It is not uncommon for people to succeed in carrying out something despite the criticism from the rest of the world. It can happen in every field: on a personal level, for instance, with ambitious projects that one is very excited about, but a family member comes along and suggests that the project has no future. A few years go by and the project succeeds. In the workplace, this may happen when one takes on a new role for which he or she has been trained, but does not get the warmest of welcomes from the rest of their new team, who is waiting for the first mistake to point out that assigning the job to that person was a bad idea right from teh star. Over time, one can prove that he or she is qualified for the job and turns out to do a brilliant job.
This can also happen to actors, but to a greater extent, because every time they get cast in a new movie, everyone knows about it. What's more, everyone gets to talk about before they even see the movie or show, for better and for worse, posting their opinions and expectations on social media. While many actors prefer to always perform the same type of characters in all productions, others choose to take on roles far removed from what they have done in the past. Many times, these jobs are roles that are highly anticipated by the fans, who are not always happy with the casting choices. In other cases, the ones who disagree are the critics, who express their concern about the casting team's decisions, particularly if it involves a leading role. Regardless of the source of the complaints and the fact that, sometimes, the actor's performance may not live up to expectations, while some actors were able to push through regardless of the criticisms and delivered impeccable performances of their characters. So much so that those roles became some of their most outstanding pieces of work, making it hard to think of that character being portrayed by another actor anymore. That is why, in this article, we will take a look at eight actors who were received initial backlash for their casting in what are now iconic roles.
8 Daniel Craig — James Bond
Daniel Craig was the most unwelcome actor in the history of the James Bond movies. He took over the role after Pierce Brosnan left it vacant in 2002, and while it is now difficult to detach Agent 007 from Craig, back when news first broke, fans were livid. Some felt that his appearance did not match James Bond, while others feared that Craig was unable to pull off the required action scenes. The actor later said in interviews that, while he didn't take the public criticism well, the only thing he could do was to make a great movie to prove to them that he was fit for the role. Indeed, he was: most of the complaints about Craig were silenced when Casino Royale was released, a film that performed excellently with critics and consolidated Craig in his role with a more serious and introspective Bond, giving a new approach to his character until his last movie, No Time To Die. It is only a matter of time to see who will be cast as the next James Bond.
7 Anne Hathaway — Selina Kyle / Catwoman
After Michelle Pfeiffer's brilliant performance and Halle Berry's disappointing turn as Catwoman, expectations were high as to who would play the character for Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy. When it became known that the actress the director had chosen was Anne Hathaway, the audience was disappointed and began to question whether Hathaway was really right for the role of the infamous thief. Still, Nolan knew exactly what he was doing and Hathaway proved to be up to the task, earning rave reviews for her performance, with a smart, seductive, desirable and lethal attitude. The Batman movie was recently released, and in this new production, the role of Catwoman is interpreted by Zoë Kravitz.
6 Heath Ledger — The Joker
It's mind-boggling to believe that when Heath Ledger was announced to play The Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, fans labeled this choice as "the worst casting in history." The actor portrayed the Joker flawlessly, and to this day, he remains to be the best Batman villain ever. In fact, his performance was so good that Ledger won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor after his death. However, at first neither fans nor members of the production believed that the well-known teen movie heartthrob and star of Brokeback Mountain could, at the time, mirror the genius and wickedness of the villain. Even Nolan's own brother, screenwriter Jonathan Nolan revealed that he, too, was surprised by his brother's choice for the iconic role, and tried to persuade him to switch actors. Yet, when he saw Ledger performing, it made perfect sense: the actor amazed with his skills and rose to stardom with this iconic role. Ledger remains remembered to this day as the best Joker ever in cinema history.
5 Robert Pattinson — Bruce Wayne / The Batman
The character of Edward Cullen was the one that made Robert Pattinson known worldwide, but was, at the same time, the one that sentenced him to the audience's criticism and left him pigeonholed in a single role that failed to honor his skills as an actor. When Pattinson was announced as the new Batman in Matt Reeves' film The Batman, fans of this superhero character were quick to criticize him, and flooded social media, claiming that the casting choice was wrong, and that Pattinson was not up to the task. These criticisms, however, did not worry the actor, who got used to getting backlash from his role in Twilight, nor the director, who felt that all the actors who have played Batman in movies and series received initial backlash. As it happened, Pattinson was able to demonstrate once again his acting skills in this production that received rave reviews.
4 Hugh Jackman — Logan / Wolverine
Hugh Jackman was not the first actor to be offered the role of Wolverine. He was preceded by Dougray Scott and Russell Crowe. Back then, Jackman was not the renowned actor he is today, only having appeared in a few film and television productions from his native Australia. Marvel fans didn't know him and deemed him unsuitable for the role: they said he was too tall, lacked the body to portray the superhero, and wasn't renowned. The critics were too many, but Jackman didn't listen to them; he simply focused on training his body and working hard to be up to the task. And he did: for 16 years and nine films, he stepped into the skin of Wolverine flawlessly, although according to him, he would no longer embody the character in future films.
3 Renée Zellweger — Bridget Jones
Why cast an American actress to play a British character? This was the main complaint from fans of Helen Fielding's British novel when it was revealed that Renée Zellweger would star as Bridget Jones. And although her performance in this film would earn her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, fanatics weren't initially thrilled with her casting. Not only was she American while Jones was British, she was not yet known for her movie roles, and her physical appearance did not match the overweight main character of the novel. Facing all this criticism, Zellweger was undaunted, worked hard with a trainer to improve her British accent, and gained weight to resemble the character that is now known as one of her most iconic roles.
2 Robert Downey Jr. — Tony Stark / Iron Man
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When in 2008 news broke that Robert Downey Jr. would portray Marvel's iconic superhero, no one thought Downey was up to the task. Before he became Iron Man, Downey had a long period of addictions, substance abuse, and problems with the police. The studio itself was wary of him for such an important movie within the MCU, but Jon Favreau fought tirelessly to have him as the lead because he saw the striking similarities between the actor and the billionaire hero. And while this decision could have completely ruined Marvel's reputation, it ended up paying off: the movie was a hit, Iron Man is the actor's most iconic role to this day, and critics reviews were excellent.
1 Johnny Depp — Edward Scissorhands
Johnny Depp was not the first casting option to play Edward Scissorhands. In fact, the production expected a guaranteed success alongside actors already known at the time, such as Robert Downey Jr., Tom Hanks, or Jim Carrey. Still, Tim Burton already sensed the potential of Depp — an actor at the very beginning of his career with few productions on his record yet personally attached to his role — when he saw him as the rebellious and seductive young man in Cry-Baby. Eventually, the director managed to impose himself to carry out his vision with his chosen actor, and the movie was not only a success, but also launched Depp's career to stardom, marking the beginning of several collaborations with Burton.