calhoun07

We've been discussing the miscasting of movies. Can you think of any movies that the cast may not have gelled together so well but one actor in particular signed on and it seemed that they carried the movie? Perhaps the movie would have been a failure without them?

There aren't many I can think of off the top of my head, but I really think a movie like Groundhog Day would never have been as good or great without Bill Murray.

Blu Man

(500) Days of Summer wouldn't have been as good without Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Deadman31

Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight

Fist of Doom

BambooLounge

There Will Be Blood simply would not be what it is had any other actor besides the one pictured above been Daniel Plainview.

Also, Point Break would be nothing without Reeves...still my number 1 most unintentionally hilarious movie.

Eric D.

While he didn't save the movie, I found Chris Evans' performance to be the only good thing about The Losers.

Hokeyboy

Travis McClain

Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again. Without him, it's just a generic 80s action movie.

islandclaws

Anything starring Ah-nuld in the '80s, especially Commando.

Mondo Kane

The Three Outlaws

Neville Brand was an authentic Butch Cassidy......Compared to Alan (The Skipper) Hale Jr's Sundance Kid!!!

Nick Danger

Smokey and the Bandit. Nobody but Burt Reynolds could have carried such a stupid script and made it fun.

UAIOE

I love the movie to death, but it would be nothing without Jason Lee.

Robert

Robert Downey Jr. in Natural Born Killers. "Live, Intahviews! Wayne Gale!"

He turned an ordinary supporting role into masterful, scene-stealing genius portrayal of a tabloid reporter that is still relevant today as it was in 1994.

Michael Corvin

I don't think there is a single actor that could have carried Cast Away like Tom Hanks did.

JJE-187

Heath Ledger as The Joker

astrochimp

Bill Murray:Meatballs.

JumpCutz

Another Bill Murray movie...Lost in Translation wouldn't have worked without Billo.

Blu Man

Although there contributions to each film is big and definitely made for a better movie, The Dark Knight, Kick Ass, and There Will Be Blood would have still been good movies without the actors/actresses named in this thread.

Travis McClain

This has me thinking. I believe the film would still have worked, but it would have taken a different life. Murray infused that performance with so many nuances and reserved charm that it's hard to imagine anyone else delivering that kind of performance and creating that specific character. But then I think about a guy like Kevin Spacey, and I think he could have made the role his and kept the film compelling; it just wouldn't have been the same film. Still and all, I'm glad Bill Murray did it, because it's easily my favorite performance in his filmography.

Travis McClain

I've only seen one of those three...and I wasn't about to be the one to take the Dark Knight bait.

Solid Snake

...No. DDL I think was the only one that could make you believe he was that son of a bitch.

Hokeyboy

And IMHO the only thing that sold KICK-ASS was Hit-Girl. Because every other character (with the exception of Big Daddy) was lousy and unmemorable.

Blu Man

Without Daniel Day-Lewis it would have been a good film as opposed to a great film.

Edit: "Hokeyboy", I was referring to "BambooLounge's" post, not the picture posted by "Fist of Doom".

NoirFan

Without Paul Dano it would have been a great film as opposed to a good film.

PopcornTreeCt