Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tim Robbins in Shawshank Redemption. Before that, I figured he was just the goofy guy in Bull Durham and Top Gun.

Tim Robbins was in Top Gun?

He was Merlin

i totally did not remember him in it. Wow

Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom in the HP movies. Maybe not “surprising” but absolutely pitch-perfect casting given what happened with Neville Longbottom’s character in the books AFTER they cast Lewis. Who would have thought the awkward, goofy little kid in Sorcerer’s Stone would glow up just like the character in the book?

Sadly, not all the random child actors cast in the first movie were able to grow as their characters developed in the books (ahem, Ginny Weasley..)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Up to that point, he hadn't acted in any role like this one. He was very good.

Yes! That whole movie was perfectly cast. Jude Law as the spoiled playboy with Philip Seymour Hoffman as the oafish sidekick, Cate Blanchett as the dippy heiress, even Gwyneth as the girlfriend.

Alain Delon as Tom Ripley in Purple Noon was even better- hard to believe it was his first major film.

Anonymous wrote:Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Up to that point, he hadn't acted in any role like this one. He was very good.

Yes! That whole movie was perfectly cast. Jude Law as the spoiled playboy with Philip Seymour Hoffman as the oafish sidekick, Cate Blanchett as the dippy heiress, even Gwyneth as the girlfriend.

Every single person cast in Better Call Saul. Kim Wexler was perfection.

Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Up to that point, he hadn't acted in any role like this one. He was very good.

Anonymous wrote:Reese Witherspoon in Election

Yes -- absolutely. And you get extra points for being responsive to OP's excellent question about surprisingly good casting decisions. Remember, there are many good casting decisions that result in great performances, but where the actor was not a surprising choice. One example -- Reese Witherspoon doesn't seem like a surprising choice to play Elle Woods or June Cash -- very different roles, yes, but you can easily imagine Witherspoon playing either of these characters. But Witherspoon as Tracy Flick . . .that's a little tougher to picture. The commonality is that all three characters show extraordinary determination, but Tracy Flick is a striver, not so much a diva as Elle or June.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tim Robbins in Shawshank Redemption. Before that, I figured he was just the goofy guy in Bull Durham and Top Gun.

Tim Robbins was in Top Gun?

He was Merlin

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me

didn't she produce this movie? So she cast herself. She is wonderful though, so funny.

I don't know if Melissa produced it, but Julianne Moore was originally cast and dropped out.

Interesting. Moore is a great actress, but, yes McCarthy just inhabits that role so perfectly. Of course, she had quite an assist from Richard Grant.

Anonymous wrote:Heath Ledger as the Joker. Thought he was just a pretty boy but he nailed that role.

Anonymous wrote:Tim Robbins in Shawshank Redemption. Before that, I figured he was just the goofy guy in Bull Durham and Top Gun.

Tim Robbins was in Top Gun?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:90% of these replies are not at all “surprising”!

Always good when the quality assessor turns up on a thread. What a fricking kill-joy you always are.

Well, there has to be one on every thread. I’m pretty sure that’s a rule in the DCUM internet user agreement.

Adam Driver in Girls. I HATED his character the first season, but was blown away in later seasons when they developed his character and he was able to display his amazing acting skills. Then to see the movie career he’s gone onto have, he continues to just knock it out of the park.

Heath Ledger as the Joker. Thought he was just a pretty boy but he nailed that role.

Anonymous wrote:90% of these replies are not at all “surprising”!

Always good when the quality assessor turns up on a thread. What a fricking kill-joy you always are.