Casting an important movie role is never easy, and sometimes the process of finding the best actor for a given role continues even after production or filming has officially begun. The entertainment industry can often be a turbulent one, with the typical professional rules for hiring and firing often being thrown out the window in favor of last-minute changes. Some of the most iconic movie castings ever have often been the result of last-minute changes to the call sheet that only come into play long after the first scene has been shot.
There are many reasons why a film set might make the decision to recast a major character halfway through production. In some cases, things like scheduling conflicts create logistical nightmares that ultimately aren’t worth it, but a director’s artistic vision can sometimes clash with the final performance given by a previously chosen actor. Tragically, unforeseeable events like the professional cancelation or even death of an actor can complicate production mid-way through, necessitating an unfortunate recast.
10 Back To The Future
Recast Marty McFly
The Back to the Future movies are positively carried by the chemistry between Christopher Lloyd’s Doc Brown and Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly, crafting one of the best mentor-student relationships ever seen in film. This truth extends to the first film, in which Doc Brown and Marty discover the power of their DeLorean-based time travel machine for the first time. This makes it all the harder to believe that it was very nearly someone else who wore Marty’s iconic red vest and self-tying futuristic kicks.
Michael J. Fox was indeed the first choice for the role of Marty, but scheduling conflicts with his TV series Family Ties initially forbade him from entering Back to the Future’s production schedule. Eric Stoltz was hired as a second choice, but upon seeing him on set, director Robert Zemeckis couldn’t deny that Stoltz’s serious demeanor wasn’t a good fit for his vision of Marty. In the end, Zemeckis ensured that Fox’s schedule could be worked around to allow him to star as the one and only Marty McFly, a high-stakes creative decision that more than paid off.
9 Paddington
Recast Paddington
StudioCanal
Movies featuring animated characters often provide an extended window for recast opportunities to occur, with the final look and feel of a CGI character’s voice-over only finalizing in post-production. As such, it often isn’t until well after production is underway that creative decisions can be revised, even if it means finding a new actor to provide an important voice-over. Such was the case with Paddington, the adorable, heartwarming story of a fuzzy talking bear who is adopted by a British family.
Colin Firth was the initial choice for Paddington’s voice, giving him the dignified air of a proper English gentleman. However, early drafts didn’t look upon this decision favorably, with Firth’s vocal performance seeming too stuffy for the fun-loving marmalade miser. Firth eventually voluntarily stepped down from the role, acknowledging that he wasn’t the perfect fit for the lovable ursine scamp. This allowed Ben Whishaw to step in, providing the perfect Goldilocks balance of fun, nervousness, and tenderness that carried Paddington and its beloved sequel.
8 Predator
Recast The Predator
When it comes to the cast of Predator, iconic 80s action movie names frequently come to mind, with the star-studded squadron of Carl Weathers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jesse Ventura making up an unforgettable roster. But the identity of the Predator himself is less of a conversation, even though martial arts movie legend Jean-Claude Van Damme was initially set to lend his impressive skills to the fearsome Yautja hunter in the original flick.
The then-unproven action star signed on to Predator hoping it would give him a chance to show off some signature Van Damme martial arts moves, only to learn that the confining suit not only concealed his face, but limited his movement. Not only that, but the original Predator outfit was stiflingly hot, causing Van Damme to even pass out on set. Dissatisfied with the circumstances of playing the Predator, Van Damme took his leave midway through production, prompting an apt replacement by the 7′ 2″ Kevin Peter Hall, who killed the alien hunter’s bodily movements.
7 V For Vendetta
Recast V
The Predator isn’t the only iconic masked movie character that was subject to a recast midway through filming. Adapting Alan Moore’s famous comic book of the same name, V for Vendetta sought an actor for the titular V, a masked anarchist vigilante who hunts down the elites of his world’s corrupt British government. Initially, James Purefoy, known for The Following, Rome, and Altered Carbon, made perfect sense for V, able to flex his penchant for antihero characters in the starring role.
Despite shooting out a majority of V’s scenes, Purefoy ended up leaving the project in the middle of production, halting work on V for Vendetta. While the actor initially cited the uncomfortable nature of the character’s Guy Fawkes mask, Purefoy eventually admitted to creative differences in how V should be portrayed being at the heart of his exit. While Hugo Weaving took over as V, the disguised nature of the character allowed for the final cut to retain some shots in which Purefoy is actually the one under the mask.
6 Shrek
Recast Shrek
For films that are entirely animated, recasting a major character might be slightly easier than doing the same for a live-action film, but it’s still an incredibly impactful event that can delay production. Over the course of the various Shrek movies, the titular onion-loving ogre has become a pop culture phenomenon, with Mike Myer’s signature Scottish accent exploding into fame along with him. This makes it all the harder to believe that the character was actually created with a very different comic actor in mind, Chris Farley of Saturday Night Live fame.
