| 1 | ->''"Oh, Creator/DomDeLuise was there, too. He threw paper at the crowd for five seconds before disappearing completely. I've heard that this is exactly how he wanted his involvement in the parade worded in NBC's contract. Dom's a fucker."'' |
| 2 | -->-- '''[[http://www.x-entertainment.com/thanksgiving/macyparade/1984/6.html X Entertainment]]''' on the 1984 UsefulNotes/MacysThanksgivingDayParade |
| 3 | |
| 4 | Hiring of a big-name actor - or non-actor celebrity - to play a supporting role (or even a leading role, but usually the former). The idea is usually that the actor's fame will draw in viewers, as it normally would if you put them prominently on the advertising. What differs stunt casting from normal casting tends to be along the lines of: |
| 5 | * way out of the 'pay grade' of the work (a Hollywood megastar turns up as an AdvertisedExtra) |
| 6 | * gimmicky as advertisement for something else (members of a popular band play all of the supporting roles) |
| 7 | * exploitative of real-life situations (a cast member in a high-profile relationship and casting the other person for the tabloid appeal) |
| 8 | * inappropriate to the tone of the work (discarding the existing cast for CharacterShilling of the guest star) |
| 9 | * desperation for attention (including [[SweepsWeekLesbianKiss other controversy for maximum exposure]]) |
| 10 | |
| 11 | This can overlap with QuestionableCasting and PlayingAgainstType. Unlike TheCameo, stunt cast actors are not asked to come in and "play themselves" - they [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct may well be great in the part, might even transform themselves for the role so much that you might not even recognize them until the credits]], but, great as she is in the part, do you really think that reality show star got the role as the starship bridge lieutenant based on acting credentials alone? |
| 12 | |
| 13 | The term 'stunt casting' has a derogatory feel, but the term also encompasses many shrewd or artistic choices. If the [[ExecutiveMeddling studio heads]] are pushing for big names, this can be used as a compromise to allow the lead roles to be played by upcoming actors knowing there is at least one they can put on the poster. They can also give a feeling of legitimacy to something that would otherwise seem like a trashy genre work. ''Film/SupermanTheMovie (1978)'' struggled for producer support until Creator/MarlonBrando and Creator/GeneHackman were on board. If the star is [[SugarWiki/RuleOfSeanConnery just that good at what they do]], stunt casting can make a [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously work much higher quality than it would be otherwise]]. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Quick appearances can sometimes entice a busy actor to get a decent payout for only a little work or [[AwesomeDearBoy they are already a fan]] and want [[SoMyKidsCanWatch something that their kids might enjoy]], allowing NoBudget works to get some momentum. Creator/AmicusProductions' anthology horror films were based around the realization that if they built a picture out of short stories that didn't take more than a couple of days to shoot they could afford good/great actors with little hassle, which is the main reason why the films still have a cult fandom decades later. Seeing your favorite stars turn up in unexpected places can, well, just be plain fun - the scene-stealing of the OneSceneWonder, the GeniusBonus when JustForFun/RoleAssociation fleshes out a character's HiddenDepths, the authenticity of CastTheExpert, intrinsic subtext from MetaCasting and the parasocial pleasure of the {{Non Actor Vehicle}} are all joys given to us by stunt casting. Conversely, this sometimes creates a paradox for actors who have become [[IAmNotSpock iconic in particular roles]], they struggle to find roles or guest appearances because they are too recognizable and will get accused of this trope. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | In theatre productions that are especially LongRunners, stunt casting is one way of keeping things fresh and interesting for potential audiences. The Broadway revival of ''{{Theatre/Chicago}}'' has been especially JustForFun/{{egregious}} with this, cycling hundreds of celebrities of varying degrees of talent through the lead roles since it began its run in 1996. This can also work for documentaries with the casting of the narrator. It's also standard operating procedure in the U.K.-specific style of broad comic theatre known as {{Pantomime}}.[[note]](which doesn't really expect you to be able to act, and if you can't do it well, you can always do it [[LargeHam MORE!]])[[/note]] |
| 18 | |
| 19 | See also BillingDisplacement. If the stunt-casting is done in service of a film or other one-off project, expect the big-name actor in question to be BilledAboveTheTitle. This happens so often in animation that it has its own trope: CelebrityVoiceActor. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | !!Examples: |
| 23 | |
| 24 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 25 | [[folder:Anime]] |
| 26 | * The casting of Creator/AyaHirano as Dende in ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'' is largely seen by the fanbase as this. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37_ltlDkuuk the image song doesn't help waver this opinion]]. |
| 27 | ** Even more blatant was getting Creator/SatomiSato, fresh off her success of voicing Ritsu in ''Manga/KOn'' to voice Dende's brother Cargo... for maybe one or two lines before he gets killed. |
| 28 | *** The original version of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' has been guilty of this as well. One episode during the Buu saga features Majin Buu befriending and helping a blind boy who was a one shot character. Said one-shot was voiced by Music/MegumiHayashibara.[[note]] In case you're wondering, in the Kai cut he's instead voice by Creator/HoukoKuwashima.[[/note]] |
| 29 | ** Creator/FUNimation once considered casting Freddie Prinze Jr as a role in DBZ, presumably Teen Gohan. [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2000-08-17/freddie-prinze-jr-may-do-dbz-voice Seriously!]] |
| 30 | *** They finally did get to work with him for the ''VideoGame/MassEffect'' movie in 2012, but only to reprise a role he had previously played in the games. |
| 31 | ** Funimation also cast the core members of Creator/TeamFourStar (Nick "Creator/{{Lanipator}}" Landis, Scott "[=KaiserNeko=]" Frerichs, Curtis "[=Takahata101=]" Arnott and Lawrence "Creator/MasakoX" Simpson) as the actors in the [[ShowWithinAShow cheesy Cell Games movie]] in ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'', which was filled with tons of in-jokes referencing both ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' and ''DBZ'' memes in general. However, the scene was taken out of the Toonami broadcast, with most fans suspecting that Creator/ToeiAnimation (which has tried to shut TFS down many times in the past) [[ExecutiveMeddling ordered them to remove it]]; that didn't stop the scene from leaking onto Website/YouTube, however. |
| 32 | *** Later on, with ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', they cast Creator/BrianDrummond (who played Vegeta in the original Creator/OceanMedia dub of ''DBZ'') as Copy Vegeta; plenty of fans suspected that they would have hired Lanipator for the role if not for the fact that Toei had apparently ordered Funimation not to hire TFS members. |
| 33 | ** Similarly, Aya Hirano was also cast as Shinobu the vampire in Literature/{{Bakemonogatari}} even though Shinobu never spoke a single word in the entire series. She only got to voice her in the Drama CD, ''Hyakumonogatari'' and was replaced by Creator/MaayaSakamoto in subsequent appearances. |
| 34 | * Blake Lewis as Kasuka in one episode ''Literature/{{Durarara}}''. He was cast because he was an ''Series/AmericanIdol'' runner-up, a huge anime fan, and wanted a shot at voice acting in one. When it came time to record Season 2, he ''was'' set to reprise his role (which was bigger this time), and recorded some of the episodes, but was replaced at the last minute with Creator/VicMignogna, supposedly because he spilled the beans on Twitter before the dub was announced. |
| 35 | * ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' alumni Lucas Grabeel provided Gian/Big G's singing voice in an episode of the American version of ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}''. |
| 36 | * Creator/KimberlyJBrown from ''Film/{{Halloweentown}}'' did the voice of Miyu in the first 7 episodes of ''Manga/VampirePrincessMiyu'' before being replaced with Creator/DorothyEliasFahn for the remaining 19 episodes for unknown reasons. Averted with Creator/EmmanuelleChriqui as Hisae since the dub was actually done ''before'' she made it big with ''Series/{{Entourage}}''. |
| 37 | ** Arguably with Stephanie Griffin as Yukari. She wasn't a celebrity, but it looks like she was only given a role because she voiced lead Himeko Se in Creator/AnimEigo's dub of the original OVA. |
| 38 | * Creator/EdAsner as Grandpa Ayanokiji and Creator/WilliamKatt as Tinzin in ''Manga/SazanEyes''. Arguably with Brigitte Bako and Christian Cambell as the leads. The dub's voice director was Creator/GregWeisman, who was working on ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' at the time, and cast many of the same actors in the dub. |
| 39 | * The decision to cast misono as Luna in ''Anime/JewelpetMagicalChange'' was definitely this, the character in question was already voiced by Creator/RumiShishido and misono was only given the role due to her being affiliated with avex at the time. To say this casting decision ''did not'' go over well with the fans is an understatement for multiple reasons and ended up being one of the main reasons why the ''Magical Change'' was not only canceled but [[FranchiseKiller put the Jewelpet franchise as a whole on an indefinite hiatus]]. |
| 40 | * ''Manga/CromartieHighSchool'': Music/MegumiHayashibara is [[{{Gonk}} Maeda's Mom]], [[RuleOfFunny if you can believe it]]. Made even funnier given that [[spoiler: Maeda's Mom never speaks a word, only ever doing an irritated mean.]] |
| 41 | * Juliet Cesario, the English voice of Belldandy from the original ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' OVA, was flown up to New York City to voice Perth in the ''Flights of Fancy'' dub. Creator/MaryElizabethMcGlynn, who voiced Urd in the movie dub, was also brought back to voice Hild. |
| 42 | * The casting of famous cosplayer Creator/JessicaNigri as the lead in the English dub of ''Anime/SuperSonico'' is usually seen as this. |
| 43 | [[/folder]] |
| 44 | |
| 45 | [[folder:Documentaries]] |
| 46 | * Creator/LeonardNimoy narrating on the History Channel. |
| 47 | ** Don't forget ''[[OldShame In Search Of]]''! |
| 48 | * The documentary series, ''[[Creator/DiscoveryChannel Through the Wormhole: With]] Creator/MorganFreeman.'' |
| 49 | ** ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' parodied this trope in episode 49 and pointed out the widespread egregious use of Morgan Freeman for his deep sultry tones. |
| 50 | ** Let's face it, they wanted him for ''Film/MarchOfThePenguins'' because they wanted even penguins to get a MagicalNegro voiceover. |
| 51 | *** This was parodied in Creator/BobSaget's ''Film/FarceOfThePenguins'', which was narrated by Creator/SamuelLJackson. |
