Which Legacy Character Has Gotten the Best Casting?

[Sawyer]

Looking at a pic of all the Bond actors yesterday got me thinking about this.

So. Who’s had the greatest consistency, as far as performance goes?

Some ground rules: Different iterations of the character only, so no old/young version of the same role (Vito Corleone, Obi-Wan, Charles Xavier, Magneto). Secondly, although many of these characters have undoubtedly had TV performances as well, we’re going mainly on film appearances. So although there’s likely been quite a few voice actors for Iron Man on the small screen, RDJ is really the only big screen Tony Stark, and therefore isn’t applicable.

 

[flickchick85]

I haven't loved all Batman adaptations, but casting wasn't really a beef I had with any of them. Batfleck was the weakest for me but they were all pretty well-cast, imo.

 

[DarkKnight88]

If we’re going for Academy Award winners, Joker wins with all four big screen versions having at least won one. Two of which got it for actually playing the role.

 

[Sawyer]

Poll got a bit ****ed up when I threw a few villains into the mix, but Lecter and Joker were too good to pass up.

 

[flickchick85]

Leto's presence takes Joker out of the running for me. It's down to Batman and Lecter in my eyes.

 

[Drizzle]

Bond is noteworthy in that there have been some bad Bond films but you can't really pinpoint any of the actors and say "He wasn't a good Bond at all". They all brought something different to the character and made it their own, even the one-and-done George Lazenby who at least had the benefit of being in a good Bond film as his only outing.

Spider-Man has had some pretty good and consistent casting in films. The TASM movies weren't great but people clearly liked Andrew Garfield and even if they didn't he won them over in No Way Home.

Batman has mostly had solid casting. I didn't even mind Affleck's portrayal. My least favorite is Clooney since his Batman is dull as hell but that's not really on him.

Joker has had an impressive roster of actors portraying him. Nicholson, Ledger and Phoenix certainly make up for whatever the hell Leto was doing.

 

[flickchick85]

I felt Tobey was miscast as Spidey from the get-go and he never changed my mind on that. Roger Moore was a terrible Bond, imo. With most of these characters, there's at least one that just totally ruins it for me, lol.

 

[Drizzle]

I felt Tobey was miscast as Spidey from the get-go and he never changed my mind on that. Roger Moore was a terrible Bond, imo. With most of these characters, there's at least one that just totally ruins it for me, lol.

Moore is probably my least favorite Bond but I still love The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only too much to turn on him completely. It was getting a bit sad during his last couple of movies where he was clearly too old for that ****.

 

[henzINNIT]

Sherlock Holmes. There have been many, many legends playing that character on screen, including my beloved Ian McKellen.

 

[Captain Tired]

Ugh who lists RDJ before Jeremy Brett when it comes to Holmes?

And Cumberbatch changed Holmes from being a hate to love character in the books, to being a love to hate character on the screen. Insufferable take on the role.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

If we’re going for Academy Award winners, Joker wins with all four big screen versions having at least won one. Two of which got it for actually playing the role.

Joker definitely scores well, although it's four out of five (Romero never won one).

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Between Batman and Joker for me.

Batman: West, Keaton, Conroy (if we're counting animation), Bale, Affleck, Pattinson

Joker: Romero, Nicholson, Hamill (if we're counting animation), Ledger, Leto, Phoenix

All the Batman actors had something I love. But Leto lets the Jokers down. So, Batman is my answer.

 

[Sawyer]

Between Batman and Joker for me.

Batman: West, Keaton, Conroy (if we're counting animation), Bale, Affleck, Pattinson

Joker: Romero, Nicholson, Hamill (if we're counting animation), Ledger, Leto, Phoenix

All the Batman actors had something I love. But Leto lets the Jokers down. So, Batman is my answer.

Mask of the Phantasm has me willing to give them some wiggle room.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Mask of the Phantasm has me willing to give them some wiggle room.

Yes, it was MotP that I was thinking of.

 

[Sawyer]

I guess I could throw Jack Ryan into the mix too, if I wanted. Baldwin to Ford to Affleck to Pine to Krasinski is pretty significant even if that franchise isn’t really my thing.

 

[flickchick85]

I guess I could throw Jack Ryan into the mix too, if I wanted. Baldwin to Ford to Affleck to Pine to Krasinski is pretty significant even if that franchise isn’t really my thing.

Based on all those portrayals I have come to the conclusion that Jack Ryan must be as generic as his name because if I didn't know the name, there was no identifying quality to tell me any of those guys were remotely playing the same character.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Red October Jack Ryan is totally different from Patriot Games / Clear and Present Jack Ryan. Red October is great because Jack Ryan is totally over his head as an action guy, but smart and resourceful and funny otherwise. Harrison Ford Jack Ryan is a totally humorless gung ho action guy.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

Besides the blemish of Leto, there was mostly solid casting all around for the role, so I gotta give it to Joker.

007 casting is a close second.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

Speaking of, Catwoman is another legacy role with some heavy hitters. Each actress brought a different dimension to the character.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I went with Bond. Each actor brought something unique to the role and none of them tried to copy one another. The only one I don’t care for is Lazenby but he was only in one movie so it feels like a blip.

I guess the Joker would be second; he would probably be first but Leto was so awful that he drags it down a bit. Love everyone else though.

Holmes is definitely a good one too; my personal favorites are Cumberbatch, Rathbone, McKellan and Nicholas Rowe. But I feel like there have been so many Holmes portrayals it’s hard to keep them all straight. Same with Dracula.

I almost said Batman since Bale, Keaton, West and Pattinson are all exceptional in the role. But then I remember Kilmer, Clooney and “Batfleck” exist.

Superman and Lex sadly haven’t been good since the Donner film(s).

 

[Iceman]

Moore is probably my least favorite Bond but I still love The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only too much to turn on him completely. It was getting a bit sad during his last couple of movies where he was clearly too old for that ****.

Moore is a weak Bond but he’s been in a bunch of my favourite Bond films.

 

[Coffee]

Hulk (Banner) is another legacy character with different takes on the role.

Eric Bana, Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo, Lou Ferrigno.