Great green ogres, wise wizards, and one long dog; great characters live forever, but great actors might not always be able to stick around to give them life. Here are a few roles that had to be recast for unfortunate reasons.
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00:00Great green ogres, wise wizards, and one long dog.
00:04Great characters live forever, but great actors might not be able to stick around to give
00:09them life.
00:10Here are a few roles that had to be recast for unfortunate reasons.
00:15Jim Varney
00:16Jim Varney is probably best remembered for the role of Ernest P. Worrell, a country bumpkin
00:19who often found himself in unusual situations.
00:23While the Ernest movies vary in quality, the character has remained popular.
00:27Varney also played another lovable character in a famous franchise, providing the voice
00:31of the friendly Slinky Dog in both Toy Story and Toy Story 2.
00:35I knew you were right all along, Woody.
00:37Never doubted you for a second.
00:39Shortly after the release of the second Toy Story, Varney passed away due to lung cancer
00:43at the age of 50.
00:44Ten years later, when it came time to produce 2010's Toy Story 3, actor Blake Clark was
00:49cast in the role of Slinky Dog, and provided the signature Southern accent for the toy
00:53Dachshund.
00:55Clark was chosen to replace Varney for some Toy Story shorts and Toy Story 4 as well,
00:59a job he found hard considering he had been friends with Varney for many years.
01:04Recasting significant characters in the Robert Zemeckis sci-fi franchise Back to the Future
01:09was nothing new by the time Elizabeth Shue replaced Claudia Wells in the second part
01:13of the trilogy.
01:14After all, Eric Stultz was dropped as protagonist Marty McFly after a portion of the film was
01:19shot, with Michael J. Fox taking his place.
01:22In that first film, Wells portrayed Jennifer Parker, Marty's girlfriend.
01:26Even Wells herself was a replacement, landing the part after the original actor, Melora
01:31Hardin, was thought to be too tall to appear next to Fox as his love interest.
01:35"...Why is this so hard?
01:40That's what she said."
01:41Jennifer was a minor role in the 1985 film, but took on a greater part in the 1989 sequel,
01:47which saw a number of casting changes, with Jeffrey Wiseman replacing Crispin Glover as
01:52George McFly as well.
01:53Shue replaced Wells in Back to the Future Part II for a pretty significant reason.
01:57Her mother, who also acted as her agent, had cancer, and Wells found it too difficult to
02:02continue filming while she was so ill.
02:04Wells told HuffPost,
02:05"...My mother had four-stage lymphoma.
02:08I had so much happening personally that, deep down, I never considered reprising my role,
02:13and deep in my soul, I knew this was the right choice for me."
02:17The success of The Matrix meant that sequels were a certainty.
02:20Both Reloaded and Revolutions expanded the fictional universe, introducing viewers to
02:25new characters.
02:26Among them was Zee, the sister of Dozer and Tank, two figures who played important roles
02:31in the first movie.
02:32The original plan was to have singer and actor Aaliyah play the part of Zee, but tragedy
02:37intervened.
02:38The 22-year-old star was killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas.
02:42The Matrix, Reloaded, and Revolutions were filmed back-to-back.
02:45Aaliyah had actually completed some scenes for the first sequel, but she went to the
02:49Bahamas to film a music video before she could finish her work as Zee.
02:53She and eight others were killed when the plane went down on the return journey.
02:57An investigation found that the plane was overloaded and that the pilot had alcohol
03:01and cocaine in his system.
03:03A number of potential replacements for Aaliyah were seemingly in contention before the role
03:07was given to Nona Gay, the daughter of singer Marvin Gaye.
03:11It was reportedly a tough decision for Gaye, because she was friends with Aaliyah and had
03:16reservations.
03:17Ultimately, she was nominated for a NAACP award for her performance in The Matrix, Revolutions.
03:22The Oracle is a significant figure in The Matrix lore.
03:25In the first film, she's held in high esteem by Morpheus, who visits her with Neo in the
03:29hope of proving that he's actually the One.
03:32I'm not the One.
03:33Sorry, kid.