| 52 | * Interesting point about Sir Creator/DavidAttenborough's documentaries. In the UK he is nearly synonymous with good quality and he has been producing, commissioning and writing for natural history documentaries for decades and is widely knowledgable about his subject and a driving force on all his projects (and was knighted for it). Outside the UK, maybe Canada, not so much thus his replacement narrators in other territories tend to be big entertainment names. |
| 53 | ** ''Life'' got narration by Creator/OprahWinfrey in the US. |
| 54 | ** Creator/SigourneyWeaver, as a more familiar face of conservation work, was brought in on ''Planet Earth'' |
| 55 | * The BBC documentary ''Frozen Earth'' got Creator/JohnHurt. |
| 56 | ** The Dutch voiceover was replaced with Creator/CariceVanHouten. |
| 57 | [[/folder]] |
| 58 | |
| 59 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 60 | * In its early days Creator/DreamWorksAnimation was extremely blatant with doing this in addition to making use of the InkSuitActor. In some cases, like Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy in ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' it won the company critical acclaim. In others, like Creator/WillSmith in ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' and Creator/JerrySeinfeld in ''WesternAnimation/BeeMovie'', it earned them a lot of ridicule. |
| 61 | * This wound up biting Universal Studios in the butt when they released ''WesternAnimation/JetsonsTheMovie''. Creator/JanetWaldo had returned to voice Judy Jetson. However, after she had finished recording all her lines, [[ExecutiveMeddling the execs]] decided to replace her in favor of the pop star Tiffany, in an attempt to try an attract a younger audience. The move caused a major backlash, and casting director Andrea Romano asked to have her name removed from the credits both in protest for the decision and to avoid hate mail. To make matters worse, by the time the movie was finally released, Tiffany's FifteenMinutesOfFame had long since ended. |
| 62 | * HistoryRepeats 18 years later with ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}''. Creator/ChloeGraceMoretz was cast in the role of Penny, and finished all her lines. But owing to the then-popularity of ''Series/HannahMontana'', most of her lines were rerecorded with Music/MileyCyrus, who was also BilledAboveTheTitle, in order to attract the fanbase from the series. Some males and general Disney fans were turned off by this. |
| 63 | * When the English voice cast for ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' was first announced, some fans criticized the choice of Creator/ChrisPratt as Mario (over longtime ''Mario'' voice Creator/CharlesMartinet) as an example of this trope. These persisted even after the first teaser trailer was shown, where Pratt had only two brief lines in a regular voice. The criticisms only ebbed after the release of the movie, with critics admitting that Pratt provided a subdued but serviceable Brooklyn accent for Mario. |
| 64 | [[/folder]] |
| 65 | |
| 66 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 67 | * The various ''Franchise/StarWars'' movies have played with stunt casting: |
| 68 | ** Creator/PeterCushing (Grand Moff Tarkin) and Sir Creator/AlecGuinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi) in ''Film/ANewHope''. |
| 69 | ** Creator/TerenceStamp (Chancellor Valorum) in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''. Creator/SamuelLJackson (Mace Windu) in that one as well; his role was much expanded in the rest of the trilogy. |
| 70 | ** Creator/JimmySmits (Bail Organa) in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' and ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''. |
| 71 | ** Creator/LauraDern (Vice Admiral Holdo) in ''Film/TheLastJedi''. |
| 72 | * ''Film/FantasyMissionForce'' was advertised as "Starring Jacky Chan" despite the fact that Creator/JackieChan played a minor role. Jackie reportedly appeared in it only because he owed a favor to the lead actor, Creator/JimmyWangYu (who was rumored to have ties to organized crime syndicates). |
| 73 | ** Jackie's done it more than once; he appeared in Creator/StephenChow's ''Film/KingOfComedy'' as a nameless stuntman, and in Creator/SammoHung's ''Series/MartialLaw'' as a prep, the latter done to return the favor for Hung playing the put-upon biker in ''Film/MrNiceGuy''. He and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger also did a co-cameo in the movie ''Viy 2: Journey to China (a.k.a Iron Mask)'' and, despite their relatively short screen time, were used liberally in the marketing. |
| 74 | * Creator/MarlonBrando as Jor-El in the first ''Film/{{Superman|TheMovie}}'' film. He actually got top billing (and a star's wages) on that movie for several scenes that barely totaled thirty minutes in an almost two-and-a-half hour movie. He was cast in the role specifically so they could have a big name actor headlining in order to draw the audience. |
| 75 | ** Indeed, the term "Brando Acceptibilty Yardstick" was coined by a reader as an entry in ''Creator/RogerEbert's Little Movie Glossary'' in reference to this. Brando essentially made it okay for mega-stars to do comic book films - and like him, be paid extraordinarily well for it. Like him, they often don't play the lead roles (which are often given to up-and-comers); they usually play mentors (like Brando) or villains. The best known example of the latter might be Creator/JackNicholson being hired to play the Joker in 1989's ''Film/{{Batman|1989}}''; he got top billing ''and'' a giant cut of the film's profits and merchandising revenue. The three sequels basically stunt cast all the major villains as a response to how well this worked, culminating in the disaster of ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' (Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze and Creator/UmaThurman as Poison Ivy), while Batman himself was given TheOtherDarrin treatment. |
| 76 | * Creator/GeoffreyRush gets third billing in ''Film/IntolerableCruelty'' for a character seen a grand total of ''three'' times, for maybe two minutes of screen time, whom an audience member might easily mistake for three separate characters on the first viewing. |
| 77 | * When it comes to ''{{Film/Scream 1996}}'' Creator/DrewBarrymore was initially signed on as the lead but was unable to commit. Still really keen on the project, she took the smaller role of Casey - who gets killed off in the first ten minutes. It ended up making DeadStarWalking a staple of the franchise. |
| 78 | * ''Film/TheCrowCityOfAngels'' features Music/IggyPop as one of the thugs. He was originally asked to play Funboy in [[Film/TheCrow the first film]], as the character in [[ComicBook/TheCrow the comic book]] was physically modeled on him, but had to decline due to scheduling issues. |
| 79 | * ''Film/DeadMan'' features a variety of celebrities in bit parts, including Creator/RobertMitchum, Creator/BillyBobThornton, Music/IggyPop and Creator/AlfredMolina. |
| 80 | * Creator/StevenSeagal barely has two minutes of screen time in ''Film/ExecutiveDecision'' before dying with a heroic one liner. |
| 81 | ** However, this more of a deliberate example of DecoyProtagonist which even gets lampshaded in the movie. Furthermore, Steven Seagal himself demanded unsuccessfully that he get more screentime in this movie and afterwards complained about this. A much straighter examples of this trope are Seagal's cheap straight-to-DVD movies. Probably the most extreme case of this is the bizarre Chinese war movie Film/ChinaSalesman, where Steven Seagal doesn't even have a role in the true sense of the word. Instead, they just filmed a few close-ups of his face and spliced that footage into a fight scene so as to appear as if Seagal is an EliteMook who gets beaten up by the VillainProtagonist (played by Creator/MikeTyson), even though it's obvious those are 2 different persons switching places between shots. Also, in 2 other (very brief) scenes, Seagal's face is superimposed on a minor character who is wearing a bike helmet, even though there is no apparent connection between this character and the one who gets beaten up in the fight scene. |
| 82 | * ''Film/TimeBandits'': The Greek warrior fighting the Minotaur turns out to be... Creator/SeanConnery! As King Agamemnon, he has only a few minutes of screentime. Amusingly, the script describes the character as someone who ''looks like'' Sean Connery, but to everyone's surprise the man himself accepted the small role. |
| 83 | * Creator/EricRoberts in the final film of ''Film/TheHumanCentipede'' series. The film itself even treats him like a celebrity by playing a fancy cue when he's introduced. |
| 84 | * ''Film/TheMeteorMan'' figures Creator/JamesEarlJones, Creator/BillCosby (who has no lines), Marla Gibbs and Sinbad. Gibbs has the biggest role, as she plays the protagonist's mother. Also from the music industry, there's Luther Vandross (also no lines), Big Daddy Kane, Another Bad Creation, Music/CypressHill, Naughty By Nature and jazz singer Nancy Wilson. |
| 85 | * Creator/FanBingbing in ''Film/IronMan3''. Not only does she only appear in the Chinese cut of the movie, but she doesn't even ''get a name'' despite being featured in the Chinese trailers! However, Bingbing was the ''biggest star in China at the time. |
| 86 | * To a lesser degree, Fan Bingbing in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' playing Blink. The ethnicity is completely different (Blink is Bahaman in the comics), she has no lines in the movie proper and only exists for some cool action scenes. However, she was featured in the advertisements more than even Halle Berry's returning Storm, was given lines in the trailers and was used to promote the movie in China. |
| 87 | * Similar to Fan Bingbing, Zhang Jingchu was given prominent billing in ''Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation'' despite only appearing in the background in one scene and having a few lines in another. Her role, in fact, is so superfluous it could have been played by just about anyone. |
| 88 | * Creator/BryanCranston is heavily featured in the trailer for 2014's ''Film/{{Godzilla|2014}}'' despite the fact that [[spoiler: his character is killed off about twenty minutes into the film.]] Creator/GarethEdwards claims that Cranston was hired because of [[Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle his ability to perform as a father]], but the advertising seems to be heavily influenced by the popularity of his Emmy-winning performance in ''Series/BreakingBad''. |
| 89 | * ''Film/ScreamPark'' features Doug Bradley of ''Film/{{Hellraiser}}'' and Nivek Ogre of ''Music/SkinnyPuppy''. |
| 90 | * The presidents in ''Film/TheButler''; each one gets a cameo and all of them are played by fairly recognized actors. In general, the one who most agreed fit best was Creator/JamesMarsden as Kennedy. |
| 91 | * ''Theatre/EducatingRita'': |
| 92 | ** Producers were really keen on getting Creator/JulieWalters to reprise her role from the stage version. But they risked the story being relocated to America with Creator/PaulNewman and Music/DollyParton in the leads. Julie recalls being called up and told that Creator/MichaelCaine had been cast as Frank. |
| 93 | --> "We've got a star, so we can have you." |
