Casting Bombs

I had to watch Moby Dick twice to really enjoy it.

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I was never impressed with the script written by, of all writers, Ray Bradbury. Ray's sparse prose didn't fit Melville's scheme of things. Huston could direct rather ham-handedly sometimes and this is one of those cases. The special effects were quite good for that era but I still feel Peck's rather clumsy over-played performance sinks the picture well before the whale does.

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vigo mortensten as aragorn in lord of the rings

i had in mind liam neeson for that role. especially after his performance in rob roy

but here is a trivia question for which i have no answer: who was originally cast as aragorn before mortensten?

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I was satisfied with Mortensten as Aragorn although seeing him in other roles may taint one's estimation of his role in LOTR. However, I would actually have found Neeson to be too identified with other fantasy and historic roles as early as his sting in "Krull" to make a believable Aragorn. It may or may not have worked. Perhaps he wasn't available. IMDb may have some trivia on whether he was the first in line to be cast in the role.

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Stuart Townsend was the first choice to be cast as Aragorn.

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Lightwizard wrote:

Stuart Townsend was the first choice to be cast as Aragorn.

jesus, mary, and joe pepitone, then mortensten was a far better choice.

btw: how many LOTR fans actually saw Krull? at least neeson was in a classical myth film with his role in boorman's "excalibur."

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I would think those drawn to fantasy would see "Krull" which has some interesting scenes and a great James Horner score (especially the music for the fire horses) but was really pedestrian, cookie cutter fantasy. Although "Willow" is better, it too is more notable for it's John Williams scoring.

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Neeson's Gawain in "Excaliber" was first rate and would be a good credential for the Aragorn role. However, he might now have come off as too old.
I just saw "Excalibur" in a prestine print on hi-def cable and it stands the test of time. However, the actor (can't even remember his name) who played King Arthur I thought was miscast.

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Lightwizard wrote:

Neeson's Gawain in "Excaliber" was first rate and would be a good credential for the Aragorn role. However, he might now have come off as too old.
I just saw "Excalibur" in a prestine print on hi-def cable and it stands the test of time. However, the actor (can't even remember his name) who played King Arthur I thought was miscast.

perhaps, but recall, in excalibur nigel terry played a character who spanned a life from the age of 18 to 50 with the appropriate traits at each age of his life. and i would submit ably.

watch the young arthur at the point where he pulled excalibur from the stone then when he caught Lancelot with Guinevere; same actor, same character, different style for each age.

btw: as i recall, aragorn was supposed to be 84 years old in LOTR, and mortensten just seemed too young and unwrinkled for the role. watching him was like watching earl flynn in "captain blood." even sean bean would have made a better aragorn.

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George wrote:

My wife is Chinese and the sight of Caucasian actors made up to look
Asian drives her nuts. Don't even mention "Charlie Chan".

another one that comes to mind, but at least this was a comedy --

http://www.butlersguild.com/images6/zz_murder_by_death2.jpg

peter sellers as Inspector Sidney Wang in Murder by Death...

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Imagine how native Americans must feel when seeing the majority of westerns, not only are they almost always the baddies, whose stupidty is only superceded by their mindless cruelty, but they are almost never represented by their own people, let alone in a realistic way.

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I think yoiu may be thinking of the wrong chracter in LOTR who was that old, kuvasc. I haven't read the books for a few years now but I remember Aragorn alias Strider to be about Mortensen's age.
Regardless, I didn't find his performance as miscast.

Passkynen, your comment brings to mind Rock Hudson's stint as an American indian which was discussed recently. At least a gay indian may now be politically correct (at least on the left)?

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One film that comes to mind as having very unbelievable characters cast as indians was MacKenna's Gold. I thought the film was entertaining nonetheless, lots of laughs to be had if seen in the right company Very Happy

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That movie was close to being a satire of Westerns so perhaps the casting and depiction of native Americans wasn't so out-of-line.

Hudson's makeup was so obvious he looked like he fell into a vat of Coppertone Instant Tan.

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Didn't Natalie Wood play an Indian maiden? Not to mention Maria in "West Side Story". But the same can be said about George Chakiris (Greek?) as Bernardo. And dare we bring up Anthony Quinn? Mercedes Ruehl? Lainie Kazan? All very good actors tho. Can't fault them there.

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Natalie was an indian princess in "The Searchers," which is regarded by many critics as the best Western ever made (it even has been on the Sight and Sound survey of critics top ten but got booted last time by "Singin' in the Rain.")

The roles you mention weren't miscastings.

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No. That's pretty much what I wrote. But I thought we were evolving, maybe, into different castings of interest.

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It does seem that way. I've been trying to think of more gross miscastings but I have to say that the movies don't make the mistake all that often.

However, Lucille Ball (much as I Love Lucy) was totally miscast in the film verions of "Mame." Her mannerisms were off-target and she didn't even come close to the non-musical Roz Russell in "Auntie Mame," one of the classic perfect casts. Even Roger Smith ("77 Sunset Strip" Roger Smith) was perfect as the older Patrick.

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Lightwizard wrote:

I think yoiu may be thinking of the wrong chracter in LOTR who was that old, kuvasc. I haven't read the books for a few years now but I remember Aragorn alias Strider to be about Mortensen's age.
Regardless, I didn't find his performance as miscast.

Passkynen, your comment brings to mind Rock Hudson's stint as an American indian which was discussed recently. At least a gay indian may now be politically correct (at least on the left)?

aragorn was a dunedun, a long-lived folk, aragorn was supposed to be 84 when the ring war takes place.

and another bad casting was tony curtis in the vikings. a new york accent ed curtis speaking of the powers of odin was a trip.

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