The 411 Top 5 07.25.08: Week 123

Posted by Trevor Snyder on 07.25.2008

The Top 5 Best Re-Castings

"The show must go on."

It's one of the oldest show-business adages, and it's obviously true. How else to explain the tendency to re-cast characters whenever a certain actor is no longer available, simply not wanted for the role anymore, or the series itself is just in need of a new direction/re-launch? With a couple examples of this currently on the big screen (Maggie Gyllenhaal stepping in for Katie Holmes in The Dark Knight, and Maria Bello taking over for Rachel Weisz in next week's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor), it seemed like the perfect time to take a look at some of the more successful instances of this trend, with our take on:


THE TOP 5 BEST RE-CASTINGS


Trevor Snyder

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - I know a lot of Potter fans will probably disagree with me here, as more than one of them have told me they feel Gambon was a poor choice to take over the role after the unfortunate passing of Richard Harris. But, as someone who is not emotionally invested at all in the series, I can only say that, from what I have seen, Gambon has done a perfectly fine job inhabiting the role.

Anybody that isn't Kirsten Dunst, as Mary Jane Watson in Spiderman 4 - OK, I know this one is a little presumptuous, as for all I know Dunst might in fact end up returning to the role in the next installment. But, let's face it, if anyone else does end up taking over the part, they're almost guaranteed to do a better job than Dunst, who started off just fine in the first film, but eventually let her boredom with the series show by the time her flat, unappealing performance in the third film rolled around.

THE TOP 5

5. Moira Kelly as Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

When Lara Flynn Boyle declined to return to the role of Donna in the big-screen sequel to Twin Peaks - apparently because of the nudity the movie would require – director David Lynch had no choice but to recast the crucial part. While the continuity fan of me wishes Boyle had come back, in order to make the movie completely consistent with the series, I have to admit that Kelly did a very good job in the part. In fact, it's arguable that she was even better than Boyle, which has often led me to wish she had simply been there from the beginning of the series anyway.

4. Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor in Doctor Who

I know at least one fellow 411-er will disagree with me here (check out Brimfield's comments below), but I stand by this one. Sure, David Tennant will probably be the more fondly remembered of the two when it comes to this modern Who era, and don't get me wrong – Tennant is excellent as The Doctor. But we shouldn't overlook how crucial Eccleston's casting was. When it was decided to revive Doctor Who in 2005, the character hadn't been seen on TV screens in years, and to many it was remembered primarily for being campy, if still enjoyable. Snagging an actor with the reputation and gravitas of Eccleston immediately gave the show, and character, a level of class it hadn't enjoyed in a long time. And Eccleston was more than up to it, playing against his usual serious persona and instead infusing his Doctor with an infectious sense of glee and optimism. Yes, Tennant will be more the more famous of the two, but Eccleston deserves the credit for ensuring that this modern version of Doctor Who even ended up being a success in the first place.

3. Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight

Considering this is the one that inspired this week's column in the first place, it might seem a little too easy to actually include it on the list. But, well, I have to. Katie Holmes was widely considered the weak link in the Batman Begins acting chain. Anyone who has seen the new film (and judging by the box-office take, that would be everyone) know that this wasn't a problem this time, as Gyllenhaal gave Rachel a sense of oomph and charisma that Holmes didn't even begin to approach. Gyllenhaal was actually able to seem like Bruce Wayne's equal in her few scenes with Christian Bale, which is pretty darn important considering this is supposed to be the woman who Wayne has spent his life pining over.

2. Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in GoldenEye

Like my number 4 choice, this one has more to do with the importance to the franchise than anything else. I know a lot of people would put Daniel Craig on here instead, but it's not like the series was hurting when he took over the part. Yes, Die Another Day had a large number of detractors, but it was still one of the most financially successful entries the series had ever seen, and even its critics didn't really seem to have a problem with Brosnan. In fact, Brosnan was preety much widely praised throughout his Bond tenure, and for good reason. Coming off of the Roger Moore era, which had gotten more and more goofy as it went along (almost to the point of being unwatchable), the Bond producers went too far in the other director, bringing in Timothy Dalton for a couple Bond films that were far too serious. With GoldenEye, the Bond series finally returned to the right mix of humor and action that had been the signature of the Connery days, and Brosnan was the perfect fit. The Daniel Craig re-invention was clearly a wise move, as the producers could see that the success of the Bourne series was signaling a new audience attitude about what they were looking for in their spy thrillers. But the Bond series might not have even still been around to earn that new take if not for Brosnan's great performance keeping it going in recent years. Daniel Craig might be a better Bond, but Brosnan was just what the series needed at his time.

1. Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in Back to the Future

Sure, this one is merely a guess, as I've never actually seen any of the footage that was shot with Eric Stoltz playing Marty. But, c'mon…I mean, Stoltz is a good actor and all, but on the charisma and likeability scale, he's no Michael J. Fox. I might be wrong about this, but I don't think so. If Stoltz had ended up keeping the part, I don't think Back to the Future would be the classic it is today.



Owain J. Brimfield

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Christian Bale as Batman / Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins - methinks I need not elaborate.

Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan in Patriot Games - I liked Alec Baldwin in Red October, but Ford made the role his own for the next two movies. Shame he was succeeded by Ben Affleck, of all people.

Dirk Benedict as Templeton 'Face' Peck in The A-Team - no one remembers the schlub who played Face in the show's pilot, and with good reason.

THE TOP 5

5. Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi

As with many good recastings, can anyone recall the name of the poor unfortunate who was originally tapped to play Palpatine, but was soon recast after The Empire Strikes Back and has since seen his original voice performance overdubbed in re-releases of that movie? Unlucky for Clive Revill, but lucky for McDiarmid, who turned in a genuinely chilling performance as the evil Emperor, and was good enough to be remembered twenty years later when it came to reprising his role in the prequels. While his role as Palpatine in the recent movies was good, it's his performance in Jedi as the ultimate incarnation of the Dark Side that stays in your mind - worlds away from the fuzzy projected image seen in Empire, and entirely memorable.

4. Robert Llewellyn as Kryten in Red Dwarf

David Ross, wasn't it, who played Kryten when the character was first introduced in the opening episode of season two? However, what Ross introduced as a mildly diverting secondary character was turned by Llewellyn (with help from a much-improved costume design) into the primary true comedy character on the show. While Kryten was never my favorite character on the Dwarf, Llewellyn's portrayal of the uptight, insecure android is leaps and bounds ahead of Ross', and se the stage for a much improved dynamic in the show following the short dip after Norman Lovett's Holly departed for pastures new. You really can't imagine anyone else asking where all the calculators go.

3. Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings

Thinking back to the phenomenon that LotR became, it's pretty hard to imagine Stuart Townsend in the most important role, isn't it. Not that he would have done a bad job, I guess, but it's difficult to picture him exuding the ungodly amounts of charisma, sex appeal and all-round star-making prowess that Mortensen managed to bring to the plate. It's a role that Viggo pulled off with panache, and dare I say, is certainly within the realms of the iconic, if not quite there yet. Mind you, I do have a horrible man-crush on Aragorn, so I'm probably letting a little bit of personal bias afflict my judgment here.

2. David Tennant as The Doctor in Doctor Who

Whether or not this is a true recasting is debatable, given the integral nature of the recast to the Doctor's character, but rarely has any science fiction outing benefited so greatly from the invigoration of a new face as when Tennant replaced Chris Eccleston's turgid incarnation of the Doctor for the second season of Doctor Who's modern incarnation. While some might figure Tom Baker a better bet for this slot, his predecessor Jon Pertwee was also up there with the best of the Doctors, so it wasn't quite as much of a pleasing jolt as seeing Tennant make the character his own for the 21st century. Of course, this will probably depend on whether I can ever find anyone to agree with my assessment that Eccleston was a poor fit for the role in the first place. Tennant is still excellent, though, regardless.

1. Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in GoldenEye

Everyone has their favorite Bond, just like everyone has their favorite sandwich filling or favorite childhood toy. Mine is still Brosnan, although I'm sure following the release of Quantum of Solace he'll have been demoted to third place in the "official" pantheon behind Connery and Craig. However, I'd still argue that his is the most potent retooling of the Bond franchise, which following a lackluster final few outings from Roger Moore had failed to regain steam in the late 80s with Tim Dalton's intervention. Coupled with the demise of the Soviets (which, given Bond's genesis during the height of the Cold War, one would think would prove quite detrimental to his place in modern cinema), it all looked over for 007, but GoldenEye saw Brosnan turn his hand to the role and bring Bond straight into the 90s - and with the Ruskies still the baddies, no less! Even if the Brosnan era did end on a low note with the execrable Die Another Day, this is still a fantastic reinvigoration of the franchise.