| 94 | ** The small but important role of Rita's roommate Trish was said to have had a name actress - some sources reported Creator/JulieChristie had been cast (although they could have been confusing her with then-unknown Julie Walters). It was played by Creator/MaureenLipman, who was less of a name, but would still have been known for her sitcom ''Agony''. |
| 95 | * ''Film/TheSecretGarden1993'' had three unknown child actors in the parts of Mary, Dickon and Colin. WordOfGod is Creator/MaggieSmith - who was enjoying a particularly high profile in America thanks to ''{{Film/Hook}}'' and ''Film/SisterAct'' - was cast as Medlock for this reason. |
| 96 | * Creator/JamieLeeCurtis was cast in ''{{Film/Halloween 1978}}'' precisely because she was the daughter of Creator/JanetLeigh - who had starred in ''{{Film/Psycho}}'' (which ''Halloween'' has a few nods to). |
| 97 | * ''Film/FridayThe13th1980'': |
| 98 | ** Penelope Milford was courted for the role of Brenda (as she had just been nominated for an Oscar) purely because they hoped she could draw audiences. She eventually backed out, finding the script too violent. |
| 99 | ** They also wanted a name to play Mrs. Voorhees. Estelle Parsons was the original actress cast, but she too dropped out. Her replacement was Betsy Palmer, who was best known for hosting a game show ''I've Got A Secret''. At the time her casting caused a scandal, and Gene Siskel encouraged angry fans to send her hate mail over it. But over time Mrs Voorhees became her most famous role, and she embraced it. |
| 100 | ** Ironically enough, they didn't cast Harry Crosby as Bill because he was the son of Bing Crosby, as they didn't find that out until after he was signed on. Ironic because the film was created specifically to piggyback off ''Halloween's'' success. |
| 101 | * ''Film/MarieAntoinette2006'' casts lots of people who are children of Hollywood stars - the most notable being Creator/AsiaArgento (daughter of Creator/DarioArgento) as Madame du Barry. |
| 102 | * Creator/FrancisFordCoppola blatantly said that Creator/KeanuReeves was cast in ''Film/BramStokersDracula'' (playing a 19th century Englishman!) because he needed a heartthrob who would draw in younger viewers. The other cast members were Creator/GaryOldman and Creator/AnthonyHopkins who were rising character actors, and Creator/WinonaRyder who likewise was on her way to achieving stardom. |
| 103 | * Creator/SophieTurner didn't specify for which film, but said she was cast over an actress who in her opinion [[HumbleHero was better]], because she had more followers on social media. |
| 104 | * Nancy Kwan was who the director really wanted for ''Film/TheWorldOfSuzieWong'', but the studio favored France Nuyen who was better known to audiences from ''Theatre/SouthPacific''. Midway through production she was fired, which [[TheOtherMarty allowed Nancy to play the part]]. It became her StarMakingRole. |
| 105 | * ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries'' kills off Mia's father (he's alive but dying of cancer in the book) because they'd convinced Creator/JulieAndrews to sign on as Grandmere, and they wanted to beef her role up. When Meg Cabot heard they were planning to cast her, she responded "kill the dad!" |
| 106 | ** [[Film/ThePrincessDiaries2RoyalEngagement The sequel]] did this as well with Creator/RavenSymone, at the height of her popularity, cast as a random high-class friend of Mia's. |
| 107 | * Creator/AngelaLansbury's rather random appearance as the Balloon Woman in ''Film/MaryPoppinsReturns''. It's been theorized the role was offered to Creator/JulieAndrews, who played Mary in the original movie; it's known that she ''was'' offered a cameo of some kind but turned it down. Amusingly, she ended up stunt cast as the voice of a ''sea monster'' in ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'', which opened the same month! As for Lansbury, it could also be a {{homage}} to her role in fellow Disney production ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks'', which was in the same vein as ''Film/MaryPoppins''. |
| 108 | * ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater'' wanted to cast PJ Soles (who had played Lynda in the first film) as Laurie's secretary, named Norma Watson after her role in ''{{Film/Carrie 1976}}''. When she didn't give them an answer quick enough, they cast Creator/JanetLeigh instead and filled the role with {{Shout Out}}s to ''{{Film/Psycho}}''. |
| 109 | * Miramax was hesitant to cast Creator/MattDamon and Creator/BenAffleck in ''Film/GoodWillHunting'', until they brought Creator/RobinWilliams on as Sean the psychiatrist. It worked out beautifully as Williams won an Oscar for his performance and Damon and Affleck went from unknowns to big stars. |
| 110 | * For the role of Arwen in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' trilogy, producers wanted to cast a Hollywood star, as the cast was made up of unknowns and character actors. Creator/UmaThurman was the original choice but had to drop out due to her pregnancy, so Creator/LivTyler played it. Marketing for the [[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing first film]] hyped up Arwen as if she were a major protagonist, and Liv is billed third on the poster. After the first film proved such a success, this was de-emphasized, as it was obvious the film could stand on its own. |
| 111 | * ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' has a small appearance by Kathleen Byron as the old Mrs. Ryan. She was a regular actress in the films of Creator/MichaelPowell (notably ''Film/BlackNarcissus'') and Creator/StevenSpielberg cast her because he was a fan. |
| 112 | * ''Film/MaryPoppins'' - the Bird Woman is played by Oscar winning character actress Jane Darwell (famously from ''Literature/TheGrapesOfWrath''). She had been retired for years and only agreed to do it because Walt Disney (a huge fan) tracked her down to her nursing home and begged her to be in the film. |
| 113 | * ''{{Film/Grindhouse}}'' parodies this: |
| 114 | ** ''Film/PlanetTerror'' casts Creator/BruceWillis in a seemingly prominent role at the start - only to disappear until the third act and [[AdvertisedExtra be given top billing]]. This is to reference B-movies that would acquire a name star for a bit part, and hype them up as if they were a lead. Ironically Willis would go on to be stunt cast numerous times in his later career for numerous low-budget, straight-to-dvd movies such as ''Catch 44, The Assassination, The Prince, Precious Cargo and Marauders''. |
| 115 | ** In the fake trailer for ''Werewolf Women of the SS'', there's Creator/NicolasCage appearing as ''Literature/FuManchu''. |
| 116 | ** The fake trailer for the film ''Don't'' has pop singer Katie Melua getting DeathByCameo. |
| 117 | ** ''Film/DeathProof'''s Jungle Julia is played by Sydney Tamiia Poitier just because she is the daughter of Creator/SidneyPoitier (and the middle name is removed in the credits so she is Sydney Poitier). |
| 118 | %%This is just speculation until confirmed otherwise* Likely the logic behind the seemingly bizarre choice to cast Creator/JimCarrey as Eggman in Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 |
| 119 | * For ''Film/TheRingTwo'', producers wanted to cast a veteran actress who was recognizable in the horror genre to play the small role of Samara's mother Evelyn. So of course they choose Creator/SissySpacek, [[{{Film/Carrie1976}} Carrie White]] herself. |
| 120 | * Subverted for ''{{Film/Dunkirk}}'', when Harry Styles of Music/OneDirection was cast in a role. Christopher Nolan admitted to having no idea who Harry even was, and merely cast him based off a strong audition. The press hyped up his starring in there, but the film's promotional materials did not. |
| 121 | * Defied by Creator/ParisHilton for ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera''. The director initially refused to cast her out of fear of this trope, but eventually allowed her to audition for the role of Amber Sweet. She then proceeded to nail the audition. |
| 122 | * [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood''. Rick Dalton made a name for himself on television as the star of the highly successful ''Bounty Law'' show. However after his attempt to break into film petered out he found that getting a lead role on a new TV show was nearly impossible. As Marvin points out early in the movie, most networks are only willing to hire Dalton as a one-off villain so their show's new rising star can get the rep boost of beating Dalton. |
| 123 | * Film/MuppetsMostWanted features celebrity cameos like all muppet movies but Creator/RossLynch's cameo being highlighted in most trailers as well as him doing behind the scenes promotional videos was a clear attempt by Disney to use one of their stars to entice tweens and children from the Disney Channel to go see the movie. |
| 124 | * Creator/NicolasCage was brought in as The Janitor in ''Film/WillysWonderland'' on the logic that having a major star would get the project some much-needed traction. Cage, for his part, loved the script and managed to ham up his character without a word of dialogue and hardly any changes in facial expression. |
| 125 | [[/folder]] |
| 126 | |
| 127 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 128 | * ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' is famous for this, particularly in casting musicians in roles as immortals. These include Music/JoanJett, [[Music/TheWho Roger Daltrey]], [[Music/FineYoungCannibals Roland Gift]], [[Music/SpandauBallet Martin Kemp]] and Music/SheenaEaston. Also notable are Creator/MarcSinger, Wrestling/RoddyPiper, and Nia Peeples. |
| 129 | * {{Sitcom}}s, such as ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and ''Series/WillAndGrace'', often cast famous actors to play the stars' parents. |
| 130 | ** On ''Series/{{Friends}}'' this was taken [[ExaggeratedTrope to the extreme]] when Chandler's dad was played by Creator/KathleenTurner. |
| 131 | * ''Series/{{Caprica}}'' has begun the step into this world with Creator/JamesMarsters being cast into "Know Thy Enemy" as a major player within the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Soldiers of the One]]. |
| 132 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'' has had this on its more modern series: |
| 133 | ** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' has had Creator/JamesCromwell play a role (he returned to play Zefram Cochrane in ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''). It also had Joe Piscopo playing a comedian. |
| 134 | ** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Music/VanessaWilliams, Creator/ChrisSarandon, and Music/IggyPop each guest star in an episode. |
| 135 | ** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E15Tsunkatse Tsunkatse]]" heavily promoted Wrestling/DwayneJohnson as a guest star, who ended up only being in one scene. Creator/JasonAlexander also guest starred, but had a much larger role in his episode. |
| 136 | ** ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' cast Georgia Democratic leader (and ''Trek'' fan) Stacey Abrams as President of United Earth. |
| 137 | * ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' went out of its way to hire some incredible people such as Creator/DickVanDyke and Creator/CourteneyCox. |