03:34Gloria Foster played the mysterious but friendly character in the original 1999 movie, revealing
03:40prophecies that prove pivotal in guiding the actions of many of the protagonists.
03:45Foster reprised her role in the 2003 sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, again providing advice
03:50and guidance to Neo.
03:52However, despite Revolutions being filmed soon after, Foster wasn't able to reprise
03:56her role, as she had passed from complications from diabetes on September 29, 2001, at the
04:02age of 67.
04:03The role went to Mary Alice, and the in-universe explanation was that the character had to
04:08discard her original avatar following an attack.
04:11Alice, a Tony and Emmy winner herself, died in 2022, at the age of 85.
04:17Sin City a Dame to Kill For is the 2014 sequel to the 2005 film, Sin City.
04:23Like its predecessor, it was written by Frank Miller, who again co-directed it with Robert
04:28Rodriguez.
04:29Several actors reprised their roles from the original film, including Jessica Alba, Mickey
04:33Rourke, Rosario Dawson, and Bruce Willis.
04:36The ensemble cast also saw Christopher Lloyd, Josh Brolin, Ava Green, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
04:42join as new characters.
04:43One figure from Sin City that also returned but was recast is Monute, who was originally
04:48portrayed by Michael Clarke Duncan.
04:50The reason behind this change was simple — Duncan had died before production began.
04:54Best known for his work in films like The Green Mile and Armageddon, Duncan had a heart
04:59attack on July 13, 2012.
05:01His condition seemingly improved, but he remained in the hospital until September 3, 2012, when
05:07he died from respiratory failure at the age of just 54.
05:11For the Sin City sequel, he was replaced by Dennis Haysbert, who was known for playing
05:15President David Palmer in 24 and God in Lucifer, among other roles.
05:21The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is a 2009 fantasy film that was co-written and directed
05:26by Terry Gilliam.
05:28It has a cast that includes Christopher Plummer, Andrew Garfield, Tom Waits, and Vern Troyer,
05:33with Heath Ledger portraying protagonist Tony Shepard.
05:36Unfortunately, Ledger died during filming, having completed around half of his scenes,
05:40prompting a halt of the production.
05:42The actor was discovered dead at his home on January 22, 2008.
05:46An investigation found that the cause of death was an accidental overdose of prescription
05:51medication.
05:52Although he initially feared the movie would be canceled, Gilliam was determined to keep
05:56it alive.
05:57He wanted to finish the film by using actors to play altered versions of Ledger's character
06:01inside the imaginations of other figures from the story.
06:04Tom Cruise was suggested, but Gilliam rejected this and decided to go with close friends
06:09of the late actor, telling NPR,
06:11"...I wanted to keep this in the family."
06:13Eventually, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell all agreed to appear in the movie
06:18in tribute to Ledger and to ensure his final film was released.
06:23Shrek cemented DreamWorks as a force in the world of animation, and proved that animated
06:27films could appeal to the entire family.
06:29The movie was so successful that it spawned an entire franchise.
06:32What might be hard to imagine for fans, though, is that the ogre could have sounded completely
06:37different.
06:38"...I live in a swamp.
06:39I put up saint.
06:40I'm a terrifying ogre!"
06:42That's because comedian Chris Farley was originally offered the role.
06:46He had recorded almost all of his lines for Shrek before he tragically died of an accidental
06:50overdose.
06:51"...people see me and they go, ah, help, a big, stupid, stinky, smelly, ugly ogre!"
06:58Producer Jeffrey Katzenberg was forced to replace Farley, and Mike Myers was given the
07:02role.
07:03The change in cast also led to changes in the script, with Myers wanting to avoid stepping
07:08on the toes of what Farley had done, creating a more grumpy and standoffish version of the
07:12ogre.
07:13Myers caused more headaches when he insisted that Shrek should have a Scottish accent.
07:17It cost him $4 million to make the necessary changes, but it was a smart move in the end.
07:22With even Steven Spielberg admitting that Myers was right.
07:25As Myers told The National,
07:27"...he sent me a lovely letter, Steven Spielberg, saying, you're so right, it's way better as
07:32Scottish.
