Recently, Reddit user ValoNoctis asked about last-minute casting that saved a movie, and I can’t believe some of these actors almost didn’t play these iconic roles. Here are actors who came in at the eleventh hour and killed it.
1.
Director Quentin Tarantino struggled to find the right actor to play Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds. On the podcast The Moment With Brian Koppelman, Tarantino said the movie was already in pre-production, and they hadn’t cast the role — which was a problem, as Tarantino had decided to shelve the project for a few years if he couldn’t find the perfect actor. “It’s Tuesday morning, and by Friday, Universal Pictures is…gonna sign the check, and now we’re making the movie for Universal. And I know if I’m gonna pull the plug, I’ve gotta pull it before Thursday,” he revealed. On Wednesday, Christoph Waltz auditioned, and Tarantino immediately knew he’d found his Landa. Waltz would end up winning an Oscar for his portrayal.
2.
Gene Wilder wanted the role of Jim in Blazing Saddles, but director Mel Brooks thought he was too young. “I need an older guy — someone who could look like an over-the-hill alcoholic,” he told Wilder. He went with Gig Young, who was known to struggle with alcoholism in real life, which Brooks thought would work well with the character. However, on the very first morning of filming, Young was dealing with alcohol withdrawal — which was made worse by the fact that his character was upside-down. “We draped Gig Young’s legs over and hung him upside down. And he started to talk and he started shaking.” At first, Brooks thought this was just great acting.
But…”The shaking never stopped, and green stuff started spewing out of his mouth and nose, and he started screaming.” Brooks said he learned his lesson not to cast someone with alcoholism as a character with alcoholism: “I said, ‘That’s the last time I’ll ever cast anybody who really is that person.'” He continued, “Poor Gig Young, it was the first shot on Friday, nine in the morning, and an ambulance came and took him away. I had no movie.” Brooks quickly called up Wilder, who flew out the next day to film. They were shooting again on Monday. Wilder ended up being perfect for the role, cementing the movie in comedy history.
3.
Another actor who was replaced after filming started? Harvey Keitel in Apocalypse Now. He actually shot for a full week before being recast. The film’s director, Francis Ford Coppola, apparently felt he wasn’t right for the role, and also that Keitel was uncomfortable filming in the jungle (which Keitel has disputed). Coppola convinced Martin Sheen to take the role instead — he’d originally wanted Sheen for the role, but he was unavailable. Sheen’s performance would end up being the most memorable part of the film.
4.
Joaquin Phoenix was originally cast as the lead in Split, but dropped out only weeks before filming began. James McAvoy stepped in to play the role and said he only had two weeks to prepare. While Phoenix obviously is a talented actor, McAvoy’s performance was stellar, garnering critical acclaim — one reviewer called it “the performance of his career.”
5.
Tim Colceri spent weeks rehearsing for his role as a drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket, with director Stanley Kubrick continuously telling him shooting would begin the next day, then not following through. Eventually, Colceri was given a letter by Kubrick stating he had been recast with R. Lee Ermey. Ermey, a Vietnam War veteran, had been initially hired as a technical consultant on the film. However, he won Kubrick over with an unsolicited audition tape, earning the role over Colceri, who had been cast eight months earlier. Ermey knocked it out of the park, with the scene of him yelling at the recruits — which was half improvised — becoming one of the most memorable parts of the film. Colceri was cast in a smaller role.
6.
Paul Dano only had about four days to prepare for his role as Eli in There Will Be Blood. He had already been cast as Paul, and Kel O’Neill had been cast as Eli (who was not initially Paul’s brother). In fact, O’Neill had already filmed for weeks. However, O’Neill did not work well with the director, Paul Thomas Anderson, so Anderson decided to give Dano the additional role and make the characters twins. “I just went for it, threw myself in there and gave it everything I had,” Dano said. “That was just guts and instinct, not a lot of preparation. … I had to cut loose and go for it,” he said. Dano was nominated for a BAFTA for his role as the twins.
7.
Director John Carpenter was unsure about casting Kurt Russell as R.J. MacReady in The Thing and only decided on him the day they flew out to film the movie. There’s actually a scene where MacReady flies a helicopter that’s not even Russell — it’s a pilot in the character’s costume because they didn’t have Russell on hand yet. The film ended up being one of Russell’s best roles.
8.
Dianna Agron was cast the day before the pilot for Glee began shooting. Producers were actually about to cut her character as they hadn’t found someone for the role — and her casting ended up vastly changing how they envisioned the character. Series creator Ryan Murphy said Agron “ruined the part” for him because she “humanized” Quinn. “She can cry at the drop of a hat. So now her character has a conscience, a soul, and great vulnerability.” Murphy was right; Agron imbued the character with a complexity that elevated the role beyond a basic cheerleader role.
9.
Viggo Mortensen was cast after production began for The Lord of the Rings. He replaced Stuart Townsend, who was deemed too young for the role and fired the day before filming began. “I felt unprepared,” Mortensen revealed. “The other actors had been there for weeks and months, in some cases, preparing for the arduous task of shooting the whole trilogy. I also felt awkward because I’d never been in a position of replacing another actor.” Despite his fears, Mortensen killed it in the role.
10.
Stuart Townsend was also replaced in Thor just days before the start of filming. Josh Dallas was cast in the role instead after “creative differences” (though there were rumors Townsend had been late for a screen test and was fired), and he only had a few days before he had to film. Nevertheless, he did well in the small role.
11.
