15 Most Ridiculously Absurd Casting Calls Of The 21st Century

10. Russell Crowe - Les Misérables (2012)

Russell Crowe has a fairly entrenched image in Hollywood as a gruff guy who plays intense characters (sometimes with a soft centre under all the growling). He plays teak-tough cops, ship commanders, gladiators and cowboys like he's still trying to inherit John Wayne's position. He's not really known for being a musical star.

Now, admittedly he did once have his own band - delightfully called 30 Odd Foot of Grunts - but that now-defunct rock band didn't exactly inspire images of the French revolution and towering solos. Still, he was cast in Les Miserables as villain Javert, which required him to sing "as-live" and without assistance. Despite not being able to sing. Surely someone noticed this before he was cast?

Did It Work?

The jury is out. On the one hand, Crowe's singing was so bad it became a meme, but his acting chops did shine through and there's now some of the same affection for his singing as theree was for Pierce Brosnan's car-crash singing in Mamma Mia.