07:33Thank you so much."
07:34Myers also explained why he wanted to make Shrek Scottish, saying,
07:37"...I always thought that ogres were working people.
07:40Growing up as a working person, Scottish people are near and dear to me.
07:44I have relatives in Scotland, and they're working people."
07:48Richard Harris played the role of Hogwarts headmaster Professor Albus Dumbledore in the
07:51first two Harry Potter films, Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets.
07:55Sadly, the veteran Irish actor died in October 2002 before principal photography began on
08:01the third installment, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
08:05Numerous actors were suggested as possible replacements, including Lawrence of Arabia
08:09star Peter O'Toole.
08:10Chris Columbus, who directed the first two films, told The Wrap,
08:13"...it was obviously a crushing blow when Richard Harris passed away.
08:16I met with Peter O'Toole about playing Dumbledore, and he was close, except Richard was his best
08:22friend, and he felt it was intrusive from an acting point of view, so he decided not
08:26to do it."
08:27Ian McKellen was also approached by the filmmakers, though he turned down the role because Harris
08:31had criticized him in the past.
08:33"...I couldn't take over the part from an actor who I'd known didn't approve of."
08:38Michael Gambon eventually accepted the part and chose to take the character in a new direction,
08:42with a slight Irish accent as a nod to the previous actor.
08:46McKellen enjoyed Gambon's performance, but some fans were bothered by the actor's replacement,
08:50as they felt Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore wasn't as close as the character from the
08:54books.
08:56William Hurt's Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross is one of the longest-running characters in the
09:00Marvel Cinematic Universe.
09:01He first appeared in The Incredible Hulk as a lieutenant general of the United States
09:05Army in charge of the Biotech Force Enhancement Project.
09:09Ross showed up in later movies as a U.S. Secretary of State and was instrumental in the creation
09:14of the Sokovia Accords.
09:15Hurt's final performance as Ross came in Black Widow.
09:18Hurt passed away due to cancer in 2022.
09:21Plans are already in place for Ross to play a more significant role in the MCU, and we've
09:25had our first look at a new actor in character, with Harrison Ford taking over the role in
09:30Captain America Brave New World.
09:32By this point in the timeline, Ross has made it all the way to the Oval Office and is serving
09:36as the president.
09:37Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Ford said that he's looking forward to trying a new
09:41experience, telling them,
09:42I like doing something different of what I've ever done and pleasing people with it."
09:46But how will Marvel handle the recasting of Thunderbolt Ross with Harrison Ford?
09:50With a cheeky line of dialogue, it would seem.
09:52I have to admit, I'm still getting used to the new look.
09:55They said the loser must ask her to lose the election.
09:59It's an all-time Hollywood classic, but the production of The Wizard of Oz was nightmarish
10:03for almost everyone involved.
10:05Among endless script revisions, director changes, cruel working conditions, and multiple serious
10:10injuries, there was also a potentially life-threatening issue that led to Buddy Epson having to leave
10:15the production.
10:16Epson was due to play the Scarecrow in the film, but Ray Bolger swapped roles with him,
10:21leading to Epson instead taking on the part of the Tin Man.
10:24But it wasn't meant to be.
10:26He was replaced on the role by Jack Haley after he had to withdraw due to illness caused
10:30by the silver makeup he had to wear.
10:32It turned out that the makeup contained toxic aluminum dust that led to some serious respiratory
10:38issues.
10:39Director Kiki Epson later told Fox,
10:41"...it coated the inside of his lungs like paint.
10:43He could not get oxygen to his blood, but he didn't know this was happening.
10:47He just knew that he was cramping up on set and during shooting.
10:50When the actor woke up one night in so much pain that he thought he was dying, he was
10:54rushed to the hospital and spent two weeks on oxygen.
10:57It was a further six weeks before he was declared fit again."
11:00By this point, producers had already replaced him with Haley.
11:03It was a blow for Epson, though he went on to find fame as Jed Clampett in the Beverly
11:08Hillbillies and as the title character in Barnaby Jones.