Article written by Samuel Burnett.
When Idris Elba was cast as the Norse god Heimdall in the Marvel film Thor, there was a small controversy caused by the casting of a black man in the role of a white god. Or, rather, a bunch of whiny racists were loud enough to get attention.
Either way, the issue got the attention of the press, who eventually asked director Kenneth Branagh, who responded:
"Idris Elba is a fantastic actor – we were lucky to get him… If you have a chance to have a great actor in the part, everything else is irrelevant.”
Branagh, who has a history of colour-blind casting, hit the nail on the head. The most important thing when casting an actor is that they can perfectly fit into the role of the character.
It makes you wonder, just how important is an actor’s appearance when it comes to playing a character.
So, with that in mind, let’s have a look at some of the more controversial casting choices where the actor shared few physical similarities with the character they were portraying.
Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher
When Tom Cruise was first announced as the lead in the film Jack Reacher, many were immediately sceptical about the 1.5 metre actor playing the 1.8 metre giant of the book. Furthermore, the literary character was blond, and Cruise is… well, just look at the picture.
Many people had imagined a Chris Hemsworth type – tall, blond and built like a mountain – so Cruise’s casting caused no small amount of controversy.
However, Cruise had the fierce intensity of the character, honed by two decades of playing action heroes. Furthermore, his height or, rather, lack thereof, might have actually improved the character.
In both the book and the film, there is a scene where Reacher is accosted by a gang at a pub and, after warning them to back off several times, wipes the floor with them, leaving them severely injured.
The scene plays out the same way in both mediums but, in the book, it actually comes across as rather stupid. These random thugs are provoking a man who is taller than God and they think that there isn’t any danger to them! It’s absurd.
However, in the film, as they are towering over Reacher, it makes sense that they laugh off his warnings, and it actually serves to make the character even more intimidating. Watching a tall Captain America kick the asses of bad guys is so par the course that no-one would bat so much as a single eyelid.
But when a smaller man does it, it simply looks more impressive.
Lucy Liu as Joan Watson
When you read the original Sherlock Holmes stories, you probably imagine a middle-sized, strongly built Caucasian male with a square jaw, a thick neck and a moustache to tie it all off.
What you probably wouldn’t expect was a Chinese-American woman of average height with absolutely no moustache to speak of. Not even a small little pencil one with a tasteful goatee.
Watson is supposed to be the immovable object to Holmes’ unstoppable force, and despite sharing absolutely zero physical characteristics with the character (outside of having the same number of arms and legs), Lucy Liu absolutely nails the role.
Her line delivery, command of expressions and snappy, on point dialogue are exactly what you would want in the companion of Sherlock Holmes.
Unlike her other modern counterpart from the BBC drama, Sherlock, this Watson is allowed to grow and develop as a character. She is never a sidekick, never a second fiddle, never a pet.
That cannot be said about the other Watsons on the screen.
Imelda Staunton as Professor Umbridge
Outside of Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, I do not believe that there was a better casting choice than Imelda Staunton as the sadistic Dolores Umbridge. Without faltering for even a single second, Staunton radiated a toxic mixture of sugary sweetness and venomous bigotry.
Not a single moment passes without her doing something so disgustingly evil, so deliciously vile that you want to want to hurl a brick into that disturbingly good-natured looking face. Staunton is that good… or evil.
However, it should be noted that despite J.K. Rowling’s tremendous writing talents, she is not at all subtle when it comes to describing her characters. One is a handsome boy with striking green eyes, another is a chalky pale figure with no nose and blood-red eyes.
Guess which one is the good guy and which one is the bad guy. It’s okay if you don’t get it immediately.
While Imelda Staunton is one of the sweetest looking ladies out there, her book counterpart is a short squat woman resembling a large pale toad. She had a broad, flabby face, a wide, slack mouth, and little neck.
I mean, come on, it feels like Rowling wasn’t even trying here. Like Jack Reacher, it’s more engaging when the character behaves in a way that seems contrary to their appearance. Just like Reacher is more intimidating as a shorter man, Umbridge is all the more terrifying when looking like a kindly old grandmother that is just itching to fix you a nice, hot cup of tea.
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