12 Iconic Movie Characters Who Were Disastrously Recast

6. Conan - Jason Momoa

The Film: Conan The Barbarian (2011)

In The Original: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Back in 1982, a still inexperienced Arnold Schwarzenegger was introduced to Hollywood's mainstream after drawing attention in Pumping Iron. He was largely cast because he was deemed the living embodiment of the iconic Conan artwork of Frank Frazetta. He wasn't an actor, but he was immediately capable of capturing a mythos simply through the weight of his charm.

Crucially though, he was a three dimensional character, and the original movie's strength was drawing that out of Conan despite the naivety of Schwarzenegger. In contrast, Jason Momoa's dead-eyed portrayal of the character - which missed the sizzling animalism of his Khal Drogo - was just flat.

Momoa is not a particularly limited actor, which is partly the problem for the remake. Instead of allowing him to actually perform, Marcus Nispel instead tried to frame him the same way Arnie was in the original. And sadly, he just isn't as immediately iconic (or he wasn't then, anyway).