| 138 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 139 | ** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E6TheCrusade The Crusade]]", a Creator/WilliamHartnell-era story, prominently featured Creator/JulianGlover as Richard I. This was a huge name, but also contributed to the Shakespearean feel of that story. Glover appeared again in the Fourth Doctor story, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath The City Of Death]]" |
| 140 | ** Popular comic actor, voice actor and singer Creator/JonPertwee as the Doctor. Overlaps slightly with PlayingAgainstType as he was the first actor to play the Doctor [[MetaCasting with his own natural personality]], avoiding the over-the-top character acting associated both with the Doctor role until then and Pertwee's typical roles. Note that three out of four stories in his first season contain short gratuitous sequences of the Doctor singing a funny song in a silly voice, intended as [[PanderingToTheBase fanservice]] for those who wanted to see the Doctor being played as a [[GenreRefugee typical Jon Pertwee comic character]]. |
| 141 | ** Creator/JohnCleese has a tiny role in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath The City Of Death]]" due to his friendship with Creator/DouglasAdams, who was script editor at the time. |
| 142 | ** When Creator/JohnNathanTurner was producer during the 1980s, ''Doctor Who'' had a habit of using this trope; however, whereas most of the modern attempts to do this at least try to match the character to a vaguely appropriate character, many of the earlier efforts ended up being spectacularly miscast, resulting in some truly QuestionableCasting: |
| 143 | *** For example, Creator/BerylReid as [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Ellen Ripley]]-esque space freighter captain in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E6Earthshock Earthshock]]", a role that was... not quite what you'd expect to see Beryl Reid playing. |
| 144 | *** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E1WarriorsOfTheDeep Warriors of the Deep]]" cast Film/HammerHorror veteran Creator/IngridPitt as Doctor Solow. Her appearance in that story is mostly memorable due to her character's death scene being one of the show's most embarrassing moments of both SpecialEffectFailure and FightSceneFailure. |
| 145 | *** Rodney Bewes, a comic actor best known for ''Series/TheLikelyLads'', as brainwashed Dalek agent Stien in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E4ResurrectionOfTheDaleks Resurrection of the Daleks]]". |
| 146 | *** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks Revelation of the Daleks]]" had Alexi Sayle playing an in-universe FakeAmerican radio DJ. |
| 147 | *** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E1TheMysteriousPlanet The Mysterious Planet]]": Creator/JoanSims, known for her roles in the Film/CarryOnSeries of films, as the warrior Queen Katryca. Suffice to say that she wasn't the most physically convincing actress they could have cast... |
| 148 | *** Casting controversial former child actress Creator/BonnieLangford in the role of the companion Mel Bush. This was an unpopular move at the time, as it happened during an AudienceAlienatingEra and Mel was intentionally written as a DamselScrappy due to the production team [[WriterRevolt hating the casting]], though she got some RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap in the audio dramas that demonstrated that [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct She Really Can Act]]. |
| 149 | *** 1950-1960s Broadway star Dolores Gray shows up in the middle of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E3SilverNemesis Silver Nemesis]]" as Mrs. Remington, a wealthy American lady. She's not exactly miscast; the "What the Hell" factor comes from the fact that there is literally ''no point whatsoever'' to her being there. She shows up, gives two of the characters a lift somewhere, and buggers off again. It's also a bit of a "What the Hell" moment in that it seems to have been intended as a Stunt Casting moment despite the fact that relatively few of the watching audience would actually have any idea who she even was. |
| 150 | *** That wasn't the first time a Broadway star was stunt cast for a bit part. Stubby Kaye from [[Film/GuysAndDolls Guys And Dolls]] appeared in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E3DeltaAndTheBannermen Delta and the Bannermen]]" as the bickering CIA agent from New York, and the only clue is that his accent sounds less fake than the other one. |
| 151 | *** Comedians Hale and Pace get a scene in the first part of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival Survival]]" as staff in a corner shop who hard sell the Doctor some tinned cat food. |
| 152 | *** Not all the stunt castings in the JNT Era were bad though. In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E2Mindwarp Mindwarp]]", the character of [[BoisterousBruiser King Ycarnos]] is played by none other than one of the [[LargeHam largest hams]] in existence (drumroll please!)... '''Creator/BrianBlessed!!!''' |
| 153 | *** Nicholas Parsons, best known as a game show host, proved to be a mixed blessing in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E3TheCurseOfFenric The Curse of Fenric]]". On the one hand, he played his part of a vicar suffering a crisis of faith quite superbly. On the other hand, because he was such a rare example of piece of stunt-casting actually working, a number of plot-important scenes he wasn't in ended up on the cutting-room floor. |
| 154 | ** Creator/EricRoberts as the Master in [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie the TV movie]]. This was actually a compromise, with the original idea being to stunt-cast the Doctor himself. Although Creator/PaulMcGann was the first choice of producer Philip Segal and director Geoffrey Sax, executives at Fox wanted a well-known American actor in order to draw in ratings--with Creator/TomHanks, Creator/HarrisonFord, and Creator/JimCarrey being among the names thrown around. Eventually, Fox agreed to cast [=McGann=] under the condition that a name actor play the Master instead. |
| 155 | ** Stunt Cast actors in revival ''Series/DoctorWho'' are not usually heavyweight actors, but are well-known soap actors, comedians, quiz show hosts and other more minor celebrities. Oh, and Sir Creator/DerekJacobi. |
| 156 | *** Actor and comedian Creator/SimonPegg as the Editor, an employee of the Mighty Jagrafess, in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E7TheLongGame The Long Game]]". |
| 157 | *** Creator/CatherineTate as Donna Noble in "[[Recap/DoctorWho2006CSTheRunawayBride The Runaway Bride]]" was initial meant to be this on a one-off basis. However, she made such a positive impression that she ended up coming back as a series regular a year later. |
| 158 | *** Music/KylieMinogue was the guest companion in the 2007 Christmas Special "[[Recap/DoctorWho2007CSVoyageOfTheDamned Voyage of the Damned]]" is probably the most extreme example of stunt-casting in ''Series/DoctorWho'' history. To be fair, it worked; that episode still holds the record for the most viewers in the history of ''New Who''! |
| 159 | *** Film/JamesBond actor Creator/TimothyDalton (as the Time Lord President Rassilon), and veteran actress Claire Bloom appear in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime The End of Time]]". |
| 160 | *** Sci-fi vets Creator/MarkSheppard and father William Morgan Sheppard played young and old versions of former FBI agent Canton Everett Delaware III in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E1TheImpossibleAstronaut The Impossible Astronaut]]"/"[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E2DayOfTheMoon Day of the Moon]]". |
| 161 | *** Series 7 has had several notable faces (possibly to tie in with the series' 50th anniversary), including Ben Browder from ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E3ATownCalledMercy A Town Called Mercy]]", Mark Williams from the ''Film/HarryPotter'' movies in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E2DinosaursOnASpaceship Dinosaurs on a Spaceship]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E4ThePowerOfThree The Power of Three]]", Jemma Redgrave in "The Power of Three" and a number of episodes hence, the voice of Creator/IanMcKellen in "[[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen The Snowmen]]", Creator/DavidWarner in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E8ColdWar Cold War]]", Creator/DianaRigg and her daughter Rachael Stirling in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E11TheCrimsonHorror The Crimson Horror]]", Creator/WarwickDavis in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E12NightmareInSilver Nightmare in Silver]]", and Creator/JohnHurt as [[spoiler:a previously unknown regeneration of the Doctor]] in the 50th anniversary special itself "[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]". |
| 162 | *** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E8MummyOnTheOrientExpress Mummy on the Orient Express]]": Frank Skinner, known primary as a comedian, with little prior experience of acting and ''none'' of dramatic acting, plays the major guest role of Perkins. Nobody has ever been happier about being stunt-cast then Skinner, a long-time fan of ''Doctor Who'', was in this episode. |
| 163 | *** The 2014 Christmas episode "[[Recap/DoctorWho2014CSLastChristmas Last Christmas]]" featured Simon Pegg's frequent co-star Creator/NickFrost as Santa Claus. |
| 164 | *** This was the reason why Nardole was included in series 10 as a full-time companion. Matt Lucas of ''Series/LittleBritain'' and ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'' fame first appeared in "[[Recap/DoctorWho2015CSTheHusbandsOfRiverSong The Husbands of River Song]]" as a supporting character. A big fan of the show, Lucas begged Steven Moffat to bring him back in any shape or form, so Moffat decided to make him a regular as he was surprised that someone who lived in LA would want to work on ''Doctor Who''. |
| 165 | *** Series 11 had a specially-made trailer highlighting its guest stars, who included Creator/AlanCumming, Creator/MarkAddy and Creator/ChrisNoth (who returned in the 2021 New Year's special), not to mention noted game show host Bradley Walsh as companion Graham. |
| 166 | *** The trend continued in series 12, opening with Creator/StephenFry and Creator/LennyHenry (both in 100% serious roles) and shortly after Creator/GoranVisnjic as UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla. |
| 167 | *** Comedian Creator/JohnBishop as companion Dan Lewis for Series 13 and the subsequent specials. |
| 168 | *** The 60th anniversary specials not only brought back Creator/DavidTennant and Catherine Tate in such a way to be stuntcasting. (The Doctor regenerated with a previous Doctor's face, he wasn't playing the same Doctor.) The third special, "[[Recap/DoctorWho60thASTheGiggle The Giggle]]", featured Creator/NeilPatrickHarris as the Toymaker, and he was heavily featured in the trailers. |
| 169 | * Sir Creator/DavidJason was cast as [[TheGrimReaper Death's]] manservant Albert in the MadeForTVMovie of the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Film/{{Hogfather}}''. In the UK, this resulted in the film being promoted as though ''he'' were the main character, rather than the mostly-unknown actress playing the heroine. |