Stanley Tucci similarly replaced another actor days before production began. After Ryan Gosling was cast in The Lovely Bones, he started drinking melted ice cream and gained 60 pounds because he “really believed he should be 210 pounds.” However, he didn’t communicate this to director Peter Jackson, who “had a different idea of how the character should look.” When Gosling showed up on set to film, Jackson fired him. Tucci was cast in the role instead, and was the perfect level of creepy.
12.
Speaking of Tucci, he accepted his role in The Devil Wears Prada only 72 hours before the start of shooting. “I was cast at the 11th hour,” Tucci told Entertainment Weekly. “But it was just such a beautiful piece of writing, and there’s no way that you could ever say no to such a thing. … It touched you emotionally. It’s the perfect Hollywood movie.” Today, it’s one of Tucci’s most beloved roles.
13.
Over 40 women auditioned to play Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Louise Fletcher eventually nabbed the part — days before filming began. “It’s a miracle I survived the first day. I was so scared. It was only later that I realized that everybody was scared,” she said. Fletcher earned an Oscar for her portrayal.
14.
Michael Garza was cast as Ramón Morales in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark only “a couple of days before filming” because writer/producer Guillermo del Toro and director Andre Ovredal couldn’t find someone they wanted for the role. “It was a last-minute audition, and I got it. It was crazy, a whirlwind of emotions,” Garza revealed. Garza was nominated for an Imagen Award for his portrayal.
15.
A week before Prison Break began shooting, it didn’t have either of its leads. Wentworth Miller was cast only a week before shooting.
16.
And Dominic Purcell wasn’t officially cast until three days prior to filming. Both actors were perfect for the role and contributed to the show lasting five seasons.
17.
Similarly, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw, who played two of the leading roles in Jaws, were cast only nine days before shooting began. Both earned critical acclaim for their performances.
18.
Michael J. Fox was cast in Back to the Future five weeks after it started filming. Eric Stoltz had initially been cast in the role and even filmed for multiple weeks before director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale decided he didn’t have the right comedic tone for Marty. They decided to replace him with Fox, their first choice for the role. However, they couldn’t do this right away (Fox was still busy shooting Family Ties) and continued to film with Stoltz for days knowing they wouldn’t use the footage. It ended up becoming Fox’s most memorable role.
19.
Sam Waterston was cast in Godless at the last minute because the actor who was supposed to play Marshal John Cook got sick. He only had four days to prepare for the role — yet he killed it in the critically acclaimed series.
20.
Chris Sheffield was cast in The Maze Runner so late that the director, Wes Ball, and the producers for the film were already in Louisiana, preparing the production. A few days later, Sheffield was heading to Louisiana, too, to shoot, crafting a strong performance despite his lack of preparation.
21.
David Hayman was cast days before Bull started shooting because the original actor had dropped out. “I had no time to think about it,” Hayman revealed. “I love Paul Andrew Williams’s work. His movies and work are challenging. I love the cast. So it was a no-brainer for me to do it.” Hayman’s performance was highly praised in reviews.
22.
Patrick Renna was the last actor cast in The Sandlot after another actor dropped out only two days before production started on location. Director David Mickey Evans called meeting Renna a “godsend” as he was perfect for the role.
23.
Michael Biehn was cast in Aliens weeks into filming, as James Remar had recently been fired after getting arrested for drug possession. According to Biehn, Aliens producer Gale Anne Hurd called him on a Friday and asked if he had a current passport — which, luckily, he did. By Monday, he was on set, giving a legendary performance.
24.
Ed Harris was cast to play Christof in The Truman Show when principal photography was almost done, and shot for only 10 days. He replaced Dennis Hopper, who left the cast due to “creative differences.” Harris was nominated for an Oscar for the role.
25.
In a pretty unprecedented move, Christopher Plummer was cast in All the Money in the World AFTER the film had been entirely shot. Replacing Kevin Spacey in the wake of his sexual assault allegations, Plummer reshot all of Spacey’s scenes in just nine days. He was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the film.
26.
Similarly, Tobey Maguire had already filmed all of his scenes for Life of Pi when the director decided to replace him because he was too famous, making his presence distracting. Rafe Spall was quickly cast in Maguire’s role, putting him in the rare position of being cast AFTER a movie was technically “complete,” though, of course, he had to reshoot all of Maguire’s scenes. This was probably the right decision, as I can’t picture Maguire in this role.
27.
Ben Whishaw was cast as the voice of the titular teddy bear in Paddington after the film was shot. Colin Firth had initially taken on the role but came to a mutual agreement with producers that his voice sounded too mature. “That was a bit scary because it was late in the process. We’d shot the film, but it was the right call,” recalled producer David Heyman. Firth’s exit was in June, and the film was set to come out in November. Luckily, since Whishaw was just providing a voice, they could still finish the movie for its November release. Paddington would end up becoming critically acclaimed, with Whishaw’s voice fitting perfectly.
28.
The same happened with Scarlett Johansson in Her. Samantha Morton had originally been cast and worked on set throughout filming. While editing during post-production, director Spike Jonze “realized that what the character/movie needed was different from what Samantha and I had created together.” They recast Johansson in the role in the 11th hour, re-recording the character’s dialogue. Johansson’s voice ended up being a much better fit for the role.
29.
And finally, Dougray Scott was originally meant to play Wolverine in the first X-Men film, but issues relating to Scott’s role in Mission Impossible II forced him to drop out just as they were about to start shooting. Hugh Jackman — who had first auditioned for the role nine months earlier — took on the role at the 11th hour and was unprepared. In fact, Jackman said that they had to push back the first scene he was meant to shoot, which was a shirtless scene, because he needed time to bulk up. Jackman’s performance would end up being one of the most memorable of his career.
What do you think? Were these actors the right choice? How did they do considering they had no prep time? Let us know in the comments!