50 Huge Movie Characters That Were Completely Miscast

For the first three movies in the Die Hard franchise, John McClane was thrown into the ring with genuinely compelling villains that heightened the story. In 2007 however, Bruce Willis' character teamed up with Justin Long's Matt Farrell to take down Thomas Gabriel, who was by all accounts a downgrade in the bad guy department.

Gabriel was played by Timothy Olyphant, who at the time was best known for his role on Deadwood, and as the killer, Mickey, in Scream 2. He had experience as the villain, clearly, but his turn against John McClane just missed the mark.

Olyphant these days is an incredibly popular actor, with the likes of Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood, Alien: Earth, and The Santa Clarita Diet under his belt, as well as a wonderful turn in the Star Wars universe. Unfortunately, as Thomas Gabriel he lacked any real credibility as a villain, there was no presence on screen, and he never truly felt like a match for John McClane. Olyphant is an actor who excels in a role with a little chaos, and with this completely missing, you could argue that Maggie Q's Mai Linh would have been a better main villain.

Coincidentally, this was not the only role Olyphant was miscast for in 2007, as he brought to life Agent 47 in Hitman, another character that simply didn't match his skill set.