Billy Bob Thornton was the 1st choice for GG.

[pjspider1C]

Halle Berry is an Academy award winner.

Nuff' said.

Who gives a **** about Halle Berry? Her winning an Academy Award was a fluke - the only reason she got it is because she played opposite Billy Bob Thornton. Just because you have one awesome performance out of a buttload of crappy movies doesn't make you worthy of an Academy Award in my book. Willem DaFoe on the other hand is great in everything he does and earned his nomination, and should've won it IMO.

Now don't get me wrong, I think Billy Bob Thornton is a fine actor - and I could see him playing the Green Goblin. But, I think the way Dafoe played him was great also.

On a side note, I followed the hype for the first movie, and I don't recall any rumors of Billy Bob Thornton... to my knowledge, John Malkovich was the first runner-up for the Green Goblin but turned it down because the movie wasn't "artistic"...

 

[TheCaptain22555]

Dafoe was so perfect. He nailed the psycho, split personality of Osborne.

 

[hammerhedd11]

I'm glad he turned down the part. He's a good actor but I just can't see him as GG.

 

[blk_spidey]

also raimi offered a role to nicholas cage as the gg

 

[ThatDamnNinja]

Nicholas Cage and Billy Bob Thorton I can sort of see as Green Goblin. I love John Malkovich, but as far as "Comic Book Supervillains I'd Like to See John Malkovich Play," Green Goblin isn't too close to the top.

Willem Dafoe though... he was not only great in the part, he was the obvious choice, and was my pick for the role back before it was cast (so naturally I geeked out when he got cast). I mean, even without looking at his preformance, he seems so obviously more Green Goblin than the other guys mentioned. Perfect for the part.

So far, I've been immensely happy with the way every villain has been cast. Dafoe, Molina, Church and Grace have all been pitch-perfect in their parts.

 

[CConn]

...Grace too?

 

[ThatDamnNinja]

...Grace too?

Absolutely. He wasn't my first choice, and he probably never would have made my list. He didn't at all fit the profile of Eddie Brock from the comics, but I really thought he was excellent. I felt he gave a much better preformance than, say, Tobey Maguire and certainly Kirsten Dunst.

 

[Web-Head408]

i don't think ol' billy bob would've made a good goblin, dafoe was perfect!

 

[Sloth7d]

Who gives a **** about Halle Berry? Her winning an Academy Award was a fluke - the only reason she got it is because she played opposite Billy Bob Thornton.Just because you have one good performance out of a butt load of crappy movies doesn't make you worthy of an academy award in my book.

Yeah right. She got that award because she had sex with Billy Bob Thortin and on camera. Not to mention that was a horrible film which only redeeming factor was the sex scene.
But all in all she has been in a few decent movies where she did okay acting wise. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" instantly comes to mind. Not to mention "The Rich Mans Wife". And despite what some may say Gothika was pretty decent. Was better than the Grudge2, Ring2, and the Ring. I can't really comment on X-men which while being a good trilogy Halles acting really hurt it more than helped.

 

[Spidey Snooch]

Quite honestly, I'm not sure if this article is entirely, well.....true. They misspelled Thornton's name and on two occasions they neglected to include the dash between Spider and Man that Stan Lee specifically included to differentiate him from Superman. Unless the Malaysian press doesn't hire copy editors, it seems fake to me.
For what it's worth, though. I couldn't imagine anyone but Defoe filling the Goblin's mask, and I'm a pretty imaginative guy.

 

[Spidey Snooch]

Quote:
Originally Posted by CConn
...Grace too?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ThatDamnNinja
Absolutely. He wasn't my first choice, and he probably never would have made my list. He didn't at all fit the profile of Eddie Brock from the comics, but I really thought he was excellent. I felt he gave a much better preformance than, say, Tobey Maguire and certainly Kirsten Dunst.

I second that. I thought the way Topher, even as Eddie, radiated sort of an under-the surface hostility was great. Then he masked that with snide wise-cracks was just the icing on the cake. When he finally got the suit, he gave us a perfect example of a deeply troubled man now drunk with power. I loved it. I just lament the fact he had so little screen time.

 

[swifty]

Dafoe's original face looks like the Goblin mask, I can't imagine anybody else for that role.