10 Seemingly Brilliant Movie Casting Choices Which Ultimately Fell Flat

On the surface, casting Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt as the great Greek warrior Achilles seemed like an inspired choice.

Pitt had shown he had the chops to take on such a meaty role in the likes of Fight Club (1999) and Seven (1995) so surely this decision would pay off once Wolfgang Petersen's Troy (2004) finally touched down in cinemas.

Yet, despite absolutely looking the part, Pitt's performance ended up being as forgettable as the film itself. His messy, inconsistent accent and wooden performance made the excessive three hour runtime feel like an eternity, and this role represented one of the first real missteps in Pitt's illustrious career.

As time went by, Pitt later revealed that he was forced to play Achilles due to the fact that he'd pulled out of another movie for the studio (Warner Bros.) and admitted that he 'realized that the way that movie was being told was not how (he) wanted it to be.'

From that moment on the superstar actor decided to only 'invest in quality stories' and has since gone on to star in a number of critically acclaimed features.