Movies inspired by real-life events always take a few liberties in order to make filming, writing, and casting easier, but “21” had a problem. You see, the team of real-life MIT blackjack players who took Vegas for a ride with their new card-counting techniques was mainly Asian Americans.
But that’s a no-go for Hollywood for some reason, which means that all of those roles that could have gone to Asian-Americans instead went to established white actors. The film’s producer, Dana Brunetti, implied that because of the lack of diversity, Hollywood opted for more established actors. Also, the movie wasn’t good as a baseline, so who cares?
Josh Hartnett as Brian Allen in Blow Dry
“Blow Dry” is one of those movies that wouldn't have been very good no matter who was cast, but Josh Hartnett was one of the worst choices the movie made. Hartnett plays a Yorkshire barber with an accent that causes real, physical pain to everybody who speaks or has ever heard an accent from the United Kingdom.
With some combination of Yorkshire, Irish, and California beach bum, Hartnett needed way more time to get the voice right. Poor departed Alan Rickman had to play this character's father and was probably going mad trying to deal with the accent.
Laurence Olivier as Othello in Othello
Laurence Olivier is one of the most powerful and legendary actors that has ever appeared on stage or screen. He made a huge name for himself, appearing as some of the bard's most famous characters, such as Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear. Othello, on the other hand, struck up a lot of controversies.
He took to the gym to become the general and even took voice lessons to lower his voice, but took preparation for the role a step too far.
Sean Connery as Marko Aleksandrovich in The Hunt for Red October
Don't get us wrong: the dearly departed Sean Connery was great in the film adaptation of Tom Clancy's first novel. The movie would have been half as good if not for this Scot, but therein lies the problem.
Connery is Scottish through and through, and his accent stuck out like a sore thumb among other actors who could do much better Russian. Of course, he's Sean Connery, so he gets a little bit of a pass, and his acting in the movie and the movie as a whole are both incredible, but Connery's brogue is unmistakable.
Anthony Hopkins as Coleman Silk in The Human Stain
Philip Roth's novel of the same name, “The Human Stain,” stars Coleman Silk, a Jewish English professor who is a light-skinned African-American. So, of course, Hollywood cast Anthony Hopkins, a white Welsh actor, as Silk.
What makes matters worse is Wentworth Miller was cast as a younger version of the character, and while Miller makes more sense as Silk, the two actors look nothing alike. Thankfully, both actors are good enough that the movie didn't suffer, but there are so many actors, established or just starting out, that would have been better fitted.