| 170 | ** Which today is RetroactiveRecognition, considering that said actress was Michelle Dockery, who later made her name on ''Series/DowntonAbbey''. |
| 171 | * Music/BritneySpears in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' is a prime example. For two episodes, no less. The show does this a LOT, though, and Britney just got the most hype about it. Her appearance drew in such good ratings, it may have saved the show from cancellation in its third season. |
| 172 | ** Since Creator/NeilPatrickHarris publicly frowned on the practice, it's become much less common though. |
| 173 | *** Ironically, NPH was himself stuntcasted on an episode of ''Series/{{Glee}}''. |
| 174 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': |
| 175 | ** They attempted to cast Music/BritneySpears as Warren's android girlfriend April in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E15IWasMadeToLoveYou I Was Made To Love You]]". |
| 176 | ** Creator/JoelGrey was cast in a relatively small but plot-pivotal role as NotSoHarmlessVillain Doc in a few episodes in the second half of Season Five. |
| 177 | ** Much later, they attempted to cast Miss Spears again in a one-off villain role in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E14FirstDate First Date]]". The part eventually went to slightly less famous fellow pop singer Music/{{Ashanti}}. |
| 178 | * Both 60s spy series ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' and its SpinOff ''Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE'' were given to stunt casting; e.g. Music/SonnyAndCher (in "The Hot Number Affair"), Music/NancySinatra (in "The Take Me To Your Leader Affair") and ElsaLanchester (in "The Brain Killer Affair") in ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' and Creator/BorisKarloff (in "The Mother Muffin Affair") in ''Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE''. |
| 179 | * ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheThreeStooges''. After realising their figure-skating lead Carol Heiss couldn't carry the film, the producers brought in Film/TheThreeStooges. |
| 180 | * ''Series/{{SCTV}}'', against their wishes, had special guest actors Sir Creator/JohnGielgud and Creator/RalphRichardson. In his book on the series (titled, appropriately enough, ''SCTV''), Creator/DaveThomas said they were both extremely difficult to work with and did not understand their brand of comedy. Later on, they welcomed Creator/BillMurray to guest star, who was an active booster of the show. Notable musical guests, who also acted on the show, ranged from Hall and Oates, Dr. John, Wendy O. Williams & the Plasmatics, Music/TheBoomtownRats, Tony Bennett, Music/RoyOrbison, Music/TalkingHeads, Music/JimmyBuffett, John Mellencamp (when he was still John Cougar), Music/{{America}}, Joe Walsh, Dave's brother Ian Thomas (who was successful in Canada in the '70s with his song "Painted Ladies", and would go on to play Dougie Franklin on ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'', on which Dave guest-starred as his brother Ben Franklin), and classical violinist Eugene Fodor. |
| 181 | * Creator/LeonardNimoy as William Bell in the season 1 finale of ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' |
| 182 | * Creator/LeonardNimoy as an old friend of ''Series/TJHooker''. |
| 183 | * NBC's ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' started doing this heavily in season 2, though season 1 had its moments. Some, like Creator/ScottBakula and JordanaBrewster appeared in multiple episodes, while others, like Creator/RobertPicardo and Creator/FredSavage, were only in one. ''Chuck'' tended to {{lampshade}} it with the actors referencing their famous roles, such as Bakula uttering, "Oh boy." |
| 184 | ** Creator/ChristopherLloyd as a psychiatrist whom Chuck kept addressing as "[[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Doc]]." |
| 185 | ** ''Series/{{Chuck}}'': [[VillainOfTheWeek Villains Of The Week]] have included Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan, Nicole Richie, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, Creator/RobertEnglund and Creator/MarkSheppard ([[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 a.k.a. Romo Lampkin]]). |
| 186 | ** Creator/LindaHamilton as Chuck's mom and Creator/TimothyDalton as the villain "Volkoff". Since she arrives in the middle of a fight in which she manages to save her son momentarily from the baddies, Hamilton actually manages to pull off reciting the ActorAllusion line [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} "Come with me if you want to live."]] |
| 187 | ** Creator/OliviaMunn, Isaiah Mustafa (Advertising/TheManYourManCouldSmellLike), Creator/StacyKeibler, and Creator/SummerGlau as "Greta," secret agents working at the Buy More at different times. Mustafa and Keibler were later given character names and appeared in another episodes. |
| 188 | ** They also [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools used stunt casting to deliberately underline]] Chuck's transformation into a superhero, by casting both Creator/BrandonRouth as a kind of anti-Chuck and [[Creator/KristinKreuk Kristin]] [[Series/{{Smallville}} Kreuk]] as a love-interest in the same multi-episode story arc. |
| 189 | * ''Series/CriminalMinds'' sometimes casts [[VillainOfTheWeek unsubs]] with this method. Most, however, are either unrecognizable (Creator/JamesVanDerBeek, Creator/JamieKennedy) or extremely creepy (Creator/KeithCarradine, Creator/JasonAlexander). |
| 190 | ** Often, the recognition of the unsubs (generally played by supremely benign actors, when this trope is in play) only serves to make the roles creepier, or more tragic. James Van Der Beek's character is a good example of that, as is Creator/FrankieMuniz's. |
| 191 | ** In general, stunt casting in a legal or cop drama always brings NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize into play (whether straight or subverted). CM usually averts this by having the unsub commit his crimes onscreen in full view of the audience. "Paradise", in turn is an exception to this rule, where we don't see the unsub actually commit a crime until after they find out who it is...thus playing Narrowed straight (Creator/WilWheaton played the unsub in the ep.) |
| 192 | *** The fans have become critical of this method of casting guest stars as unsubs, even when they are good, because it had been used too often during a weak seventh season. They feel that guest-star unsubs are showcased to the expense of the original cast and story suspense (by showing the unsubs's from the very beginning of the episode, rather than keeping them obscured). By giving more time to the unsubs and their evil deeds, it makes the profiler characters look like stupid slow-pokes, and possibly glorifying the serial killers (which is NOT the point of the show). |
| 193 | * ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'' pulled in Creator/CharismaCarpenter of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' fame, put her in skintight red leather and shouted it from the rooftops. They also got ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'''s JoleneBlalock to play a semi-major character. |
| 194 | * The re-imagining of ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' has been playing with this, with recent appearances by Creator/DaneCook, Music/SeanCombs, Creator/DennisMiller and Creator/NickLachey. Not forgetting semi-regular Jean Smart. |
| 195 | * Subverted in ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet''. When famous actors such as Creator/RobinWilliams, Creator/VincentDOnofrio and Creator/SteveBuscemi appeared, they were given real acting challenges to work with. Williams' performance as a man whose wife has just been murdered stands as the first major [[PlayingAgainstType subversion of his persona]] and a real glimpse of dramatic depth. |
| 196 | ** Although played straight with Creator/RobinWilliams initially- [[http://davidsimon.com/robin-williams-a-brief-encounter/ the series was suffering low ratings and the network was hoping a big name actor would boost ratings.]] This did work, but less so for the casting and more for William's brilliant and unexpected dramatic performance. |
| 197 | * ''Series/BigBrother 13'' brings back three "Dynamic duos". It becomes pretty obvious that they just set it up so that one of the six returnees would win, given how, when it was reduced to two, a [[SarcasmMode mysterious stroke of luck]] bailed them out. |
| 198 | * When the 60s' ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'' took off, all of a sudden many big name actors who normally wouldn't do television wanted a chance to play a Bat-villain. The second season especially is loaded with this, name actors playing one-shot villains created just for them, with the network playing up the guest-villain bit. Among these performers were Creator/ArtCarney, Creator/ShelleyWinters, Van Johnson, Music/{{Liberace}}, Michael Rennie, Creator/TallulahBankhead, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Creator/OttoPreminger... and many more. |
| 199 | * Most {{Game Show}}s tend to do this in the form of "Celebrity Editions" in their waning years in a last-ditch effort to round up some bonus viewers before they inevitably sink into the drain. Most notable are ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'' and ''Series/TheWeakestLink'', whose final primetime seasons were almost nothing ''but'' celebrity editions. Notable daytime examples include the Monty Hall version of ''Series/BeatTheClock'', ''Series/{{Whew}}'' and ''Series/HotPotato''. ABC did this on the 70s version of ''Series/{{Password}}'' but switched back for the final 18 weeks; by that point, it was too late. |
| 200 | ** A trend on {{Game Show}}s since the middle of TheNewTens has been to have a big name on its staff as creator or executive producer, especially if that person has had no association with the genre beforehand. These include [=LeBron=] James on ''Series/TheWall'', Music/JustinTimberlake on ''Series/SpinTheWheel'' and Peyton Manning on ''The Final Straw''. |
| 201 | * The casting of Creator/ShirleyMacLaine as the GrandeDame Martha Levinson in ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' is this done for the right reasons: what ''other'' American actress could engage in Dame-to-Dame Combat with Dame Creator/MaggieSmith? |
| 202 | * Averted: When Creator/MargaretHamilton (the Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz) played Morticia's mother in the 1960s ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' series, the network did not exploit the connection--appropriate though it was. |
| 203 | * ''Series/{{CSI}}'' occasionally seemed to do this, but for the most part their "stunt casting" was the result of a working character actor who had some notoriety at the time (like Creator/AlanTudyk or Creator/WilWheaton) just happening to landing a role on the series. The one time they ''did'' intentionally Stunt-Cast, it worked spectacularly as the legendary Creator/NedBeatty was cast as the kindly pediatric dentist Doctor Dave... who was also a [[AffablyEvil creepifyingly kind serial killer]]. |
| 204 | * ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'' usually stunt casts with real life cameos (such as Castle's poker game with Creator/JamesPatterson, Creator/DennisLehane, and Creator/StephenJCannell), all of whom are portrayed as acquaintances that Castle has befriended as a successful author. |