Jeremy Thomas

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Kane Hodder as Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) - The original Jason was Ari Lehman, but let's set the kid version aside for a moment. Steve Daskewisz portrayed the first Jason Voorhees to be a teen-killer, and while he set the mannerisms for others to follow, many people (myself included) agree that Hodder was the seminal Jason. Portraying the hockey mask-wearing unstoppable force from The New Blood all the way through Jason X, Hodder was the first person to really give Jason any sort of personality. You could really see the rage coming through his performance, and it's a shame he was replaced for Freddy vs. Jason. One hopes he'll be tapped for the role some time again in the future, because his Jason just rocked.

Russell Crowe as Ben Wade in 3:10 to Yuma (2007) - This is to take nothing away from Glenn Ford's original Wade in the 1957 film, but Crowe's portrayal of the criminal being brought to justice was a deft, charismatic performance that reminded audiences that the original anti-heroes of the silver screen came from Westerns. Crowe was at the top of his game, and helped make Yuma an instant classic.

Matt Damon as Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity (2002) - Few people remember that before Matt Damon was kicking all kinds of ass and reinvigorating the spy film, there was a 1988 TV miniseries based on the Ludlum book starring Richard Chamberlain. Chamberlain did a great job as Bourne, and earned a Golden Globe nomination for the performance; that Damon wiped almost all memory of him from existence is a testament to how well he did in the role. And, y'know, the massive success of the film, and the two sequels it spawned don't hurt, either.

THE TOP 5

5. Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008)

Frankly, I only placed this as low as five because the performance is still so new, and it's difficult to see how it will stand the test of time. It's no exaggeration to say, however, that Ledger's dark and charismatic portrayal of the Joker blows previous performances, even as good as they are, away. He owns the screen every moment he's on it, transfixing you and daring you to look away…and you can't. Even better, there's an air of mystery kept around the character, and you never really learn his origins, which is the right way to go. It's a brilliant performance that will be talked about for some time.

4. Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale (2006)

As Owain said, everyone has their favorite Bond. Most like Connery, and it would be an excellent choice, as is Brosnan. My personal favorite has to be Daniel Craig. Whereas many of the other actors made minor changes at best to the character, Craig took Bond and reinvented him, along with Martin Campbell, for a new generation. From the very opening scene, you know this is something you haven't seen before, and the more brutal, thuggish Bond works in spades. The torture scene draws a truly inspired performance, and the final moment, with Bond standing over Mr. White with a machine gun in hand, created a new iconic image that won't soon be forgotten.

3. Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Much like The Bourne Identity, many people forget that the 1941 John Huston version is not the original Maltese Falcon. The first was made in 1931, with Ricardo Cortez as gumshoe Sam Spade. There was even a second film based on the story called Satan Met a Lady in 1936 that placed William Warren in the role. Both were made by Warner Bros., and they struck gold when they remade it a second time in 1941 and cast Bogie in the part of Spade. The rest, as they say, is history. Bogie played Spade as a very complex character in one of the all-time great performances. The originals…well, they faded from public memory for the most part, and you can't argue with success.

2. Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

How could I, a devoted Whedonite, not include Buffy Summers on my list? Fanboyish predilections aside, there's no doubt that the casting of Sarah Michelle Gellar, previously known only to soap opera stars as Susan Lucci's daughter on All My Children, was an inspired casting that allowed Joss Whedon to give the character a complexity not portrayed in the original movie. Whether that's original actress Kristy Swanson's fault or not is a debate for another time. Either way, Gellar made the role her own, and when you mention the character, it's always Gellar and not Swanson who gets mentioned. She made Buffy smart and gave her a very real emotional depth, and with a slam dunk of a character to base the show around, we got seven seasons of slayage, not to mention Angel spun off of it. Not bad for a soap starlet.

1. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Easy choice here. The original as played by Brian Cox is good, but Hopkins's performance as Lector was absolutely chilling, a star-making role that created one of the all-time great movie villains. Much like Ledger did with the Joker, there isn't a wasted motion in anything Hopkins does as Lector; every single twitch, every gesture, every tone and inflection helps to build a brilliant portrayal of a psychopath. Anyone who wasn't transfixed by Lector simply wasn't paying enough attention, pure and simple, and he makes a brilliant re-casting that set the bar for all recastings after it, without a single doubt.



Bryan Kristopowitz

HONORABLE MENTIONS

George P. Wilbur as Michael Myers/The Shape in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988): Nick Castle, of course, was the original Shape in the first Halloween, and then stunt man Dick Warlock put on the mask for part two. While both of those guys cut an imposing figure, they were both pretty slender and sleek. When Wilbur donned the "Shatner" mask for part four, he sort of turned the wraith-like image of the masked killer into a big, beefy monster. And, at times, like on the roof when he's chasing Rachel and Jamie, he looks kind of awkward, "Frankenstein" like. Castle and Warlock never looked awkward. And neither of them ever crushed a man's neck or rammed a thumb into someone's forehead.

