Which actors filled the heroes....

Which actors filled the superheroes parts well. Like when you think of the name Peter Parker did you see Tobey McGuire as that? Or Michael Keaton as Batman? Which ones were the best at these roles?

Here are the choices...

Jim Carey as the Mask
Michael Keaton as Batman
Ben Affleck as Daredevil
Tobey McGuire as Spider-Man
Hulk(don't remember the actors for whom I just list the heroes names)
Wolverine
Rogue
Cyclops
Storm
Etc...

 

Christopher Reeve was the perfect Clarke Kent and Superman

Michael Keaton, Hugh Jackman and Tobey McGuire were good too.

 

Hugh Jackman and Michael Keaton are the best...

and Anna Paquin(Rogue)did well...with what they gave her...

 

Chris Reeves is Superman and will always be Superman to me.

Toby was great for Spiderman

Hallie Berry great for Storm

Lynda Carter great for Wonder Woman

 

Aah, nice thread...I was discussing this with a friend just yesterdayday!

Let's see:-

I think Tobey Maguire did a wonderful job as Spiderman. All action heroes/superheroes have a human side to them and in the case of Spiderman that was so evident.

Here was a boy who was the hottest thing in town at the moment...but he still had his insecurities, he still didn't get the girl-well not really. He had these super powers but was trying to get used to them.

Tobey didn't look like this very confident guy...he was still an insecure guy who was rather pretty if I might add!

Hmm, then there's Hugh Jackman who portrayed Wolverine sooooo well. In the case of this character I think he had to be all "animal" and "rough and tough" and Jackman fitted the part perfectly. He looked and acted the part!

Another one that popped into my head was Val Kilmer who played Batman in Batman Forver. I think he did a really good job. He was a smouldering, charming Bruce Wayne.

 

Michael Keaton as Batman- Fairly decent.. Best of the people who DID play Batsy, but i still think there could be someone better..



Ben Affleck as Daredevil- I know alot of people hated Affleck as DD, but i didn't mind his performance..Figure the guy who played Bullseye (Colin Farrell!) probably would have been better in the lead, but Affleck still wasn't all bad..


Tobey McGuire as Spider-Man- Ya know, i still wish John Cusack coulda been the man.. Maguire wasn't bad, though...


Hulk(don't remember the actors for whom I just list the heroes names)- Eric Bana. Guy was decent as the Hulk.. Really don't know WHO i'd rather have play him..


Wolverine- can't imagine anyone being better then Hugh Jackman

Rogue- Anna Paquin was surprisingly effective (and MAN is she a hottie!)

Cyclops- James Marsden is OK, but the man born for this role is Michael Biehn.


Storm- ick. Halle Berry is TERRIBLE.. Completely wrong for the role.. FIgure someone like IMAN or Angela Bassett should have been used..

Magneto: I love Ian McKellan, and he DOES do a solid job as the Master of Magnetism, but he's JUST TOOO SCRAWNY for the role..Not sure who else i'd cast, but they'd definitely have to be a bit more on the physically imposing side of things...


Superman: Chris Reeves personified the role. Don't think you'll ever get better

The Punisher: I'm interested in seeing how Thomas Jane does with the role..Never really got into the Dolph Lundgren "Punisher"..

 

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine was probably the best superhero casting job ever. Christopher Reeves is next up, and other than that no one seemed to fit the parts.

 

Christopher Reeve was the perfect Superman, really, except his Clark Kent was pretty obviously tied. That's what you expect from Superman-- gorgeous, built, perfectly structured, and all around a good guy. It's a shame that he had such a horrible accident, but it just reaffirms what a good heart and drive he has.

I agree that Hugh Jackman was just the perfect actor for Wolverine. If you see any of Jackman's other films, it hardly seems as though the rather dapper gent could be so animalistic in the role of Wolverine. Still, he really filled the role perfectly; he was violent, passionate, and headstrong. Plus he had the right build and there's just something in his eyes that suggests that same darkness that drives Wolverine. The other nice thing about Jackman is his sense of comedy, which is perfect for all of Wolvie's one-liners.

Tobey Maguire also stands out as Spider-Man. Spider-Man is my favorite (not only from the recent line of films), and Maguire did it well. What worked for Maguire is that he appears to be an awkward, weak, gawky teenager (and not just as Parker), but then he has that amazingly toned physique that's just right for Spider-Man. Aside from his rather nice build, he doesn't have any noteworthy features that most stars have. He's not terribly handsome, which gives him a sense of dorky normalcy. For a guy about 30, he had the resume, but the look to play a kid that's believable and easy to empathize with.

 

Reb Brown as Captain America!

Now that was more cheesy than cheddar.

Speaking of more miscasts (c'mon, that's just fun, ain't it?)

George Clooney as Batman
Dolph Lundgren as The Punisher
X-Men...some good, some not so good.

