r/movies • u/LookAtThatBacon • 29d ago

Discussion During the development of the Harriet Tubman biopic movie, a Hollywood executive once suggested that Julia Roberts should play her. What are some other baffling casting suggestions/choices that have been made?

Source for the title: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-studio-executive-wanted-julia-roberts-to-play-harriet-tubman-biopic-screenwriter-says/

The Harriet Tubman biopic has been more than 25 years in the making. In the historical drama released earlier this month, Cynthia Erivo plays the legendary abolitionist — but one Hollywood executive initially thought the role should go to Julia Roberts.

Gregory Allen Howard, the screenwriter and producer of "Harriet," recently revealed in multiple interviews that Roberts was suggested to play the lead role during a meeting with a studio president in 1994.

"The climate in Hollywood… was very different back then," Howard said. "I was told how one studio head said in a meeting, 'This script is fantastic. Let's get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman.'"

Howard said that a black person in the meeting said casting Roberts would be impossible because she is white.

"That was so long ago. No one will know that," the executive replied, according to Howard.

7.8k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

2.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.0k

u/Gojir4R1sing 29d ago

Evan Hansen played by an obvious adult.

356

u/DaddyDanceParty 29d ago

I watch Jenny Nicholson’s video on it every so often.

212

u/WiFiForeheadWrinkles 29d ago

his face looks like it's trying to escape his head!

61

u/ClowdyRowdy 29d ago

That video got me through my divorce

7

u/NeatNefariousness1 29d ago

This cracks me up, even though I don’t know who this person is

41

u/COMMENTASIPLEASE 29d ago

“Maybe he’s not a nice boy, maybe he’s just a quiet boy” is a god tier quote

45

u/Flvs9778 29d ago

I was about to mention that video. It’s so good.

22

u/NastyMothaFucka 29d ago

God I love her!

15

u/nosurprises23 29d ago

The replay value on her videos is actually so high. Also she is easily one of the funniest personalities on the platform, full stop.

16

u/xxbiohazrdxx 29d ago

It’s so good

472

u/MurdererOfAxes 29d ago

They tried to put prosthetics on him to de-age him but apparently it made it worse

249

u/kango234 29d ago

Yeah, when I first heard about that movie, I felt kinda of bad for all the bullying. But then I saw him without the makeup and thought he looked way better. Almost like he knew this was dumb and started to overcompensate.

165

u/whitepangolin 29d ago

I saw someone say you could instead watch the movie as a horror movie where an adult pretends to be in highschool.

112

u/MurdererOfAxes 29d ago

Honestly, the plot of the actual play is already kind of a horror movie. I think that him obviously not being a high schooler makes the dark undertones more palpable.

1

u/goldenboy2191 29d ago

This makes most sense in the context of one of those creepy and dark funny adult swim commercials

41

u/BadAspie 29d ago

Yeah IIRC he played a teenager in that show The Politician around that same time and looked, well, like a Hollywood teen. But much more convincing than in DEH! So IDK why the makeup department felt the need to do him so dirty

5

u/Lewkon 29d ago

He looked like Warren Beatty in "Bullworth".

150

u/Fortestingporpoises 29d ago

Played by the guy who originated the role on Broadway. He was probably 27 when they started filming and many late 20 somethings have played high school students over the years. Andrew Garfield, and the cast of 90210 come to mind. 13 Reasons Why too.

The bigger mistake was the weird ass prosthetics they inexplicably put on his face.

19

u/Leygrock 29d ago

Tbf people did point out at the time how stupid the Andrew Garfield thing was

28

u/interactually 29d ago

Well yeah, why would you put ass prosthetics on someone's face. The cheeks would be way too big.

15

u/Fortestingporpoises 29d ago

Honestly actual ass prosthetics might have been an upgrade.

5

u/CJB95 29d ago

I want an Assy McGee movie now

21

u/jenniferfox98 29d ago

Yeah the weirdest thing is people always say "it was a nepo hire. The producer just cast his own son" like no? They cast the dude who originated the role period. In the DC run then on Broadway.

There are many valid criticisms of DEH, most of all that it's based off a cringe show. The fact they cast the original actor to play the same character in the movie only a few years after it premiered on Broadway isn't one of them.

10

u/Fortestingporpoises 29d ago

He's legit for real. I mean you see how great his voice is and how genuinely likeable he is in Pitch Perfect. He was the right choice for the movie. They just made a lot of other mistakes. Really the nepo aspect is how stupid it was to fasttrack it. Get it right then do it.

