Premiere: Actor Switcheroos
Excerpted from Premiere Magazine.
Our 13 Favorite ‘Same Character, Different Actor’ Switcheroos
What, do they think they’re fooling us?
By Jenni Miller
The moment we learned Don Cheadle is taking over for Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes in Iron Man 2, our minds drifted to thoughts of Willie Mayes Hayes, John Connor, and perpetually vacationing siblings Rusty and Audrey. Here’s a rundown of our favorite pinch-hit performances and who was better.
3. Character: John Connor
Original: Edward Furlong in Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Pinch-Hitter: Nick Stahl in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines as John Connor
Verdict: Sure, John Connor has gotten older (and wiser?) in the 12-interim between T2 and T3, but might be point out that Furlong is actually older than Stahl? Perhaps Furlong was too busy freeing lobsters from grocery stories to reprise his role. At least the newest John Connor — Christian Bale in 2009’s Terminator Salvation — has the excuse of being older and more age-appropriate for the role than either Furlong or Stahl.
4. Character: Jason Voorhees
Original: Ari Lehman in Friday the 13th
Pinch-Hitter(s): Lots — they haven’t stopped making sequels since 1980.
Verdict: Sure, he’s behind a hockey mask, but true horror fans know the truth.
5. Character: The Terminator (aka T-800) in Terminator 1-4
Original: Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Pinch-Hitter: Roland Kickinger in Terminator Salvation as Terminator/T-800
Verdict: The folks behind T4 are trying to sneak in a new Terminator under the name T-800, but they can’t fool us. The original Terminator has transformed himself into the Governator and thinks he’s too good for a quadruple-quel. Hmpf.
6. Charactor: Clarice Starling
Original: Jodie Foster in The Silence of the Lambs
Pinch-Hitter: Julianne Moore in Hannibal
Verdict: Hannibal might not have a number in its title, but it’s a sequel without a doubt. Are we supposed to not notice that Foster, who won an Oscar for her role as Clarice Starling, is replaced by Julianne Moore? Moore won an MTV Best Kiss Award for her dangerous smooch with Hannibal the Cannibal. Woo!
9. Character: George McFly
Original: Crispin Glover in Back to the Future
Pinch-Hitter: Jeffrey Weissman in Back to the Future Part II and Part III
Verdict: While it’s unclear why he turned down the role of George McFly (Wikipedia says that his claims were rather… demanding), director Robert Zemeckis cast Jeffrey Weissman as his replacement in II and III. Numero dos included footage of Glover from the first film, and bizarrely enough, Weissman was forced to wear prosthetics so he would more closely resemble Glover. In turn, Glover sued the producers, including the all-powerful Steven Spielberg. Crispin Glover holds a grudge — the credits for his incredibly weird film What Is It? carefully instructs the viewer that the movie does not advocate the assassination of Spielberg. Just in case you were thinking about it.
10. Character: Rusty Griswold
Original: Anthony Michael Hall in Vacation
Pinch-Hitter(s): Jason Lively in European Vacation, Johnny Galecki in Christmas Vacation, and Ethan Embry in Vegas Vacation
Verdict: Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo found time in their busy careers to do all four Vacation movies, but apparently each one of the Rusty Griswolds were busy. Guess they got too big for their britches? The character of Audrey Griswold shared the same fate.
12. Character: Darth Vader
Original: If you have to ask… James Earl Jones as the voice of Vader in the original trilogy, and Sebastian Shaw as the Uncle Fester-like unmasked Vader
Pinch-Hitter: Hayden Christensen in Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith
Verdict: No comment.
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