Really cringe inducing though--that Ashton Kutcher as Batman rumor. *shudder*

 

Superman:

Christopher Reeve was "perfect" as Superman. I seriously doubt that the next Superman cast will be as good a Reeve, no matter who lands the role for Superman 5.

Batman:

Batman: All three actors had their good points. I think Michael Keaton did the best job, giving the best performance of the three actors. But for actual looks (in regards to how Bruce Wayne looked and acted in the comics) I think Val Kilmer was the best. As for who looked the best in the costume, George Clooney is the man. I don't think he gave the best performance, nor does he remind of a true Bruce Wayne/Batman, but he looked the most natural in the costume, almost like he was made to be behind the mask. All in all, I liked all three actors, but Keaton was the best. He wasn't "perfect" like Reeves was for Superman, but he was the best of the best.

Robin: Only one choice. No complaints really. Chris O'Donnell's performance in Forever was quite good, but in Batman & Robin it was quite bad. Somebody in the JCC made the suggestion of Nick Stahl who played John Conner in T3 to play Robin. Were they to make another Batman movie that had Robin in the role again, I think Stahl would be the perfect choice. He has the looks, and I think he's a great actor.

Batgirl: I like Alicia Silverstone well enough (mostly for her looks ), but she isn't my first choice for Batgirl. Not by a long shot.

X-Men:

Wolverine: Hugh Jackson was a perfect casting choice. I like his looks a lot better than the comics, and he does a great job, especially during the scenes where he uses his claws.

Professor X: Patrick Stewart is fantastic. Nobody else would have been better than Stewart.

Jean-Gray: Pretty good performance, although I don't really find her character all too itriguing (mainly because she isn't as interesting a character like Wolverine or Professor X, at least not until she changes).

Storm: Failry good. I like Halle Berry's performance a lot better than some people do, but I think she could improve vastly. She doesn't seem to be "there" when delivering her lines.

Iceman: I don't know this actor's name, but I like him a lot.

Rogue: Anna Paquin is great.

Cyclops: Could be better, but not bad.

Daredevil:

Despite some people's hatred towards Ben Affleck, I think he was perfect as Daredevil. He looks good in the costume, he doesn't spout cheesy one-liners, and he's a great fighter. Ben Affleck's performance was one of the best out of all the superhero acting roles. He nailed it, I thought.

Spider-Man:

To be honest, I didn't think intitially that Tobey Maguire could pull off the role. I think he's a good actor, but at the time, I just didn't think he could be a superhero. But my opinion changed vastly. Tobey was great.

Blade:

Wesley Snipes = coolest superhero ever. Enough said

The Hulk:

Hard to judge really, since Eric Bana never played the Hulk, but for the human side of the Hulk, Bana did a good job.

I guess that's about it. All in all, I think all the actors have done a good job in the major superhero movies.

 

The PERFECT casting job, better than Hugh Jackman, Christopher Reeve, or anyone who could ever be considered for a role, is Patrick Steward as Proffessor X. It is as if the character was created for Steward (or the other way around) and even in the cartoon versions of X-Men, Steward is still the only one who could fit the role.

Christopher Reeve comes in second, and I don't think this one requires too much explination. Hugh Jackman is close behind, too.

Performances and quality of films put aside, George Cloony always struck me as the best of the Batmans. When he didn't have his grey hair, then he resembles Bruce Wayne physically, and he works best behind the costume. Val Kilmer, who seems to be getting a lot of support on this thread...well, he doesn't exactly look like batman (I didn't even know that he was Bruce Wayne until the end of the movie, I thought he was just another extra) and he isn't as physically imposing as Cloony when behind the mask.

Anna Paquin is a little too young and petite to play Rogue, but just by a hair. She also couldn't quite get the accent right, either.

Ben Affleck, great as his performance was, was just too young and small to play Daredevil. Murdoch was much older than Affleck, and his head was also in proportion to his body, not bloated to an abnormal size.

Whatshisface that played Cyclops...ummm, no. Not quite. He's just a little bit inadequite and little around all the edges, and too much like a "Friends" reject and not enough inspirational leader.

Ian McKellan, as stated, is too scrawny. He looks like he is about to pass out after performing even the smallest of his "spells" (for lack of a better word) The comic Magneto was able to carry countless tons of metal into deep space while flying under his own power, and still have energy to spare.

Halle Berry is the WORST casting job that I can think of at this moment. The character of Storm is supposed to be a dark, elderly, Indian woman with a tired but powerful demeanor, not a thirty-something self-absorbed African-Hispanic-American girl in a bad wig and with an extremely pale complexion. Storm is supposed to be just slightly younger than Magneto, putting her in her sixties nowadays. She is supposed to be a gardener and a healer, and the human incarnation of the weather goddess. I just don't see Halle Berry pulling off any of that.

