- 1 year ago
From perfect fits to casting nightmares - we're exploring roles tailor-made for specific actors and those that had directors pulling their hair out! Join us as we reveal which characters were written with only one star in mind, and which ones had Hollywood scrambling through endless auditions before finding the right match.
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00:00So why don't you just luminate whilst I illuminate the possibilities?
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:07And today, we're looking at movie roles that were designed for a single person
00:11and those that had trouble finding an actor for their vision.
00:14How was that?
00:15Freddy?
00:16Hiya.
00:19Number 5. Written for Laura Linney.
00:22Sarah, Love Actually.
00:24And how long have you been in love with Carl, our enigmatic chief designer?
00:31Um.
00:35Two years, seven months, three days, and I suppose an hour and 30 minutes.
00:41Well, there's much.
00:42She may not have had the top billing in this all-star ensemble cast,
00:45but her role was still carved out with her in mind.
00:48When thinking of someone to fulfill the part of Sarah,
00:50a woman struggling with an unrequited attraction in Love Actually,
00:54director Richard Curtis only had one parameter in mind.
00:57He wanted someone similar to Laura Linney.
01:00but was having trouble finding someone like her.
01:02Good night, Sarah.
01:03Good night, Carl.
01:09This eventually prompted his then-girlfriend to suggest he go straight to the source.
01:13That was all the convincing he needed.
01:15He sent her a letter asking her to join the production,
01:18to which she excitedly agreed.
01:20After seeing her performance,
01:22it's obvious to us why he had her in mind all along.
01:25Would you excuse me for one second?
01:29Sure.
01:29Just, um.
01:31One second.
01:31You're a wizard, Harry.
01:44I'm a what?
01:48A wizard.
01:49And a thumpin' goodin' I'd wager,
01:51once you trade up a little.
01:52Daniel Radcliffe is so iconic in this role
01:54that it's hard to imagine anyone else taking it on.
01:57The titular character in the Harry Potter franchise
01:59was a dream role for countless child actors.
02:03Hundreds tried out,
02:04including now household names like Nicholas Holt.
02:06There were also multiple American actors up for the part as well,
02:24like Haley Joel Osment and Liam Aiken.
02:26However, J.K. Rowling was strict about
02:28only wanting British or Irish actors to be cast.
02:32After seven months,
02:33it seemed they would never be able to find their Harry,
02:35until the director saw Daniel Radcliffe and David Copperfield.
02:39After managing to convince his parents to let him audition,
02:42it became crystal clear that he was the perfect choice for the boy who lived.
02:46Come on, Tom.
02:48Let's finish this the way we started.
02:50Take care of us.
02:54Number 4.
02:55Written for
02:56Sandra Heller
02:57Sandra Voigt, Anatomy of a Fall
02:59You complain about the life that you chose.
03:02You are not a victim.
03:03Not at all.
03:05Your generosity conceals something dirtier and meaner.
03:09Justine Trier wanted her for this so much that she even named the part after her.
03:14After working together on the 2019 production Sybil,
03:17the director knew she had found something special in Sandra Heller.
03:20She wrote her 2023 film Anatomy of a Fall with her in mind.
03:24In fact, she was so set on the casting that had Heller said no,
03:28the project may have never come to fruition.
03:31Stop.
03:32Stop.
03:33I did not kill him.
03:38That's not the point.
03:40Luckily, the actress loved the script,
03:42and immediately signed on.
03:44She played the eponymous role of Sandra,
03:46a widow being accused of killing her husband.
03:48Immediately, Trier's vision was proven to be accurate,
03:52as Heller effortlessly took on the complexities of the character,
03:55and gave one of the most compelling performances of that year.
03:59Sometimes a couple is kind of a chaos,
04:04and everybody is lost, no?
04:06And sometimes we fight together,
04:08and sometimes we fight alone,
04:09and sometimes we fight against each other.
04:12Number 4, Hard to Cast,
04:14Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
04:17The same blood flows in my veins.
04:24Same weakness.
04:26When this epic fantasy was being produced,
04:29there were several options considered for multiple characters.
04:32The part that proved the hardest to find was Aragorn,
04:35a human ranger,
04:36and the eventual heir to the throne of Gondor.
