00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the casting choices that
00:10did not go well with fans at first but ended up being iconic.
00:20Number 10.
00:21Tom Cruise as Lestat de Leoncourt – Interview with the Vampire
00:27If you didn't think the star of Risky Business would be a good fit for the Brat Prince, we
00:32don't blame you.
00:34Neither did Anne Rice, the author of the original novel Interview with the Vampire.
00:38But even she went from calling Tom Cruise's casting bizarre to praising his performance
00:43as courageous.
00:52He prepared for the role by dropping weight, learning to play piano, and reading every
00:56installment of Rice's Vampire Chronicles series.
00:59Once skeptical of the movie, die-hard fans of the book were pleased to see the complex
01:04villain come to life with Cruise's chilling portrayal.
01:07With how much work the actor put into his role, he won everyone over.
01:17Number 9.
01:18Matt Damon as Jason Bourne – The Bourne Identity
01:21An Oscar winner but not an action star, that was how most people saw Matt Damon after Goodwill
01:27Hunting, which won him Best Original Screenplay.
01:32He barely knew how to fight when he was tapped by Doug Liman to play the amnesiac super-spy
01:38Jason Bourne.
01:39But by the time the cameras start rolling, he was a changed man.
01:43Now there's no separating him from his, well, Bourne identity.
01:58Damon naturally gave the tragic action hero an emotional weight on top of thrilling combat
02:03skills.
02:04Whether he will return to the franchise is for him to know and for us to find out.
02:07But with all the hints he has been dropping, we're definitely looking forward to it.
02:16Number 8.
02:17Lady Gaga as Ali – A Star Is Born
02:20Coming after Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland, and Barbra Streisand, the Bourne This Way singer
02:25had big shoes to fill.
02:37This was her first starring role and viewers were having trouble separating her larger-than-life
02:41stage persona from her identity as an actress.
02:44Nevertheless, Gaga did what she does best – shock the audience.
02:49This time, it was her magical portrayal of musical underdog Ali and her heart-wrenching
02:53chemistry with Bradley Cooper.
03:03In addition to winning an Oscar for Hit Song Shallow, she was nominated for her acting.
03:08While Streisand maintained that the casting was the wrong idea, she couldn't deny its
03:12massive success either.
03:14Through Gaga's performance, a movie star was born.
03:18Number 7.
03:19Hugh Jackman as Wolverine – X-Men
03:31Being tall at 6 foot 2, Hugh Jackman's towering physique did not agree with fans of this stocky
03:37yet menacing superhero.
03:39Some even thought it was a disservice to Wolverine.
03:42And both the actor and producer Tom DeSanto were fully aware of this too.
03:49But the real reason Logan got his codename was not because of the animal's height,
03:54but for its gluttony.
03:55A glutton for death is how Dr. Abraham Cornelius described this test subject.
04:01By nailing Wolverine's ferocity, underscored by the burden of a long and hard life, Jackman
04:06has proven himself irreplaceable.
04:08Now, Wolverine's height is more of an inside joke than a hot topic.
04:19Number 6.
04:20Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones – Bridget Jones's Diary
04:31This casting went from being called the dumbest idea by a working title executive to one of
04:35the greatest roles of Renee Zellweger's career.
04:38The deeply endearing yet flawed everywoman in Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones books
04:43is Britain's pride and joy.
04:54Despite the audience's reservations, the American Zellweger was not only convincing
04:59in her accent, but unforgettable in the role.
05:02It even earned her an Academy Award nomination, and British audiences approved her performance
05:07with a BAFTA nomination.
05:09She has since reprised Bridget twice and is coming back for a fourth time in Bridget Jones'
05:14Mad About the Boy.
05:23The times may have changed, but clearly we still can't get enough of her.
05:28Number 5.
05:29Michael Keaton as Batman – Batman
05:36Michael Keaton's casting as Batman was not only unpopular, but protested against.
05:42It got so bad that the co-creator of Batman, Bob Kane, had to join the production team
05:46as a creative consultant.
05:48Still, fans were far from appeased.
05:51After all, no one saw Beetlejuice as the superhero type.
05:57It wasn't until they saw his charming, immersed portrayal of the Caped Crusader on screen
06:02that the winds changed.
06:04The praise Keaton got after the movie was double the backlash he took before.
06:15The same thing happened with Robert Pattinson.
06:18Edward Cullen can't possibly be Batman.
06:21Or so it was thought, until he proved the critics wrong.
06:25Number 4.
06:26Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen – The Hunger Games
06:35While fans of Suzanne Collins' novels were concerned about 20-year-old J-Law being too
06:39old to play 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, the author was worried production would pick
06:43someone too young.
06:45However, director Gary Ross said that he had never been more confident about a casting
06:49decision than he was about The Winter's Bone actress.
06:53He knew what he wanted, and he found it.
07:06Despite the age difference, Lawrence brought out the maturity and fortitude required of
07:10Katniss, who had to grow up too quickly in a dystopian deathmatch.
07:14Soon after The Hunger Games hit the big screen, Jennifer Lawrence became a household name.
07:30Number 3.
07:31Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man – Iron Man
07:33Our DJ didn't choose the Tony Stark life.
07:36The Tony Stark life chose him.
07:47We couldn't imagine anyone other than Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, even if we tried.
07:52The superhero's armor is like his second skin at this point, and nobody's complaining.
07:57But they sure did when he was first cast.
08:00This is because of the troubled past that gave the actor a bad boy image.
08:04Even by Stark's standard.
08:16The American Downey faced similar controversy at the time for his casting in the very British
08:21role of Sherlock Holmes.
08:30But being the genius actor he is, Downey owned both roles like no other.
08:35Number 2.
08:36Daniel Craig as James Bond – Casino Royale
08:42With Daniel Craig's blonde hair, blue eyes, and smoldering smile, you would think he'd
08:48get a green light from fans the moment his casting as the suave 007 was announced.
08:53Yet, that's exactly what made them mad.
08:56James Bond is written as more dark-haired and rugged.
08:59The creators of 2006's Casino Royale wanted an offbeat 21st century Bond, and Craig seemed
09:05to fit their bill.
09:11But hardcore fans, according to a complaint letter template for Sony, were in terrible
09:16distress.
09:17Nevertheless, Casino Royale was a smash hit at the box office and with audiences, as were
09:22the four direct sequels.
09:35Craig overcame fans' initial apprehensions to become one of the most beloved Bonds yet.
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09:56Number 1.
09:57Heath Ledger as The Joker – The Dark Knight
10:11If there's one character that has gone down in the history of cinema as golden, it is
10:15Heath Ledger's Joker.
10:17Offering a masterclass of acting, the young genius set a standard that remains insurmountable.
10:22Yet, when he was cast, he was subject to all sorts of hate imaginable.
10:28Director Christopher Nolan knew what he was getting into though.
10:37Once the first teaser of The Dark Knight came out, fans watched in awe as the handsome brokeback
10:42mountain star transformed into the terrifying clown prince of crime.
10:46With his sadly posthumous Academy Award win for a superhero movie no less, Ledger proved
10:52himself to be one of the best casting decisions of all time.
11:00Did any of these casting choices shock you?
11:02Let us know in the comments if you changed your mind, and don't forget to like and
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