 

Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent is the most perfect casting of a superhero ever. Patrick Stewart as Xavier comes close, as does Wesley Snipes as Blade and Tobey McQuire as Spider-man. Actually, I though McQuire was much better as Peter Parker than as Spider-man. Micheal Keaton was by far the best of the Batmen, although Clooney made a better Bruce Wayne. Val Kilmer just sucked at the role.

I know Reb Brown was mentioned as Captain America, but what about Peter Hooten as Dr. Strange? Shouldn't that get some mention here?

 

More X-Men casting ranting or raving from yours truly:

1. Professor X (Patrick Stewart): You can't go wrong with that. I can't think of any actor I'd rather have as Professor X, or anyone that could even compare. He's already a leadership staple proved from his Trek days, he looks like a dead on Professor X, plus Stewart has a very calm nature about him that makes him the ultimate "nice guy in charge."

2. Cyclops (James Marsden): Cyclops used to be my favorite from the Saturday morning cartoon, but that quickly changed seeing the movie. While Marsden is a decent actor and a nice looking guy (and close to Scott), he just doesn't have the "I'm the leader" attitude. In fact, Cyclops is somewhat of the annoying pushover in the film (so it's not entirely Marsden's fault), but it just doesn't seem to work with charisma and attitude.

3. Jean Gray (Famke Janssen): She was all right...actually probably somewhat of an improvement from Jean in the comics/cartoon. She brought something new to Jean Gray, and it worked.

4. Storm (Halle Berry): Berry lacks the no-nonsense temperment. However, she brings Storm a more human side, which is all right. And she had some bad lines. But overall, it just didn't seem to work.

5. Rogue (Anna Paquin): Too young, too girly, not enough feist. Paquin did a good job, but she's just no Rogue. Then again, I don't think they wanted to replicate the comic/cartoon Rogue anyway.

I hope Gambit and Beast appear in III, but I can't think of any actors that would just be perfect.

EDIT: Actually, if River Phoenix were still alive, I could see him being a good Gambit.

 

I just watched Superman: The Movie again. Noone beats Christopher Reeve. He took a cultural icon and made it a cultural icon; and he embodied the character(s) so well.

E_S

 

..you know, let's go for the side-characters/villains of comic movies

Rebecca Romjin Stamos as Mystique: Incredibly easy on the eyes, Stamos does a solid job, although the character in the movies just DOES not sound like the character from the comics..

Ray Park as Toad: Love Ray Park, but i just.. i dunno.. Couldn't get into his performance.. Guess it had more to do with the drastic character change then anything else, though..

Tyler Mane as Sabertooth: Had a cool look.. The character just wasn't explored enough in the film to come to a reasonable conclusion..


Jack Nicholson as "The Joker": Boy, i think this may be up there with Chris Reeve, Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman as "the best casting jobs ever"..Nicholson was absolute dynamite as The Joker..

Jim Carrey as "The Riddler": A little bit toooo giggly and, well, Jim Carrey-ish for my tastes, but still a decent enough performance.. I think i prefer Frank Gorshin's Riddler..

Danny Devito as "The Penguin": The one area where i think Tim Burton kinda messed up with the Bat-films was in his depiction of Oswald Cobblepot.. Devito gave a good enough performance, but the character just seemed to be nowhere NEAR the character of the comics...Burgess Meredith gave the definitive Penguin Performance.

Arnie as "Mr. Freeze": I like Ah-nold, but he was just COMPLETELY miscast.. This SHOULD have been Patrick Stewart (again)..

Uma Thurman as "Poison Ivy": Normally, i'm a huge Thurman fan, but her performance in "Batman and Robin" was atrociously bad..

Gene Hackman as "Lex Luthor": Hackman is one of the greatest actors of all-time.. Of course he puts in a fabulous performance, although it still misses the mark slightly, when compared to the comicbook..Just too much comedy in the movie..Still, Hackman's definitely above-average..


Colin Farrell as "Bullseye": Farell really redefines the character... Not quite the one in the comics, i think the movie version may actually be an improvement..

Michael Clarke Duncan as "The Kingpin": Actually think he did a great job, when one considers that he's built and Black, and the Kingpin of the comics is fat and white

Jennifer Garner as "Elektra": Probably could find someone better, but you'd have to look pretty hard.. Garner definitely has the athletic aspect down-pat..and MAN Does she look good in that leather..


Tommy Lee Jones as "Two-Face": not sure that it's the fact that Jones didn't have the talent to pull off the role.. I think he just took the wrong approach.. Two-Face always struck me as being much colder, sadistic, ruthless.. Jones played the role for over the top camp and comedy..Wonder what it would have been like had Billy Dee Williams (who was Harvey Dent in the original Burton Batman) had gotten this role?

Willem Dafoe as "The Green Goblin": Actually think he did a good job.. Dafoe already HAD a goblin-like face.. He didn't need that mask!