6. Jake Gyllenhall Prince of Persia
Possibly the biggest example of rubbishing ethnicities for the purpose of sticking in marquee names, Prince of Persia came out in 2010 to lukewarm reviews, with the major criticism being that Jake Gyllenhaal is in no way Persian. Seemingly, the only preparation he took for the part was beefing up and getting a tan, which probably made it worse. He doesnt bother with an accent, and being fair, neither does his Gemma Arteton-played love interest. Now, of course, this hasnt stopped casting directors before or since. Yet it just seemed as if it was a truly disrespectful phone-in from the films star name, especially when compared to the rest of the cast. For example, nationality chameleons Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina are similarly non-Persian but manage to convince quite well in their roles, as befitting their statuses as actors. But when the beam on which the mighty edifice rests cant convince at all in the role, perhaps a rethink is called for. Maybe if they had cast a Persian in the lead role, the controversy which dogged this film wouldnt have been nearly so acute. Of course, you might counter that there arent enough well-known Persian-American actors out there and they might be walking a political tightrope bearing in mind Americas animosity with Iran, and these are both very real grievances. Yet all this begs the question if the producers knew they were going to run into this minefield, shouldnt they have thought differently about which gaming franchise to adapt?