James LeGros as Michael in Phantasm II1988): Taking over for A. Michael Baldwin, who appeared as Mike in the first flick, LeGros added something to the conflicted Mike character that Baldwin couldn't: LeGros could act. He had great chemistry with Reggie Bannister, he worked well with that blonde chick, and he sure could burn those midget mutant things with that makeshift flamethrower. Baldwin eventually came back as Michael for parts three and four, and while by that time he was a better actor, he still wasn't as good as LeGros. Had part two been a bigger hit for Universal, maybe he would have continued on in the role six years later.

Ed O'Neill as Joe Friday in L.A. Dragnet (2003-2004): O'Neill, still trying to shake off the "typecasting" of Al Bundy, stepped into the role originated by Jack Webb and tweaked it to make it his own. When people normally think of Joe Friday, they think of by-the-book police investigator, succinct, rapid fire questioning done in an authoritative yet soothing monotone, and a general sense of great integrity and honor. O'Neill kept the honor and integrity part of the character but used those characteristics to make Friday a tough, low key investigator. I don't know why the show didn't completely focus on that aspect of O'Neill's characterization. ABC and Dick Wolf wimped out on it way too quickly.

THE TOP 5

5. Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

McGregor had big shoes to fill when he was picked to play the younger version of Kenobi, who was brilliantly played in the original Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope) by Sir Alec Guinness. He had to somehow make people believe that he really was a younger version of Guinness while making the character his own. McGregor's acting was a tad more accomplished in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, but one could argue that by that time he was into full on imitating Guinness mode, but for his first go round, McGregor made Kenobi young and brash, incredibly confident, and somehow wise all at the same time. He nailed it.

4. Samuel L. Jackson as John Shaft in Shaft (2000)

Yeah, I know, Sam is playing the nephew of the original Shaft, Richard Roundtree, who appears in the flick as that original Shaft, but there's only one man who walks around in the flick with the "Shaft" theme playing in the background. And that's Sam Jackson. Jackson wasn't as smooth as Roundtree (I don't think anyone could), but he definitely looked like he could beat up more people than Roundtree. Jackson is huge. Roundtree looked like a guy who could survive a pile on beat down, but he'd have to struggle through it. Jackson wouldn't have put himself in that position in the first place. He would have swatted his attackers away. Because he is that huge.

3. Timothy Dalton as James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987)

Dalton's version of the British secret agent was quite a bit different from the Roger Moore version, which had been the Bond since 1973's Live and Let Die. The Moore version, as we all know, was played for laughs. Moore could be serious, sure, but in the end it was all about being goofy. Dalton's version was the exact opposite. Dalton was serious. Incredibly serious. He was suave, sophisticated, he owned every room he entered, just like all of the other Bonds, but he was more focussed than the others. This was all kind of real. Dalton was ahead of his time by about twenty years.

2. C.J. Graham as Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th part VI: Jason Lives (1986)

I'm going to ignore the Tom Morga/Dick Wieand performance in part 5, as they were playing Jason as a sort of joke, as a disguise. The last "real" Jason before part six was Ted White's excellent performance in part four. White was a hulking brute with gargoyle hands, a mean and nasty unstoppable "man." When C.J. Graham did part six, as per director Tom McLoughlin's vision, he played Jason as an unstoppable monster, a zombie with a hockey mask and a machete. And his posture was erect, upright. He never hunched over, he never changed his posture. Think of the scene towards the end where Tommy goads Jason into Crystal Lake and we see Jason walk with purpose out of the shadows and into the water. He's a killing machine. And that still scares the heck out of me. You think a machete to the head is going to stop him?

1. Tony Todd as Ben in Night of the Living Dead (1990)

Todd was never going to "out icon" Duane Jones, who played the Ben character in the 1968 original, but then he didn't really have to. Ben wasn't the focus of the story anymore (Barbra was). So instead of making Ben a tough but noble character, Todd made Ben a force of nature. He was constantly thinking, constantly moving, and always pissed off (pissed off for a good reason, but pissed off nontheless). Heck, even when he was telling Barbra how he got to the farmhouse and what he dealt with in town in terms of zombies he was a ball of rage and motion and he was just sitting on the floor. More people need to see this movie and see Todd at his finest. Again, he's not as iconic as Jones, but he's damn good anyway.

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