Films where they got exactly the right actor

Rutger Hauer as The Hitcher

I would never give anyone with a Boris Johnson head of hair a lift !

 

Warren Oates in Two Lane Blacktop

 

YES
I will never forget how Superman 1 is just so light and played for laughs, until..........Gene turns on the menace.

 

Jack Nicholson as Eugene O'Neill in Reds. Just how I would picture a young O'Neill, especially the scene where he cuts Louise into ribbons, verbally.

 

I totally agree with this, and say it every time I watch the old Supermans with Reeve and Kidder -- but you know who would have made a totally kick-ass Luthor for this current generation of DC adaptation films? Bryan Cranston...

Imagine him with the bald head and the suit on...would have been perfect. A lot of fans were hoping for this, because I believe he was considered before Snyder and Nolan ruined the character by going with the completely wrong Eisenberg...

 

For some reason, this skipped my mind in the midst of all this -- but, yes, absolutely hands down the best in the role.

 

• David Niven as Phileas Fogg in Around The World In 80 Days (1956)
• Winona Rider as Veronica in Heathers
• Charles Grodin as Warren in The Lonely Guy
• Dennis Quaid as Dexter Cornell in D. O. A. (1988)

 

I strongly agree about Alfred Molina as Dr. Octopus. It could have easily become a bit silly, but he turned the character into a tragic individual.

 

Indeed -- but it was so much more than that. The fight sequences, the costuming, his LOOK...it really felt like Octavius jumped off the pages of the book.

To me, Raimi's Spider-Man 2 is the best comic adaptation film to date for these sorts of reasons -- it's not perfect, mind you, but it encapsulates a feel amidst all the characters that just emulates what I recall from reading the books as a kid.

 

I agree about the way they had Dr. Octopus fight. While the mechanical arms might seem a bit silly, the movie showed just how dangerous they can be. They also modified the arm technology a bit. In the comics he wore a belt that allowed him to control the arms manually (this was before Octavius gained mental control over them when they were fused with his body). However, in one story Reed Richards was able to take control of Octavius' arms by using the still-functional manual controls. Having the arms literally fused (going from just being temporarily connected) with Octavius' body was a good move, as was having the arms controlled by his unconscious desires.

 

+100000

It was also the way in which Raimi staged these combat sequences between the two characters -- how Peter would crawl on the walls of the buildings and trains to pursue Octavius while they punched each other, tumbling from structures....the whole thing was spot-on IMO. I didn't care for the way in which Peter was unmasked in the train fight sequence, nor did I like that odd moment when the picture freezes as he's walking to that oddly-timed tune (after he kind of loses his powers from the stress he's under). Yet that pales in comparison to the downright bizarre behavior the character exhibited in the third film after his personality is altered....

 

See Superman 3, where Superman is twisted by exposure to a flawed version of kryptonite and ends up having to fight Clark Kent...

 

Oh, I remember that...

Just as off-putting as Spider-Man 3 in that regard IMO.

 

nicol williamson as 'merlin' in EXCALIBUR

 

Robert Newton is the ultimate Bill Sikes

 

David Bradley was the best person to play Billy Casper.

 

A few come to mind: David Suchet as Poirot; Bela Lugosi as Dracula; Brando as Don Corleoni; Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes; Nigel Bruce as Watson; Sigourney Weaver as Ripley. Edit:Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry.

 

Michael Pare’ as Eddie Wilson - Eddie and the Cruisers

 

Gary Cooper - High Noon
Marcello Mastroianni - 81/2
Anna Magnani - The Rose Tattoo

 

Armand as Gotti. Hanks as Gump. Brando as Vito.

 

Yeah -- he was a good one (and I liked him in John Carpenter's Village of the Damned, as well; these days he's in a whole lot of direct-to-video crap I rent on DVD via Redbox).

I also thought Kilmer was perfect as big Jim in the Doors film....

 

UGGGGHHHHHH.....Asante looked and sounded NOTHING like the real Gotti, although I absolutely LOVE that HBO film (I have it on DVD). Travolta was no better.

And the casting of Forsthyte as Gravano? Were they kidding me? Gravano was like half the size of Gotti in real life, but they cast an actor who was as tall as Asante....

 

ABSOLUTELY agree with this -- NO ONE could play this role like him. Perfect. Sean Bean was a joke in the remake compared to Hauer's performance, IMO.

RIP, Rutger...amazing actor.

 

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird.
Henry Fonda as Tom Joad in The Grapes Of Wrath.

 

Most of the lead cast of Guys and Dolls -

They wanted Gene Kelly as Sky Masterson, but he had to turn it down for contractual reasons. So we got Marlon Brando (against Sinatra's wishes, who wanted the part for himself).
Meanwhile both Grace Kelly and then Deborah Kerr turned down the part of Sister Sarah Brown, which thankfully went to Jean Simmons.
And director Joseph L. Mankiewicz was originally against Sinatra playing Nathan Detroit.

I can't imagine the cast being any different; it turned out perfect, in my opinion.