04:38Academy Award winners Daniel Day-Lewis
04:40and Nicolas Cage were sent offers,
04:43but both turned it down.
04:44Stuart Townsend was cast,
04:46but then was recast after filming had begun
04:48due to his younger age.
04:50It was then bounced to Russell Crowe,
04:52who also declined,
04:53leading them to ask Day-Lewis a second time.
04:56Viggo Mortensen was offered the role
04:58after being seen in a play,
04:59but even he almost declined it.
05:02The blade that was broken
05:03shall return to men's teeth.
05:07Until his son, a fan of the novel,
05:09changed his mind at the last second.
05:12He accepted the offer,
05:13and the rest is history.
05:15A day may come
05:16when the courage of men fails,
05:19when we forsake our friends
05:20and break all bonds of fellowship.
05:23But it is not this day.
05:24Number 3.
05:25Written for Bill Murray.
05:27Bob Harris, Lost in Translation.
05:30So what are you doing here?
05:34A couple of things.
05:36Taking a break from my wife,
05:37forgetting my son's birthday,
05:40and getting paid $2 million to endorse a whiskey
05:44when I could be doing a play somewhere.
05:47Some directors will do whatever it takes
05:49to fulfill their vision.
05:51When Sofia Coppola began writing Lost in Translation,
05:53she only had one actor in mind for Bob Harris,
05:57Bill Murray.
05:58Even with her connections in Hollywood,
06:00it wouldn't be an easy task.
06:02The actor has been known to be elusive
06:03when he wants to be,
06:05making it difficult for her to offer him the part.
06:07Does it get easier?
06:10No.
06:13Yes.
06:15It gets easier.
06:16She was determined to have him on the project,
06:19and so she sent him a barrage of letters
06:21and called his potential client number multiple times.
06:24She even had Murray's friends reach out to him,
06:26to no avail.
06:28After a year of failed attempts,
06:29he finally agreed to meet with her,
06:31and soon after said yes to her offer.
06:34A ring-a-ding-ding?
06:35Yeah.
06:37Shinatora?
06:38You know Shinatora?
06:40Old blue eyes.
06:42Yeah.
06:43It's good, yeah.
06:45That's more of Dino.
06:46That's Dino.
06:47Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:47Number 3, Hard to Cast, Pennywise, It Franchise.
06:53Hiya, Georgie.
06:57What a nice boat.
06:59Do you want it back?
07:01Um, yes, please.
07:03Finding someone to fill the likes of Tim Curry's shoes
07:05is no easy task.
07:07The It reboot struggled to find the perfect fit
07:10for the role of Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
07:12When Carrie Fukunaga temporarily took
07:14the directorial reins in 2012,
07:16he was sure it would go to then-up-and-comer
07:18Will Poulter.
07:20Unfortunately, Fukunaga dropped the project in 2015.
07:23Around the same time,
07:24Poulter revealed that he had scheduling conflicts.
07:27This left the new director, Andy Muschietti,
07:29with a difficult job of finding their new villain.
07:32A variety of actors were considered,
07:45from Hugo Weaving to Tilda Swinton.
07:47A year later, Bill Skarsgård was confirmed to have the part,
07:51and now it's hard to imagine anyone else
07:53wearing that iconic makeup.
07:55You haven't changed anything yet.
08:02You haven't changed their futures.
08:08Number 2.
08:09Written for Samuel L. Jackson.
08:11Nick Fury.
08:12The Marvel Cinematic Universe.
08:14We've made some mistakes along the way.
08:17Some very recently.
08:20You here with a mission, sir?
08:22I am.
08:23Trying to get me back in the world?
08:25Trying to save it.
08:26Forget just being written for him,
08:28he was the inspiration behind the character's modern-day design.
08:32Nick Fury had a different look in his 1960s debut,
08:35notably being a white guy with a love of cigars.
08:38But the early 2000s Ultimate Universe changed that completely.
08:41The concept for his updated look had been designed around Samuel L. Jackson,
08:46and it quickly became canon.
08:47The actor not only knew he'd inadvertently become the face of S.H.I.E.L.D.,
08:50he even approved of the choice.
08:52You're not the director of me.
08:54I'm not the director of anybody.
