While casting key roles in high-profile films, it seems like Hollywood looks at every star
in the industry, tossing a half-dozen names into the rumor mill before finally making
up their minds.
These are roles, however, that were destined for one actor and one actor only — and it's
easy to see why.
Rubeus Hagrid
Because of the "U.K. only" casting policy mandated by Harry Potter author J.K.
Rowling, several American actors who were keen to get in on the Hogwarts action were
turned away without so much as an audition, including the legendary Robin Williams, who
had his eye on the role of groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid.
But Rowling herself only ever envisioned one man for the role: veteran character actor
Robbie Coltrane.
"Who are you?"
"Rubeus Hagrid.
Keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts."
It's tough to imagine anyone else in the role of the gentle half-giant, based on a Hell's
Angel biker Rowling once knew.
Fans will recall that Hagrid's first appearance is aboard a flying motorcycle, which now makes
a bit more sense.
Hellboy
For most of his career, Ron Perlman was known as a talented actor who almost always appeared
under layers of makeup and prosthetics.
His first film role was as a neanderthal in 1981's Quest for Fire, and his breakout gig
came in 1987, starring opposite Linda Hamilton in the TV series Beauty and the Beast.
So it makes sense Guillermo Del Toro favored him for the lead role in his 2004 adaptation
of the Dark Horse comics series Hellboy.
So intent was Del Toro on casting Perlman in the title role that he turned down a bigger
budget, a bevy of A-list actors, and two studios in his quest to get the film made.
In particular, Universal virtually forced Del Toro to talk with multiple major stars
about the role for years, only for the determined Del Toro to repeat his mantra to executives
after every meeting: "Yeah, I like the guy… but I like Ron Perlman more."
Nada
John Carpenter's They Live is a dystopian sci-fi B-movie masterpiece with a protagonist
never referred to by name in the film — but the credits call him "Nada."
Nada is a stone-faced homeless drifter who discovers, via magic sunglasses, that aliens
are living in our midst, controlling all of society, and he deals with this information
in his own...um... unique way …
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass ... "
"And I'm all out of bubblegum."
It's a role Carpenter's fans would have expected to see Kurt Russell in, and practically nobody
else, but Carpenter's longtime muse wasn't even considered.
Nobody was, except a professional wrestler with a rather limited acting resume.
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper brought depth, low-key charm, and a rugged everyman presence to the
role.
Carpenter says Piper was, quote, "just absolutely perfect, so I never thought of anybody else."
Nick Fury
In 2002, Marvel Comics artists Mark Millar was asked to redesign some classic characters
for Marvel's Ultimate line.
One of these was S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury, the eyepatch-sporting superspy who had
previously been portrayed by David Hasselhoff in a little-remembered TV movie.
Millar envisioned his version of Fury as an update of the character's cool '60s spy aesthetic,
and—deciding the name had a blaxploitation bent to it—decided to cast his Fury in the
image of "the coolest man alive," Samuel L. Jackson.
Unbeknownst to Marvel's writers, Jackson was a huge comics fan and was fully aware of the
homage from the beginning.
The update was well-received by fans, and Marvel Studios overlord Kevin Feige made an
on-the-fly decision to cast Jackson as Fury in Iron Man's famous post-credits stinger—a
scene that wasn't even in the original script.
The rest is history, as Fury became the glue that holds the Marvel Cinematic Universe together
and the latest in a long series of iconic roles for the beloved actor.
Drax the Destroyer
Former wrestler Dave Bautista is pitch-perfect as the - "not understanding what an idiom
is" - juggernaut Drax the Destroyer in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy series.
"His people are completely literal, metaphors are going to go over his head.
"Nothing goes over my head.
My reflexes are too fast.
I would catch it."
There were persistent rumors that the role was first offered to Jason Momoa, who then
flipped franchises to portray Aquaman in DC's Extended Universe.
While Momoa confirms that he did audition for the role of Drax, he says he removed himself
from consideration before an offer was made, and that talks never got as far as fans speculated.
Visiting the set of the first film in 2013, Yahoo!
Movies put the final nail in the rumor's coffin, confirming with cast and crew that Bautista,
while not hand-picked from the start, was indeed the one and only actor ever offered
the role.
The Singular David Bowie
Generally considered to be the better of 2006's two "magicians at the turn of the century"
films, Christopher Nolan's The Prestige is a solid thriller about the lengths to which
two old-timey magicians would go in order to screw with each other.
Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale headed up an excellent cast, which included an absolutely
inspired choice to play insane genius Nikola Tesla: David Bowie, the Thin White Duke himself.
The late Bowie had a famously otherworldly presence, and Nolan never considered anybody
else to portray the enigmatic inventor.
Almost twenty years prior, Bowie was also Martin Scorsese's first and only choice for
the icy Pontius Pilate in 1988's The Last Temptation of Christ.
His performance was singled out among critics as being more appropriate to the material
than that of his co-stars, proving Scorsese understood that casting is much the same as
life—when you've gotta have David Bowie, you've gotta have David Bowie.
"Go home.
Forget this thing.
I can recognize an obsession.
No good will come of it."
Thanks for watching!
Click the Looper icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!