Best casting decisions

[Thorinfling]

Have been rewatching The Sandman on Netflix and am again blown away by Tom Sturridge as Dream/Morpheus. He's so incredibly otherworldly and compelling, such a great casting choice for that role.

Anyone fancy sharing their favourite casting decisions? (Or worst! 😁)

Hugh Grant in most things is perfectly (type) cast but he suits the roles.

Julie Andrews as Maria in The Sound of Music

Maggie Smith as Charlotte Bartlett and Judi Dench as Eleanor Lavish in A Room with a View (less keen on Helena BC as Lucy).

Sarah Lancashire as Catherine Cawood in Happy Valley.

Kaley Cuoco as Penny in the BBT ( they made the pilot show with a different actress and it bombed. Kaley saved the show.

James Norton as Rev Sidney Chambers in Grantchester. Swoon!

Sam Reid as Lestat in AMCs Interview with the Vampire. I read the novels almost 30 years ago and it's such a dream to have the perfect person bring him to life. Helps that he is such a fan of the books himself.

And Shaun Evans as Endeavour

That Labrador puppy in the Andrex advert.

At one point they were looking at using Spike the Hedgehog, put that wouldn't really have worked.

Hattie McDaniel has been mentioned for GWTW but to me all the casting was spot on.

Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney in OFAH.

Agree with House of the Dragon (Emily Carey and Olivia Cooke are identical to me!) and also Heartstopper and Killing Eve. I personally really liked the Harry Potter casting as well.

Spiderman - all of them (especially Andrew Garfield).

Why do they get it right and Batman get it wrong so often?

Matt Smith as the doctor
Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen

Completely agree with Joan Hickson as Miss Marple and David Suchet as Poirot.

While we're on an Agatha Christie theme, absolutely everyone in the 2015 BBC adaptation of And Then There Were None. Perfect.

Oprah Winfrey as Sophia in The Colour Purple. I knew her from this before her talk show. They all walk off the page, apart from Celie, which to be fair to Whoopi Goldberg is an immense part.

Oh yes definitely Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music! I love her

Oh God, yes! Brilliant cast, brilliant series.

One from about ten years later - that cast of Sleepers. Nigel Havers, Warren Clarke, all of them.

Michael Kitchen as DCI Christopher Foyle. He's an amazing actor.

Alun Armstrong as Brian Lane and James Bolam as Jack Halford in New Tricks. The series started to fall apart when Jack left the team imo.

Joanna Lumley in Absolutely Fabulous, completely perfect for the role "daahling"

The child actor who plays Young Sheldon. There is an episode of Big Bang Theory, towards the end of the final season, in which adult Sheldon converses with Young Sheldon. Seeing the Sheldons together as the young and old version of the same person is very believable.

Oooh I bought it, but the character was very chameleon-like and a mimic. He was to blend in perfectly in a very upper class hotel atmosphere so he looked the part to all the guests. His character learned by watching and emulating. I also love him as Loki so I'm not that partial. TH can do no wrong! 😂

Benedict C as Sherlock Holmes (or at least this Sherlock) who was sociopathic and didn't have his own expressions. Just mirroring. When he got a girlfriend (for his own purposes) his acting was over the top because he was so perfectly a boyfriend with her and then his normal Sherlock self away from her view. I love that episode. And all the others.

Best - Jennifer Ehle in bbc pride and prejudice... miles better than Keira Knighley. In fact, most of the casting of that series....

Worst - Brad pitt in troy....some of his worst acting and he isn't great at the best of times.

Okay this is an obscure one but ... worst casting/acting - Geri Halliwell cameo as 'Pheobe' in sex and the city. It makes me want to curl up into a ball I'm cringing so much.

Best,

David Dawson as Alfred The Great in The Last Kingdom.

Frances Fisher Ruth Dewitt Bukater in Titanic I bet Carol Middleton took inspiration from her.

Alison Steadman as Mrs Bennett in Pride and Prejudice.

The entire Lord of the Rings cast.

Worst: the entire cast of Interview With The Vampire. Crap story made even worse by idiotic casting and godawful costumes and wigs. Antonio Banderas as an eternal fifteen-year-old? Puh-leease.