Best CBM Casting Decision of All Time

[ThePhantasm]

This is not a thread about good or great casting decisions. Rather, this is a thread about actors that so perfectly embodied the character that its hard to imagine the character ever being portrayed to such perfection ever again.

Vote and explain your reasons! Did I miss anyone in the poll?

 

[TeeKay]

RDJ as Tony Stark.

 

[Batmannerism]

Chris Reeve as Superman, hands down. Yeah, it's nostalgia, but also I think Reeve captured the charm and humour of Supes, while still being strong.

I liked Henry C as Supes, but his was a more down to Earth Supes - I loved the characterization from MOS, but Cavill didn't manage to be as captivating as the last son of Krypton in his first outing as Reeve was. Hell, even in 3 sequels 2 of which were crap, Reeve was still great. So I liked Cavill, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in B v S, but Reeve was something truly special.

Maybe the thing about Batman and the Joker is that both of them have been played by a few actors, so it's not hard to think of them.

I guess that could also be said of Superman ( Reeves, Reeve, Cain, Welling, Routh and Cavill) but for some reason Reeve always comes to mind first.

So I can actually see other people as Superman, but when I think of him the first person I see is Reeve.

RDJ would be first runner up. I mean his Tony Stark is reasonably like the character in the comics, but when people think of Iron Man, they probably think of RDJ first - the same is true for Loki and Thor, they aren't necessarily like their comic book versions but have really created the roles on the big screen.

Actually, I'll put Sir Pat Stewart as tied with RDJ for runner up - as he is quite similar to how I always imagined Charles Xavier to be, and just has to show up to get the look right. I'd have to say McKellen's Magneto is the same, in that first X-movie he and Stewart were the best things by far.


Honourable mention to Bale (captured the many faces of Batman/Bruce Wayne and the rage, which is something that hasn't really been done well before). Same goes for JEH as Rorschach, now that was a truly inspired bit of casting, which made up for the very average casting for the rest of the cast of Watchmen.

Tobey Maguire also gets a mention as Spidey.

 

[horacethegrey]

It's still Reeve as Superman for me. I think it's the first time in movie history (though I may wrong) the filmmakers cast an actor who was perfect for the part of a superhero. Reeve looked like Superman and did a great job portraying the character's innate goodness while not afraid of showing his vulnerable side. Also, he made the secret identity bit believable by playing his Clark Kent as totally different from the Man of Steel. There have been many great castings in comic book films since Superman, but I think Reeve's casting is still the best of them all.

As for the rest, well it would be a long list indeed if I mentioned other castings I rate highly. So I'll just keep it short:

Tom Hiddleston as Loki
James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Xavier and Magneto
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Star/Iron Man
and yes, can't forget JK Simmons as J Jonah Jameson. t:

 

[DA_Champion]

Yeah, JK Simmoms as Jameson is the best !

 

[HaplessHenchman]

Wow, this is extremely difficult when you read over the list and think about the question. I mean, you could make an argument for any one of them.

To make my choice, I thought about which character on screen most resembled what I was thinking that character would be like in real life while reading the comic. Therefore, my choice is:

Jackie Earl Hayley as Rorschach - His portrayal was exactly how I thought the character would be while reading the comic.

 

[Lantern Venom]

With all due respect to many great actors, no other choice even comes close to Wesley Snipes as Blade. He took on the role of an obscure hero in a time when comic book adaptations were pretty much dead in the water and made it into a successful franchise.

 

[Guard82]

This is not an easy choice, because all of these actors were excellently cast for their roles. I would have to go with Christopher Reeve because he brought Superman to life in a way that few could ever match. He did a great job of embodying Superman's innate goodness and compassion, and also showing many sides of Superman's personality. It was a peerless performance.

Others that I would give special mention would be RDJ as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, and Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. They portrayed their respective heroes extremely well, and they demonstrated to a wide audience what interesting, engaging characters these heroes are.

One other I want to acknowledge is Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus. He was fantastic in the role and gave a great depiction of Octavius' psychology and motivations. Molina's performance really helped make Doc Ock one of the best comic book movie villains ever.

 

[BoredGuy]

Had to go RDJ as Stark
but Reeves, Evans, and Ledger were very close
I just don't think anyone else has come to define their comic counterpart and everyone's idea of the character the way RDJ has. Stark was a d**k for many years and RDJ made him funny and charming and loveable, and I don't think any other actor has or will have such a lasting impact on both the source material and the general audiences idea of the character

plus, RDJ was on the upswing, but the decision to cast him was a bit out-of-left-field and sheer, utter genius

 

[Scarlet Spider]

 

[Eddie Dean]

Gary Oldman as The Commish

 

[Rowsdower!]

I checked "other", simply because I think that if you include both Bale's and Keaton's Batman interpretations, then Henry Cavill's Superman deserves to be included as well. I know that Reeve is the gold standard (and he deserves to be) but I feel that Henry embodies the perfect Modern Age Superman, whereas Chris was the perfect Silver/Bronze Age Superman. So in other words, I'd say they're about equal there. It's such a hard role to cast to begin with, and the fact that WB has been able to nail it twice is pretty remarkable.

