unconvincing Irish lilt as fiery haired pickpocket Jenny Everdeane – Amsterdam’s obligatory but completely gratuitous love interest – it really shows, especially when up against the likes of Day-Lewis and DiCaprio.
It seems Scorsese himself recognised what went right and what went wrong in the casting of Gangs of New York, though: DiCaprio has gone on to star in four more Scorsese directed films, while Diaz has yet to work with him again.