While some rough footage of Farley’s performance as Shrek was put together in animation, the lauded comedy darling sadly passed away in 1997, having recorded most, but not all of his dialogue for the film. Thus, Dreamworks had to pivot to Mike Myers for Shrek, doing an iteration of his Scottish accent developed for his Austin Powers side-character, Fat Bastard. It’s fascinating to see just how different Shrek would’ve been with Farley behind the reins of the eponymous ogre rather than Myers.
5 Panic Room
Recast Meg Altman
A chilling home invasion thriller from the genius mind of David Fincher, Panic Room is a highly-regarded star vehicle for Jodie Foster, who plays a well-to-do mother who ends up trapped with her daughter in her new home’s extensive safe room during a tense burglary. Jodie Foster lends a real weight to the character, who might’ve ended up forgettable in lesser hands. However, Foster wasn’t Fincher’s first pick for Meg Altman, with Nicole Kidman actually helming the protagonist when production started.
After only two weeks into filming, Kidman aggravated a knee injury she had sustained on the set of Moulin Rouge, which turned out to be quite a serious fracture. Thus, Kidman had to retire from the action-heavy role, prompting Fincher to replace her with Jodie Foster. Meg’s recasting prompted Fincher to substantially rewrite her character to better suit Foster’s personality, aligning her closer to her tomboy daughter, making for an ultimately stronger mother-daughter bond and a more compelling film.
4 Army Of The Dead
Recast Peters
An underrated picture in Zack Snyder’s filmography, Army of the Dead was filmed during the peak of COVID-19 restrictions in the wake of the 2020 pandemic. As such, it’s no wonder the film suffered from some substantial production issues, including a recast of a relatively major character in the combination zombie movie and heist flick. Originally, the helicopter pilot Peters was played by comedian and actor Chris D’Elia, who had fully completed filming as the movie entered post-production.
Unfortunately for Zack Snyder, some very serious sexual assault and grooming allegations quickly surfaced regarding D’Elia shortly after filming had wrapped. This prompted Snyder to film replacement scenes, with deadpan comic Tig Notaro taking over the role of the intrepid helicopter pilot. Due to extensive industry restrictions caused by COVID-19 making a genuine re-shoot all but impossible, Notaro was actually filmed separately and digitally imposed into the final product with CGI, retroactively replacing D’Elia’s performance.
3 Her
Recast Samantha
An unconventional love story, Her explores the natural conclusion of finding love in a futuristic world when a lonely young man, played by Joaquin Phoenix, falls in love with an artificial intelligence named Samantha. Being a totally disembodied, incorporeal character with no humanoid body, Samantha presented an interesting challenge to director Spike Jonze. Getting the voice right for Samantha would be crucial to the success of the film, considering the audience is asked to believe that Phoenix’s Theodore falls in love with her from conversation alone.
Unfortunately, after filming had initially wrapped, Jonze later decided that Samantha’s initial voice, the British actress Samantha Morton, wasn’t synchronous with his creative vision for the story. This led to Samantha being recast as Scarlet Johansson, who re-recorded every single line of the A.I. program in the entire script. This decision certainly paid off, with Johansson’s sultry tones commonly cited as one of the film’s most alarming strengths.
2 The Lovely Bones
Recast Jack Salmon
A little-known entry in Peter Jackson’s accomplished filmography, The Lovely Bones isn’t the highest-rated of the Lord of the Rings director’s works. Adapting the novel of the same name, the supernatural drama follows the story of a little girl who is cruelly murdered, only for her spirit to watch her obsessive father try to catch her killer from the afterlife, torn between helping him take revenge and allowing him to move on. Industry darling Ryan Gosling initially took the role of the aforementioned father, Jack Salmon, getting as far as showing up to set.
Much to Peter Jackson’s chagrin, Gosling had already taken it upon himself to do some permanent character work for Jack Salmon, putting on a whopping 60 pounds for the role. Jackson disagreed with this creative decision, made without his consultation, unceremoniously firing Gosling shortly before filming began. After a brief delay, Mark Wahlberg was chosen to take over the role. Perhaps Gosling was on to something and would’ve been a better fit after all, considering the negative reviews received by The Lovely Bones.
1 All The Money In The World
Recast J. Paul Getty
Few actors have fallen from grace as hard as Kevin Spacey, once a distinguished performer ubiquitous with prestige drama and tense action thrillers in Hollywood. After the shocking allegations regarding Spacey’s sexual misconduct and assault came out in 2017, most filmmakers rightfully wanted nothing to do with him, causing Spacey to lose out on a wide variety of upcoming roles. One such project, All the Money in the World, had actually been completely shot out in its entirety after the news broke. The film depicted the real-life kidnapping of billionaire oil tycoon J. Paul Getty’s grandson.
In light of Spacey’s abhorrent actions, director Ridley Scott was prompted to completely re-shoot all of J. Paul Getty’s scenes, bringing in Christopher Plummer as a replacement, who was actually Ridley Scott’s first choice for the role in the first place. Though this devastating blow to the production cost upwards of 10 million dollars, the moral security of removing Spacey from the picture was more than worth the moral security. Not only that, but Plummer’s new take on Getty resulted in some rave reviews for the finished movie, even earning an Academy Award for his thoughtful performance.