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.
Everyone in 21
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?
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.
Ben Foster as Medivh in Warcraft
Not much went well in the movie adaptation of the ultra-popular MMORPG “World of Warcraft,” but Ben Foster is probably one of the worst casting choices, however, and that's saying something if you've seen this movie. He was so obviously miscast in the role; it was hard to focus on much else while he was in the scene.
The film's script gave him tons of nonsensical lines to spout off, which did nothing for the pacing of the film and the viewers' enjoyment. He looks very out of place as a wizard, and his scenes got people laughing unintentionally. Not good in a fantasy action movie.
Matthew McConaughey as Man in Black in The Dark Tower
One of the most disappointing movies of 2017, “The Dark Tower” tried to distill seven Stephen King books down to one and a half hours, and that's not all. A lot of the blame falls on Akiva Goldman's terrible script; McConaughey goes full ham as his character of the movie's main antagonist, even though the character is supposed to be a mysterious, enigmatic, and dangerous character every time he appears.
The terrible dialogue from the Man in Black weighs the performance down even more, and while Idris Elba was able to rise above the writing, McConaughey wasn't.