 

[Blind_Lawyer]

Damn, this is a tough one.

Christopher Reeve, Patrick Stewart, JK Simmons, Tom Hiddelston and--interestingly enough you forgot this guy--Ian McKellan nailed their roles in my opinion.

But Robert Downey Jr is tough to beat. I never liked Iron Man in the comics, but I do in the movies. Well, to an extent. Robert Downey Jr stayed mostly true to the character but actually made him likable. Though, I think some of that credit belongs to Jon Faverau too. I didn't like Tony as much in the Averngers movies and Iron Man 3. Those two really brought that character to life in a way that captured my attention.

 

[Loki882]

It's hard to pick one. If I were to go with the most perfect in terms of both performances AND matching their comic book counterparts, then the top three would probably be:

-JK Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson.
-Gary Oldman as Commissioner James Gordon.
-Sir Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier.

But then you've got other amazing choices like Hayley Atwell, Hiddleston, RDJ, Chris Evans, Hugh Jackman, etc. But they more "made the character their own."

 

[OutOfBoose]

Too many to choose from, but Ledger made the biggest impact, IMO.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I'll give it to Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, 15 years and he owns the role.

 

[Airwings]

Too many great ones here, but I guess I should go with Christopher Reeve out of nostalgia.

I miss Ian McKellen and Jack Nicholson. They should have been included.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

Very hard to pick just one but I'd go:

1. Hugh Jackman
2. J.K Simmons
3. Christopher Reeve

Honourable mention: Billy Crudup as Dr Manhattan

 

[Supa]

Gotta give it to Robert Downey Jr.

It takes a lot to take a character no onereally liked and then turn him into the face of Marvel. Seriously. you look at posters of Marvel characters before the movie, he's pretty much hidden behind guys like Spidey and Wolverine. Now, he's front and center.

Everyone knows Superman, and Jameson's always gonna be a big part, but I don't think another actor's wit and charisma completely cemented a character in the public eye like Iron Man

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

It takes a lot to take a character no onereally liked and then turn him into the face of Marvel. Seriously. you look at posters of Marvel characters before the movie, he's pretty much hidden behind guys like Spidey and Wolverine. Now, he's front and center.

That's more to do with marketing than anything else. Marvel and then Disney gradually pushed Avengers and Iron Man to the forefront in the company character tier (as they didn't sell those movie rights) while moving the others back (as they sold those movie rights)

If they cast someone else as Stark and it didn't flop then he'd have been made the face of Marvel.

RDJ helped make Iron Man popular but the character would still have been promoted and marketed heavily with another actor, and reach similiar levels of pop culture consciousness

 

[Flint Marko]

That's more to do with marketing than anything else. Marvel and then Disney gradually pushed Avengers and Iron Man to the forefront in the company character tier (as they didn't sell those movie rights) while moving the others back (as they sold those movie rights)

If they cast someone else as Stark and it didn't flop then he'd have been made the face of Marvel.

RDJ helped make Iron Man popular but the character would still have been promoted and marketed heavily with another actor, and reach similiar levels of pop culture influence

How in the world did you even come to this conclusion? Did you stare into your crystal ball to see what would have happened had they cast another actor?
RDJ became one of the highest paid actors in the world directly after Iron Man because of how much the public fell in love with him in that movie. The fact that he's mopping the floor in the poll certainly says something. Its undeniable, and it's funny to watch you try and downplay this.

 

[TeeKay]

That's more to do with marketing than anything else. Marvel and then Disney gradually pushed Avengers and Iron Man to the forefront in the company character tier (as they didn't sell those movie rights) while moving the others back (as they sold those movie rights)

If they cast someone else as Stark and it didn't flop then he'd have been made the face of Marvel.

RDJ helped make Iron Man popular but the character would still have been promoted and marketed heavily with another actor, and reach similiar levels of pop culture consciousness

 

[NotSoLongAgo]

RDJ by miles and miles and miles and miles..

Chris Evans as Cap is a close 2nd tied with JK Simmons, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill

 

[Batmannerism]

I checked "other", simply because I think that if you include both Bale's and Keaton's Batman interpretations, then Henry Cavill's Superman deserves to be included as well. I know that Reeve is the gold standard (and he deserves to be) but I feel that Henry embodies the perfect Modern Age Superman, whereas Chris was the perfect Silver/Bronze Age Superman. So in other words, I'd say they're about equal there. It's such a hard role to cast to begin with, and the fact that WB has been able to nail it twice is pretty remarkable.

Totally agree that they are different versions of Superman for different times, but Reeve was something special - Cavill is solid and likeable, but Reeve had that X factor (which is also why it made it so hard for him to take on other roles) I don't think anyone's come close to doing that,
maybe RDJ.

Just IMo of course.

 

[NotSoLongAgo]

I don't think Cavill is that great of a supes besides his looks.