08:56I'm just an old man who cares very much about you.
09:00When it came time to adapt the comics for the silver screen,
09:03it only made sense to ask the man behind the likeness.
09:06He was signed on for a nine-movie deal,
09:08and since then has portrayed him in film and TV for over 15 years.
09:15Oh, no.
09:17Well done.
09:25Number 2. Hard to cast.
09:27Freddie Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody.
09:30Goodbye, everybody.
09:32I've got to go.
09:34Casting someone to play a musical legend is no easy task.
09:44Besides being incredibly talented,
09:46Freddie Mercury had a very magnetic presence that's hard to match.
09:50When Bohemian Rhapsody was first conceptualized in 2010,
09:53Sacha Baron Cohen was chosen to play the star.
09:56He backed out in 2013,
09:58due to him wanting to take the story in a different direction.
10:00That left them without a front man,
10:03and the search for a replacement began.
10:05I was born with four additional incisors.
10:07More space in my mouth means more range.
10:10I'll consider your offer.
10:12That same year, Ben Wishaw was set to sign on,
10:14but he ended up pulling out a year later after having issues with the script.
10:18The project remained in limbo for years,
10:21until Rami Malek stepped up to the plate in late 2016,
10:24and things finally began to fall into place.
10:27We will, we will rock you.
10:32Sing it!
10:33We will, we will rock you.
10:39Number one.
10:40Written for Robin Williams, Genie, Aladdin.
10:44Hello, Aladdin.
10:44Nice to have you on the show.
10:46Can we call you Al?
10:47Or maybe just Din.
10:48How about Lottie?
10:49Sounds like, here boy.
10:50Come on, Lottie.
10:51There are some casting decisions that are pure gold from the very beginning.
10:55Having Robin Williams play an eccentric and hilarious genie in Aladdin
10:59is among the cream of the crop.
11:01The part was written with the comedian in mind,
11:04particularly his unique sense of humor and signature mannerisms.
11:07Rule number one.
11:09I can't kill anybody.
11:10Yeah, so don't ask.
11:12Rule number two.
11:13I can't make anybody fall in love with anybody else.
11:17You little punum there.
11:20Rule number three.
11:21I can't bring people back from the dead.
11:24But it's not a pretty picture.
11:26I don't like doing it.
11:28Other than that, you got it.
11:30As soon as they got him in the studio,
11:32they immediately knew they had made the right choice.
11:35The actor improvised to his heart's content,
11:38adding in so many jokes that one scene ended up being 20 minutes long.
11:41He gave them hours of content to use,
11:44and the results speak for themselves.
11:46It's the very essence of Williams' comedic talents
11:49bottled into a single character.
11:50And just like Genie himself,
11:52it's pure magic.
11:54You ain't never had a friend like me!
12:00Before we continue,
12:04be sure to subscribe to our channel
12:06and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
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12:14If you're on your phone,
12:15make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
12:18Number 1. Hard to cast.
12:21Every role.
12:22Triple Frontier.
12:23The effects of committing extreme violence on other human beings
12:27are biological.
12:30And physiological.
12:33That's the price of being a warrior.
12:35J.C. Shandor had trouble finding actors to sign on to his 2019 heist movie,
12:40with the issues beginning almost a decade beforehand.
12:43In 2010, it seemed like Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp, and Will Smith were set to star.
12:48By 2017, they pulled out,
12:51and were replaced with Channing Tatum, Tom Hardy, and Mahershala Ali.
12:55Paramount then dropped the film,
12:56which led to Tatum and Hardy walking,
12:58and the Affleck brothers being considered.
13:00Ben briefly dropped the project,
13:02and his slot nearly went to Mark Wahlberg.
13:04I got a drop!
13:10Ah!
13:11Ben!
13:12Ah!
13:17Bad landing.
13:18At the same time,
13:19Ali was forced to withdraw due to the delays.
13:22Affleck returned to the cast in 2018,
13:24and by then,
13:25they had finally managed to lock down the other five lead roles as well.
13:29Did you manage to keep track of all that?
13:31Paint.
13:31Paint.
13:31The house is the safe.
13:40Have any of your favorite actors had a role written just for them?
13:44Let us know in the comments below.
13:45Woo-hoo!
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