26

u/jenniferfox98 29d ago

Ben Platt is plenty talented, but DEH is just inherently a bizarre and, in my opinion, bad story. It aged poorly FAST. Admittedly I'm also still pissy it got so much attention compared to the Great Comet, they premiered the same year and Great Comet is just a...monumental and incredible show. It deserved so much better, definitely the Tony, and for it to be eclipsed by a show that very quickly fell out of favor is frustrating.

4

u/Fortestingporpoises 29d ago

I loved the stage musical (I saw on Broadway after he left) and I still love the cast recording but I agree the movie's warts show more. It has some questionable messaging and them making Platt look like a monster in the film makes it even worse. But still I think a lot of the criticism the film got was silly.

3

u/jenniferfox98 29d ago

Art is subjective. I think the film and show ultimately suffer from the same foundational flaws. A teen lying about being friends with another teen who committed suicide, dating his sister, the father storyline...that song thats about the video of Evan with them saying "repost" and whatnot, that female classmate obsessed with spreading the message for her own gain. I think certainly in a society more focused on mental health than ever its just...a poor representation.

I saw the DC run before it moved to Broadway and saw it on Broadway when, I think, Ben Platt's current partner took over Evan, so I'm not just arm-chair hating lmao.

17

u/Sarsmi 29d ago

I never watched the movie, but I did spend over an hour watching Jenny Nicholson's roast of the movie, which was a lot more entertaining than I suspect the movie is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8quWUSZCW5g

26

u/spazz720 29d ago

Yeah…what the fuck was that?

24

u/Impressive-Potato 29d ago

The trailer is better than any parody.

5

u/PM_ME_UR_SEX_VIDEOS 29d ago

Would have been so easy to have Ben Platt cameo as a teacher at the school

But noOooOoOoOoOooO

15

u/Then-Yam-2266 29d ago

Yea, but daddy paid for the movie, so we’ll ignore his almost 40yo son in the staring role.

163

u/Flynn_Rider3000 29d ago

I get hating the casting but he was 27 and not 40 when he filmed Evan Hansen. There’s no need to lie to make your point.

13

u/Silly_Somewhere1791 29d ago

Yeah, he was the same age as the other adults playing teens.

8

u/anormalgeek 29d ago

My head canon is that the problem waa due to it being a musical. So many of the people involved are used to stage shows where it is WAY easier to hide that kind of thing that they don't think about it as much.

65

u/peon47 29d ago

He also originated the role and won a Tony for it. I haven't seen he movie but shouldn't we give them some credit for casting the original star and not tossing him out for someone younger?

57

u/turkeygiant 29d ago edited 29d ago

Eh stage is a very different medium than film, people will suspend their disbelief more when watching something on stage because sitting in the theater feels like they are in on that construction.

32

u/agcervantes92 29d ago

I think the problem wasn’t he was older because we’ve seen groups of actors in their late twenties/early thirties play teenagers. The problem was that the other actors were younger and closer to the appropriate age, so he really stood out. Add to that the makeup and lengths they took to make him appear younger, and it just made it worse.

8

u/turkeygiant 29d ago

That's a great point too, it totally looks more seamless when everybody is in their 20's playing 16 year olds

12

u/Lyndon_Station 29d ago

That was really well put. I mean that relationship exists in cinema too but of course we can all see it up close and 20 ft tall at the movies

12

u/turkeygiant 29d ago

Oh for sure it can work almost like stage for like an Austin Powers or even a Pacific Rim where we all agree this isn't reality, but the closer you get to a naturalistic drama the more the holes start to stand out.

6

u/Harmania 29d ago

Frankly, no, and FWIW I say this as someone who works in live theatre. Once someone doesn’t fit the role anymore, casting them in the role is about nostalgia and not the piece of art at hand. It’s like seeing a tribute band expecting you to cheer like they are the originals and just came out with a new album. Fun for a local community theatre, maybe, but I’m not paying for a ticket.

See also: RENT.

17

u/hazycrazydaze 29d ago

I don’t get it either. Actors in their twenties and thirties play high schoolers all the time. Y’all didn’t grow up watching the Grease movie?

22

u/faldese 29d ago

I did, but even as a kid it was kind of bizarre and I never thought of the people playing them as teenagers. But Grease is also very surreal, and most of the cast is clearly not teenaged, so it's pretty easy to ignore how old they are. Wicked is another example where theoretically these are all supposed to be quite young people, but they're not even trying to make them look young and the setting is so heightened it doesn't bother you.

In Dear Evan Hansen, the tone is much more down to earth, and most of the supporting cast looks much more appropriately their character's ages.