| 205 | * During the first season of ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', the show had low ratings but high retention[[note]]the people who ''did'' watch the show stuck around for the whole half-hour[[/note]]. Since the show was cheap to produce, the executives greenlit a second season on the condition that they hired a famous actor to draw more attention to the series. Creator/DannyDeVito was introduced as Dennis and Sweet Dee's neglectful father Frank. It worked ''[[Administrivia/TropesAreTools incredibly]]'' [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools well]], marking the point where the show began to GrowTheBeard and become a hit with audiences. |
| 206 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': |
| 207 | ** ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' stunt-cast many people previously involved in the franchise, including Creator/ChristopherReeve, Creator/MargotKidder, and Creator/TerenceStamp (as the voice of Jor-El!) from ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', Creator/DeanCain and Creator/TeriHatcher (as Lois's mother) from ''Series/LoisAndClark'', Creator/HelenSlater from ''Film/{{Supergirl|1984}}'' (as [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]]'s mother), and so on. |
| 208 | ** The practice arguably started with the casting of ''Film/SupermanIII'''s Annette O'Toole as Martha. |
| 209 | ** An example of the [[ActorAllusion "old friend from a previous series" type]] had Tom Wopat, John Schneider's co-star from ''[[Series/TheDukesofHazzard The Dukes of Hazzard]]'', appear in a plot-significant one-off (initiating the political-campaign story arc for Jonathan) that also played off their old show. |
| 210 | ** Other random stunt castings were used for major villains, including Creator/JamesMarsters as Brainiac, Brian Austin Green as Metallo, and so on. |
| 211 | ** ''Series/LoisAndClark'' did this too, most notably bringing back the original Jimmy Olsen from ''Series/TheAdventuresofSuperman'', Jack Larson, to play Jimmy after he'd been hit by an aging ray. |
| 212 | ** Villain stunt castings, weirdly, tended to be sitcom stars and comedians: [[Series/TheJeffersons Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford]]? [[Series/FamilyTies Scott Valentine]]? ''Howie Mandel?'' |
| 213 | * ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'': |
| 214 | ** Creator/MelissaJoanHart is a huge WWE fan, so many notable stars of the 90s were cast for guest spots. These include Wrestling/KevinNash, Wrestling/BillyGunn and {{Wrestling/Chyna}} (though she didn't appear until she'd left the company in the 2000s). |
| 215 | ** The Season 4 premiere gets a Britney Spears appearance to cross promote the film Melissa Joan Hart was starring in, which was titled ''Film/DriveMeCrazy'' after Britney's song. Melissa also appeared in the video, which plays in TheStinger. |
| 216 | ** Coolio has a cameo AsHimself in a Season 1 episode where the aunts bring a poster of him to life [[ItMakesSenseInContext to ask where Salem went]]. |
| 217 | ** A Season 3 episode has Sabrina and Valerie sneaking into a club to see Music/NSync. |
| 218 | ** Music/TheBackstreetBoys have a cameo in an episode with a talent contest [[SelfDeprecation where they only get their singing talent from drinking a potion Sabrina left lying around]]. |
| 219 | ** A Season 2 episode features Creator/RuPaul playing a Witches Council judge who later disguises himself as a hairdresser to teach Sabrina a lesson. Notable because the Witches Council judges had been played by the same two actors for the first three seasons. |
| 220 | ** Sabrina conjures up Tara Lipinski for no real reason in an episode where she's trying to make everyone jealous of her. |
| 221 | ** The seventh season gave Sabrina a job working for an entertainment magazine, allowing for guest appearances from pop stars such as Daniel Bedingfield, Music/{{Ashanti}}, Music/AvrilLavigne etc. |
| 222 | * ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' was fond of this. One episode (about alien abduction) had several actors from various ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series; another had cast members from the movie and TV versions of ''Series/{{MASH}}''. |
| 223 | * ''Series/CoronationStreet'' - Britain's LongRunner of a soap - has often cast name actors for brief story arcs who are quickly written out never to return. |
| 224 | ** Stephanie Beacham showed up in 2009 for a few episodes to play Martha Fraser - a woman who lived on a barge and briefly tempted Ken Barlow to an affair. |
| 225 | ** Nigel Havers (he of ''Film/ChariotsOfFire'' and ''Series/DontWaitUp'') did the flipside of this also in 2009, appearing as a conman called Lewis, who had a brief affair with Ken's wife Deirdre. |
| 226 | ** Creator/HonorBlackman made a couple of appearances playing one of Rita's old friends from her acting days. [[HilarityEnsues Who then invites Rita and Norris to a weekend party that turns out to be a swingers' event]]. |
| 227 | ** Music/GirlsAloud member Sarah Harding in 2015, playing Robert Preston's wife while he was having an affair with Tracy Barlow. |
| 228 | ** Creator/IanMcKellen likewise made appearances as an eccentric writer called Mel Hutchright in 2005. Something of a subversion, as Sir Ian had been lobbying to guest star because [[PromotedFanboy he was a fan]] (the same reason Sarah Harding agreed to her guest spots). |
| 229 | * ''Series/GentlemanJack'': When one episode featured Queen Marie of Denmark as a minor character, they cast Sofie Gråbøl, the most famous Danish actress in Britain thanks to ''Series/{{Forbrydelsen}}''. |
| 230 | * ''Series/TheAquabatsSuperShow'': The show does this from time to time for episode-specific characters, but also [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the trope by having Music/WeirdAlYankovic play President ''Stuncastin'' in the episode "Pilgrim Boy!". |
| 231 | * ''{{Series/Charmed 1998}}'' became known for this in its later seasons, often attracting name actors to play Phoebe's love interests. |
| 232 | ** Nick Lachey, at the height of his fame from marriage to Jessica Simpson and the subsequent reality series. He appears at the start of Season 7 for an arc as Leslie, a replacement advice columnist for Phoebe. Among her love interests, he tends to be the least positively received. |
| 233 | ** The same season brought in Kerr Smith from ''Series/DawsonsCreek'' as FBI Agent Kyle Brody, who became a love interest for Paige rather than Phoebe. Tellingly, he'd actually turned down the role of Leslie. Living TV in the UK were particularly fond of hyping up his appearances. However, he was actually relevant to the arc, and the character was merely divisive rather than hated. |
| 234 | ** Creator/CharismaCarpenter appears for three episodes in the same season, playing a demonic seer called Kyra in an obvious nod to her role in ''{{Series/Angel}}''. The episode in which she played her most prominent role was even advertised with the slogan ''Charmed, with Charisma''. Her character however proved to be quite popular with fans, who lamented that she was killed off. |
| 235 | ** Another well-received example was Creator/BillyZane appearing for three episodes as a demon-turned-human called Drake. His LargeHam performance, creative use of powers and chemistry with Alyssa Milano also made him popular with fans. |
| 236 | ** The final stunt cast Phoebe love interest in the series was Jason Lewis, of ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. The episode "Malice in Wonderland" was even done in the style of the latter, and his character Dex was featured heavily in the promotional materials. Although he ended up marrying her briefly, his arc ended after six episodes. |
| 237 | ** The eighth season also cast Creator/KaleyCuoco, fresh off the sitcom ''Series/EightSimpleRules'' in the role of Billie Jenkins; an apprentice witch to the sisters, who was also the result of the network demanding new faces and someone to fill the MsFanservice requirements the three lead actresses were getting sick of doing. Despite hopes that she could headline a spin-off, Billie was negatively received and even got DemotedToExtra in the continuation comics. |
| 238 | * ''Series/TheBoys2019'''s Season 3 premiere features a cameo from none other than Creator/CharlizeTheron AsHerself, playing Stormfront in the FilmWithinAFilm 'Dawn of the Seven'. |
| 239 | [[/folder]] |
| 240 | |
| 241 | [[folder: Music]] |
| 242 | * The opening skit of Music/{{Eminem}}'s ''Relapse'' album, "Dr. West", features Creator/DominicWest as a rather unhelpful rehab counsellor who is [[EnemyWithout actually just Slim Shady messing with Marshall's head]]. Eminem cast him in part because his own rehab counsellor was British and reminded him of West, but also because he was [[AuthorAppeal a huge fan]] of ''Series/TheWire'' and wanted the opportunity to gush at West about the show. |
| 243 | [[/folder]] |
| 244 | |
| 245 | [[folder: Music Videos]] |
| 246 | * [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the casting of Creator/PamelaAnderson as the giantess in the Music/{{Miserable}} music video. One would think casting the biggest sex symbol of the time in a roll like that would be because the producers wanted to drum up interest in the video. But it was actually the band's idea. Music/{{Lit}} actually requested that she be in the video because they were guest starring on an episode of Series/{{VIP}} and enjoyed working with her. Her lending the video a little extra clout was just a bonus. |
| 247 | * A similar subversion in Music/{{LFO}}'s music video for "Girl on TV". As the song is about falling in love with a female celebrity, it would seem to be the case that Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt (then a TeenIdol for ''Series/PartyOfFive'' and ''Film/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer'') plays the girl in the video. However, she was actually the celebrity the song was written about - and was dating one of the members. |
| 248 | * The video for Stylo by ''Music/{{Gorillaz}}'' features Bruce Willis, who mugs down the camera constantly. Yes mate, we know you're Bruce Willis... |
| 249 | [[/folder]] |
| 250 | |
| 251 | [[folder:Professional Wrestling]] |
| 252 | * The main event of the first ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' had Mr. T as one of the match participants, purely for mainstream publicity. |
| 253 | * Cyndi Lauper's presence at the same event was not however an example of this, as she had been involved in a program where she became the manager of Wrestling/WendiRichter - and stayed as such for a whole year. |
| 254 | * Creator/MickeyRourke was involved in a small stunt with Chris Jericho at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 25'' to promote his film ''Film/TheWrestler''. |
| 255 | * WWE from about 2009 until 2011 would have a gimmick of a different celebrity guest hosting Raw every week, ranging from past wrestlers to even the likes of Buzz Aldrin, the Osbournes and The Muppets! It was discontinued as a weekly thing that year, but still occasionally happened for the next couple of years. |
