There are some Hollywood remakes or reimagining that have gone over surprisingly well – most superhero franchises have gone through re-castings and come out unscathed, and I really enjoyed the redo of Fright Night – but sometimes we watch a performance and just know it can never be replicated.
These 18 people have some very good (and very serious) opinions on what roles are too iconic to ever let another actor re-try, so let’s hear what they have to say!
18. There’s no denying it.
Johnny Depp and Captain Jack Sparrow
He also murdered it In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I really believe he must have been on drugs for some of those scenes
17. Why would you change a thing?
Christopher Lloyd as Doc in Back to the Future. It’s the role he was born to play.
Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in Back to the Future is another one as well.
They literally shot half of the movie with a different actor (Eric Stoltz) and it just wasn’t working. They had to start shooting the movie over from the very beginning. It was a bet that definitely paid off, though.
16. Why would you ever want to redo that?
Sir Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean Luc Picard.
The inner light is my all time favourite episode of anything.
Picard has kids and lets them follow their dreams.
The aftermath would of been unrecoverable realistically but. Damn.
15. It would change the entire tone.
Tom Hanks as Woody in Toy Story.
Other characters I feel could be replaced quite easily. Tim Allen is obviously brilliant as Buzz, but it’s a pretty standard Captain Kirk inspired space captain performance. But I just can’t imagine Tom Hanks’ manic, neurotic Woody being played by anyone else.
It’s really impressive to see a screen actor do such a good job as a voice over too. A lot of them end up sucking, because cartoons require pretty big , exaggerated performances for them to work, and actors can seem to either do it or not.
14. I almost forgot about this.
Jody Foster as Clarice Starling.
I particularly love the scene where she looks at Buffalo Bill’s victim and you hear her voice crack during the first part of the description, where she is looking at tiny personal details like painted fingernails, but then go clinical and determined when she sees the wounds on the girl’s back.
Playing bada$$ women often veers either towards emotionless and stalwart, or basically aping a 80s action male role.
Foster nailed the emotional vulnerability, ambition, and courage of that character in minute, but profound ways. No one compares.
13. A solid theory.
Danny Trejo as Machete.
I’m pretty sure Machete was just a film crew following around Danny Trejo on a Tuesday.
He woke up one morning and thought “Today is the day i ride a rocket” and dammit he did it!
12. Did you know?
Hugh Laurie – Dr. House
Hugh Laurie is also a very accomplished blues musician which led to my favorite exchange in Colbert Show history, Hugh(who is British): The blues are the greatest gift America has given to the world. Stephen: Do you know the greatest gift Britain has given the world?… America.
11. Everyone has their favorite.
Tim Curry, Frank N Furter. Anyone else in the role knows they never live up to that sexy god of a man.
‘I can make you a man’ is the most brilliant filthy scene to appear on cinema screens while people aren’t nude :/
Tim Curry as anything. Furter, Wasdworth, Hexxus, Cherdenko, all gold
10. Never touch it.
Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams.
The entire Addams family was impeccably cast.. Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Fester and a special shout out to Joan Cusack as Debbie. Probably up there as my favourite ensemble cast of all time.
9. We don’t need anything else.
Jeff Goldblum as Jeff Goldblum
I joke that Jeff Goldblum doesn’t act. He just sorta shows up on set after leafing through the script and makes it work with his awkward charm.
8. No other choice.
Patrick Stewart as Professor X, and everyone knew it would happen a decade before the first X-Men movie.
He said he was unfamiliar with X-men when they approached him about the role. When they showed him the comics, his first thought was, “Why am I in a comic book that I’ve never heard of?”
7. So say we all.
Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley
The best part of Alien and Aliens. The hero is a woman and no one cares. Anyone man or woman would follow Ripley to the ends of the earth.
6. You knew someone was going to say it.
John Malkovich in “Being John Malkovich“
I’ll take that Most literal interpretation of the thread premise award.
5. Weird is one word for it.
Arnold Schwarzenegger – Terminator
Weird to think that role almost went to OJ Simpson
4. One and the same.
Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump
I hate to break it to you, but the actor we know as “Tom Hanks”, is actually Forrest Gump. The whole acting gig was just another notch in Forrest’s belt.
3. Because he’s actually terrifying.
I really can’t see anyone else as Hellboy. Ron Pearlman was amazing.
2. Was he, though?
Rainn Wilson as Dwight Scrute
Also Steve Carell as Michael Scott. He played that role so perfectly — cringy and naïve while still being likable enough to root for
1. Like a ghost.
Ronald Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket.
I want to add Vincent D’onofrio to this list, but I don’t know that he “crushes” roles. It’s more like he disappears into them.
It’s tough to argue with most of these, don’t you think?
What other performances belong on this list? Tell us what you think in the comments!