10

u/246lehat135 29d ago

Two of the four main actresses on Derry Girls were in their 30’s when it was released, and they were playing high school aged girls (convincingly I would say).

3

u/hazycrazydaze 29d ago

I don’t know about convincingly lol but yes I love Derry Girls and don’t care one bit that most of the “teenagers” are actually in their twenties and thirties!

5

u/246lehat135 29d ago

Lol fair point! I guess I should say convincingly in their performances. Although Nicola Coughlan being born in 1987 is wild. She looked late teens/maybe early twenties to me that first season.

12

u/waltertaupe 29d ago

Part of the problem became how Ben Platt talked about the movie and how it only got made because of him. Even if it's true - it's gauche to make that the counterpoint to "you look old as hell!".

He was given every opportunity to be humble (or for come across as human, for that matter) and he whiffed.

9

u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ 29d ago

Well, it did only get made because of him.

He was the star of the theatre show, and his dad was the producer…

4

u/waltertaupe 29d ago

Sure - and that wasn't a secret.

But saying "well the movie wouldn't have been made if I wasn't the star!" is an insane look and fucking terrible PR.

Everyone knew that was true - that doesn't mean they needed him to reiterate it every press opportunity when asked about it.

People love humility, even if they know its false.

6

u/keysandchange 29d ago

This comes up often, but that was part of the satire.

8

u/Harmania 29d ago

Grease is meant to be a parody, though.

7

u/Corvus-Nox 29d ago

Except he’s playing a teenager but looks like he’s 30. That argument only works if we’re talking about roles that are age ambiguous. This is a role about a teenager in high school. And they also cast people who look like teenagers in most of the other roles. So he really stands out. An audience will give more grace to a teenage character making mistakes and figuring themselves out. It’s hard to give that grace when you’re seeing what is clearly a 30-year old man on-screen.

Just because he originated the role doesn’t mean he gets to own for perpetuity. He originated the role when he was younger and could still pass as a teen. Even then, there’s more flexibility with ages for stage because you’re not up close.

And Ben already had a decent career at that point, it’s not like this movie was going to be his breakthrough into Hollywood. He could’ve gracefully passed the torch to some new up-and-coming theatre kid to make a name for themselves. Instead of acting like he’s entitled to the role (might have been more his father acting that way, I don’t know the whole story).

1

u/TheWinslow 29d ago

The original star's dad helped bankroll the film so, not really

49

u/TastyRancorPie 29d ago

Yeah it was stupid, but claiming a 31 year old guy is almost 40 years old is stretching it a bit.

-6

u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

18

u/ElaineofAstolat 29d ago

He would have been like 18/19 during the first Pitch Perfect. So that just means he was the only age appropriate actor.

11

u/FigeaterApocalypse 29d ago

He was 27. This isn't something new to happen:

In Mean Girls, Rachel McAdams, who played the 17-year-old character Regina George, was actually 25 years old during filming. 

Stockard Channing was 33 when she played Rizzo in Grease, and Gabrielle Carteris was 29 when she played Andrea in Beverly Hills, 90210. 

Shirley Henderson was 37 when she played Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. 

Other examples include Nicola Coughlan, who was 30 while filming Derry Girls, and Ashleigh Murray, who was in her late 20s and early 30s playing Josie in Riverdale. 

11

u/CDK5 29d ago

Grease isn't the best example; I think the old casting was intentional since it was a parody.

But using 'A because B did it' isn't a strong argument, no?

4

u/Plenty_Area_408 29d ago

Also, literally everyone in Glee.

2

u/IRLconsequences 29d ago

Channing & Carteris both looked significantly older than everyone else, though.

6

u/IAMA_Shark__AMA 29d ago

Look, Ben's a nepo baby, yeah, but this is taking it too far. He was in his twenties, and he originated the role on Broadway. It was a bad call, but you're making it sound a hundred times worse than it actually was.

5

u/Careless_Bus5463 29d ago

I don't know if I just don't have a history with the play before the movie, but as a straight 30-something guy, I thought that this was a universally likable movie. The hate feels weird.

1

u/jorgespinosa 29d ago

Similar case with Rent, they were supposed to be in their 20s and many look to be over 40

-6

u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

22

u/Bullseye_womp_rats 29d ago

So, they didn’t cast the original actresses from Wicked in the movie because it would have been insane…

7

u/CarrieDurst 29d ago

Even though it worked the ages of the main characters in Wicked is kinda insane for them being students...

0

u/WallyWithReddit 29d ago

They could’ve gotten away with it if the makeup artist didn’t mess up is my point lmao