| 256 | * TNA in the late 2000s, early 2010s got a reputation for bringing in names from reality shows - Jenna Morasca, Johnny Fairplay, Angelina Pivarnick - because Dixie Carter admitted to being a reality TV addict. The last one wasn't particularly well thought-out - as ''Series/JerseyShore'' aired at the same time as TNA Impact. |
| 257 | * WWE likewise got in on the ''Series/JerseyShore'' phenomenon in 2011, where Snooki guest starred on an episode of Raw ostensibly to promote a magazine cover, but then ended up challenged to a mixed tag match at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania 27''. Surprisingly enough, she ended up performing [[HiddenDepths better than expected]], with her background in gymnastics and cheerleading allowing her to pull off some SheFu moves. |
| 258 | * For the first ever women's Wrestling/RoyalRumble in 2018 (which would close the show), the higher-ups were afraid the men's rumble preceding it would exhaust the crowd. As a result, this one included a lot more nostalgia competitors than normal - Wrestling/TrishStratus, {{Wrestling/Lita}}, Wrestling/TorrieWilson, Wrestling/MollyHolly, {{Wrestling/Jacqueline}}, Wrestling/MichelleMcCool, Wrestling/KellyKelly (although she was a last minute replacement for the injured Paige) and even Wrestling/VickieGuerrero! This was thought to be in an attempt to re-energize the crowd (which worked judging from the reactions). |
| 259 | [[/folder]] |
| 260 | |
| 261 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 262 | * While it has TheCameo trope on the page with ''Theatre/LaFilleDuRegiment'' of the very small part of the Duchess of Crakenthorp could be seen in this form, there have been times when retired Opera Singers like Montserrat Caballé and Kiri Te Kanawa took over the part and a song from their repertoire is added to extend the six lines written, also the part was played by drag superstar Monét X Change who again was given a song to show off. |
| 263 | ** However, while these were positive examples of Stunt Casting, there was a negative reception of Ann Widdcome as the Duchess rather than give her a song, they gave her jokes that, from all reviews, were as awkward as her time on Strictly Come Dancing. |
| 264 | * When a Broadway show becomes a LongRunner, it's likely to fall victim to a revolving door of stunt casting. |
| 265 | ** ''Theatre/HelloDolly'' went through a rotating series of stars, including Creator/GingerRogers and Creator/EthelMerman. For two years, the entire cast was {{Race Lift}}ed so that Pearl Bailey and Music/CabCalloway could star as Dolly and Horace. |
| 266 | ** The 1996 revival of ''Theatre/{{Chicago}}'' is a notorious example -- over its 25+ year run, its longevity has been attributed to casting numerous well-known actors and actresses and/or rock/pop/country singers in all three of its principal roles. It's even a plot point in another musical, ''Theatre/TheProm'': Angie's toiled away in its ensemble for years but hasn't been promoted to playing Roxie Hart because she isn't a name. |
| 267 | * TheNineties revival of ''Theatre/{{Grease}}'' was also notorious for this. (Seriously, Creator/RosieODonnell as Rizzo?) And it's rare to see a professional production of the show that ''doesn't'' stunt cast the OneSceneWonder Teen Angel, who sings "Beauty School Dropout" (for which the movie got Frankie Avalon and the 2016 FOX production got Music/BoyzIIMen). The role is sometimes doubled with that of the DJ Vince Fontaine to better justify the casting. |
| 268 | * The 2007 Las Vegas staging of ''Film/TheProducers'' cast Creator/DavidHasselhoff as Roger De Bris, the FlamboyantGay director, and ''gave him top billing''. At the same time, this particular production was {{Recut}} to only 90 minutes, so to maximize Hasselhoff's stage time, most of the romantic subplot involving Leo and Ulla was cut...which made his betrayal of Max harder to swallow. Later in the run, Creator/TonyDanza came in to play Max (he was previously one of Creator/NathanLane's replacements in the Broadway production). |
| 269 | ** Hasselhoff had previously become a bit infamous for playing the title roles in the musical ''Theatre/JekyllAndHyde'' on Broadway, as one of those performances was filmed and released on video and DVD. That production frequently stunt cast the lead role; [[Music/SkidRow Sebastian Bach]] played him for a while as well. |
| 270 | * [[Music/SkidRow Sebastian Bach]], in Theatre was a mixed bag, while he was in the above ''Theatre/JekyllAndHyde'', he took over Riff Raff in [[Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow The Rocky Horror Show]], where he was given a reprisal of Over At The Frankenstein Place to show off his voice. However, his last credit was the tour of Theatre/JesusChristSuperstar, where it was clear he couldn't hit the high notes of Gethsemane then, during the curtain calls, he began messing around and jumping into the audience thinking he was back in Skid Row, resulting in his firing. |
| 271 | * Toward the end of its run, the Toronto production of ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' cast [[Music/{{KISS}} Paul Stanley]] as the Phantom. He was generally well-received and even got some Music/{{KISS}} fans interested in musical theatre. While ''Phantom'' has generally avoided this, it did bring back Creator/MichaelCrawford to the role for a brief time on Broadway, Creator/RobertGuillaume was the first-ever black Phantom in the national touring company, and equally well-known Norm Lewis became the first black actor to play the title role in the Broadway production in 2014. |
| 272 | * As its Broadway run wound down, ''Theatre/MissSaigon'' brought back Creator/LeaSalonga, the first actress to play Kim. |
| 273 | * During its final year on Broadway, ''Theatre/{{Aida|JohnRice}}'' cast well known R&B stars in the title role, such as Music/ToniBraxton, Deborah Cox and Music/MichelleWilliams. While this usually paid off in singing ability, the acting sometimes left a lot to be desired. |
| 274 | * [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers Groucho Marx]], Creator/EricIdle, and Creator/DudleyMoore have all played the role of Ko-Ko in ''Theatre/TheMikado'', and handled it quite well. It certainly helped that they're accomplished {{Deadpan Snarker}}s. |
| 275 | * An English-language recording of the Richard Strauss opera ''Ariadne on Naxos'' features Creator/StephenFry in the speaking part of the Major-Domo. |
| 276 | * The Broadway adaptation of Disney's ''Theatre/BeautyAndTheBeast'' initially featured Creator/TomBosley as Maurice. (While best known for ''Series/HappyDays'' and, late in life, infomercials, Bosley previously won a Tony for ''Theatre/{{Fiorello}}''.) Later in the run, replacement Belles included Music/DebbieGibson, Music/ToniBraxton, Andrea [=McArdle=] (the original Broadway Theatre/{{Annie}}), [[Series/TheSopranos Jamie-Lynn Sigler]], and Creator/ChristyCarlsonRomano. And Donny Osmond did some PlayingAgainstType as Gaston for a while. |
| 277 | * ''Theatre/{{Seussical}}'' was a TroubledProduction and over its brief 198-performance run on Broadway did this several times in a desperate attempt to drum up business -- both Creator/RosieODonnell and Cathy Rigby (a former Olympian and highly-regarded stage Theatre/{{Peter Pan|1954}}) played Literature/TheCatInTheHat in an odd case of CrosscastRole, and Jojo was played at different points by country music child star Billy Gilman and teen pop singer Music/AaronCarter. |
| 278 | * A 1997 Madison Square Garden production of ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' featured ''Creator/RoseanneBarr'' as the Wicked Witch of the West! A restaging and subsequent tour the following year featured Creator/EarthaKitt, and later [[Series/RowanAndMartinsLaughIn Jo Anne Worley]], as the Wicked Witch and Creator/MickeyRooney as the Wizard. When Creator/AndrewLloydWebber mounted a new stage adaptation of the film in 2011, Creator/MichaelCrawford played the Professor Marvel/Wizard dual role. |
| 279 | * Theatre critic Mark Shenton [[http://www.thestage.co.uk/columns/shenton/2014/02/bold-casting-choices-versatile-actors/ praised]] the 2013 ''Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' musical in the West End for '''avoiding''' this trope with regards to the [[LargeHam showy]] role of Willy Wonka. Instead, the role was originated by Creator/DouglasHodge and after a year, handed off to Alex Jennings -- both are highly-regarded English stage actors, but subject to PopCultureIsolation by the world at large. The following year, Jennings was succeeded by Jonathan Slinger, who also fits the "[[ShakespeareanActors high-quality resume]]/not a big name" pattern. |
| 280 | * The 2013 Broadway adaptation of ''Theatre/CinderellaRodgersAndHammerstein'' did this in 2014 when it brought in pop singer Music/CarlyRaeJepsen to play the title character and Creator/FranDrescher to play the evil stepmother. Jepsen's successor to the role was Music/KekePalmer, who also fits this trope for what it's worth. |
| 281 | * ''Theatre/ForbiddenBroadway'' loves to mock this concept, most recently in its 2014 edition by bringing up the aforementioned ''Cinderella'' recasting. |
| 282 | * Sometimes happens with ''Theatre/LaCageAuxFolles'' with regard to the role of [[DragQueen Albin/Zaza]] -- talk show host [[Series/TheGrahamNortonShow Graham Norton]] was a replacement in the 2008 West End revival. After it transferred to Broadway the show's book writer, Creator/HarveyFierstein, played the role for a time (both actors took over from Creator/DouglasHodge). For the follow-up U.S. tour, Fierstein [[WhatCouldHaveBeen was approached]] to play Georges, which would have made him the rare actor to have played ''both'' lead roles, but he was too busy with other projects. |
| 283 | * ''Theatre/ShowBoat'': |
| 284 | ** The 1930 St. Louis Municipal Opera production somehow was able to cast Creator/WCFields as Captain Andy. |
| 285 | ** The 1994 Broadway revival inflated the role of Parthy and gave it to Creator/ElaineStritch. |
| 286 | * The 1981 regional production of ''Theatre/{{Pippin}}'' that was filmed for television included Chita Rivera as Fastrada and Martha Raye as Berthe. |
| 287 | * Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' has always gone for big names when casting Grizabella, the female lead and star of the show, most recently casting Delta Goodrem, [[Music/PussycatDolls Nicole Scherzinger]] and Music/LeonaLewis in the role. |
| 288 | * Music/SaraBareilles, who wrote the songs for the musical version of ''Film/{{Waitress}}'' and was nominated for a Tony for her score, spent six weeks starring in the show. The show became notorious for a tendency to do this, such as casting Joe Sugg and [[WebVideo/MirandaSings Colleen Ballinger]], both mostly famous for their Website/YouTube videos. |
| 289 | * Broadway industry gossip in spring 2017 was that ''Film/KinkyBoots'' was on its last legs financially with a closing announcement imminent. To tide audiences over until its original stars returned to close the show, Brendon Urie (of Music/PanicAtTheDisco, hot off of their biggest album in a decade) was announced to be playing Charlie Price for a limited run that summer. [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct He was sensational]], but more importantly, his presence did gangbusters for the show's grosses. The role of Charlie has since been stunt-cast a few more times, with the likes of David Cook from ''Series/AmericanIdol'' and Tyler Glenn of Music/NeonTrees. When the show closes in April 2019, it will have run almost a full two years longer than industry gossip theorized. |
| 290 | * Love Letters, a play by A. R. Gurney, has been a goto play for Stunt Casts as it's a two-hander of a couple telling their story through their written correspondence, the play originally had different casts each week and regularly is used by actors who are too busy and is highly popular with benefit readings. |
| 291 | * This trope’s backfire led directly to the Broadway closure of ''Theatre/NatashaPierreAndTheGreatCometOf1812''. When Music/JoshGroban left the role of Pierre in July 2017, he was succeeded by Okiriete “Oak” Onaodowan, who was well-regarded coming off his turn in ''{{Theatre/Hamilton}}'' but lacked the star power to draw in casual fans. After only six weeks of Onaodowan’s run, the producers announced that he would be replaced by Creator/MandyPatinkin. The backlash over the casting shakeup (and the UnfortunateImplications of a black actor in an ostensibly “race-blind” role being abruptly recast with a white one) caused Patinkin to withdraw out of respect for Onaodowan, leaving the show without a long-term plan for Pierre and no ready solution to its poor box office; it ended up folding at the end of the summer. |
| 292 | * A 2004 Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera production of ''Theatre/TheMusicMan'' cast Creator/JeffGoldblum (a native of the city) as Harold Hill. This was played with in an offbeat way: The {{Mockumentary}} ''Pittsburgh'' is built around this production, revealing that Goldblum's primary reason for doing something so atypical was to help his then-girlfriend get a green card and how he had a difficult time getting into the role. |
| 293 | * Creator/PattiLuPone tried to speak [[https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/patti-lupone-stunt-casting-is-forcing-legitimate-actors-out-of-work against this trope]] in 2017 when she heard of theatre productions casting Website/{{YouTube}}rs, social media influencers or MMA fighters who had large fan bases - but ended up receiving a mountain of backlash for perceived elitism. Her claims that stunt casting was "forcing legitimate actors out of work" were met with people pointing out that it was possible for people with those platforms to also have acting experience and/or a desire to break into a new industry. Not to mention that stunt casting was nothing new, and her comments seemed to be based on the fact that it was happening to names outside her circle/clique. |
| 294 | * In the Play 2:22 A Ghost Story, which opened in 2022, there has been talk of this due to its multiple casting of big names, starting off with Pop Star Music/LilyAllen, who wasn't known for her acting career, in turn of events, she had good reviews and even had an Olivier Award Nomination, since then the play has been recast with Music/{{Cheryl}} being the most interesting casting. |
| 295 | [[/folder]] |
| 296 | |
| 297 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 298 | * Exaggerated with the [=PlayStation=] game ''Apocalypse'' by Activision. The original concept was that Creator/BruceWillis would've voiced an A.I.-controlled partner who assists the player throughout the game. The developers decided to ditch the original protagonist and simply turned Willis' character into the player character with the rationale "why would anyone want to be Bruce Willis' sidekick when they can be the man himself?" |
| 299 | * ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' has its main character voiced by Creator/HaleyJoelOsment in the English version, with other supporting characters and villains played by people like Creator/BillyZane (Ansem), Creator/ChristopherLee ([=DiZ=]), and Creator/LeonardNimoy (Xenahort). |
| 300 | ** The ''Final Fantasy'' cast in the first game, the first time the characters got voiced, has recognisable TV actors and popstars playing them all. The performances range all the way from QuestionableCasting nonsense (Creator/LanceBass is horribly miscast as Sephiroth, but does the best job he can under the circumstances) all the way up to establishing the definitive voice actor for the character (Creator/SteveBurton stayed with Cloud even after ''II'' recast most of the characters, and played him in English for the majority of his later appearances until ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake''). |
| 301 | * ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'': in addition to its AllStarCast, preview material hyped Creator/GinaCarano as Natasha, Tanya's Soviet counterpart. Carano's appearance amounts to a non-speaking cameo in the Allied campaign and the Natasha unit in the actual gameplay portions is not voiced by her - reportedly, this was because she couldn't do a believable enough Russian accent (even by [[FakeRussian the game's standard]]). |
| 302 | * In a cross between this and WhatCouldHaveBeen, the game ''VideoGame/{{Malice}}'' earned considerable attention in the early 2000s because the lead character was going to be voiced by Music/GwenStefani, with other members of Music/NoDoubt appearing as characters and the band was signed up to provide the soundtrack. The game was planned for a high profile release as an Platform/{{Xbox}} launch game, but slid further and further into DevelopmentHell. By the time the game was released nearly four years after it was supposed to, Stefani and the band's contributions were scrubbed from the final product, and it was a commercial and critical disappointment. If the game is remembered now, if at all, it's for Stefani's involvement rather than its actual gameplay. |
| 303 | * In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', series mainstay Creator/DavidHayter was recast with Creator/KieferSutherland because his vocal range was too limited. Which might have been useful ''four games earlier'', but Kiefer barely talks at all in ''Phantom Pain''. All it did was feed into the preconception that Creator/HideoKojima resents making games and would rather be a Hollywood director instead. |
| 304 | * [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover Guest fighters]] bring in the $$$, but longtime fans felt the guests in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' got out of hand. 50% of the DLC is guest fighters. {{Creator/NetherRealm|Studios}} would rather pay orders of magnitude more money to recast Sonya with Creator/RondaRousey than hire an actual voice actor. They'd rather pay an ungodly sum to use {{Creator/Arnold|Schwarzenegger}}'s likeness and promote [[Film/TerminatorDarkFate a movie which everyone knew was going to bomb]] anyway. |
| 305 | * ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'' has the bafflingly gimmicky lead actor pair of Creator/NormanReedus and Creator/LindsayWagner, whose SerkisFolk recreation allows her to appear as the age she was in ''Series/TheBionicWoman'' despite her being in her late 60s. This is because Creator/HideoKojima is a ''huge'' fan of ''The Bionic Woman'' and thought that, since he was making his dream project, he might as well just go for broke. Joining them are also Creator/MadsMikkelsen, Creator/LeaSeydoux, Creator/MargaretQualley ''plus'' the likeness of Creator/GuillermoDelToro and Creator/NicolasWindingRefn. |
| 306 | * {{Averted}} in ''VideoGame/SayonaraWildHearts'': Music/QueenLatifah has a voiceover role as the narrator, but she was a last-minute addition so her name didn't feature in pre-release promotion. |
| 307 | * The original dub of ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'' is full of this (in ''The Final Cut'', most were recast): |
| 308 | ** Notoriously, Will Menaker, Matt Christman, Felix Beiderman and Virgil Texas from the controversial left podcast ''Podcast/ChapoTrapHouse'' all show up as Siileng/Fuck The World, Titus Hardie, Scab Leader/Kourtenaer/Rosemary and the Smoker on the Balcony respectively. Will joked on the show that they were surprised the game turned out to be good because they'd assumed it was going to be 'a multiple choice adventure about depression' (which the game is... kind of). According to the producers, they hadn't intended to stunt-cast the game, and approached the ''Chapo'' guys because they couldn't find actors with American accents... but they appear prominently in the marketing material, suggesting they knew exactly what they were doing. Overlaps with PlayingWithCharacterType, as, while none of the hosts are playing exactly the kind of characters you'd expect, familiarity with their comic personas will bring an extra sizzle to their scenes. In particular, SociopathicSoldier Kourtenaer develops an ineffectual failson vibe once you recognize he's voiced by the guy whose career is built on skewering [[TestosteronePoisoning hypermasculinity-poisoned oafs]]. |
| 309 | ** Dasha Nekrasova from the even more controversial left podcast ''Podcast/RedScare'' (perhaps best known for the viral video of her obliterating an [=InfoWars=] reporter with high level Communist rhetoric while dressed in a SailorFuku) plays Klassje (Miss Oranje Disco Dancer). Dasha's reputation as being a 'bad girl' unpopular even amongst ''Chapo'' listeners for her inflammatory opinions underscores Klaasje's [[FemmeFatale untrustworthiness]]. |
| 310 | ** Music/BritishSeaPower contribute various songs to the game's soundtrack. |
| 311 | ** Mikee W. Goodman (Ancient Lizard Brain/Limbic System/Spinal Cord/Roy/The Deserter/Idiot Doom Spiral) is best known as the lead singer of the prog metal band Music/{{SikTh}}. One of the band's gimmicks is that Mikee often sings in character voices, [[TheCastShowoff which the game also gives him the opportunity to do during the karaoke scene]]. |
| 312 | ** Dot Major from indie rock band Music/LondonGrammar plays obnoxious speed-abusing scallie kid Cuno, as well as Harry's former partner, Jean. In ''The Final Cut'', he appears as Noid instead. |
| 313 | ** Measurehead is played by Casablancan rapper Music/DizzyDros, who [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03_ty7sa_G4 featured in promo videos to appeal to his fanbase]]. |
| 314 | [[/folder]] |
| 315 | |
| 316 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 317 | * ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' does this a lot with voice casting. Blurr is voiced by the original Blurr's voice actor Creator/JohnMoschitta (the world's fastest-talking man), Master Yoketron is voiced by Creator/GeorgeTakei, and Wreck-Gar by Music/WeirdAlYankovic (who did the original Wreck-Gar's theme song). |
| 318 | ** An interview has Creator/MartyIsenberg stating that hiring Weird Al was just an idea he had after Creator/EricIdle (see below) wasn't available that ended up working out. |
| 319 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie'' took this to an extreme in '86. Almost all the new characters had big name voice actors. Creator/LeonardNimoy was Galvatron, Creator/EricIdle was Wreck-Gar, RobertStack was Ultra Magnus, Judd Nelson was Hot Rod, etc. Most impressive of all, Creator/OrsonWelles (in his last performance) was absolutely AWESOME as Unicron. [[TheOtherDarrin None of them stayed]] [[PoorMansSubstitute on for the]] [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 TV series]] though. |
| 320 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' got in on this with casting Wrestling/DwayneJohnson for Cliffjumper's brief appearance in the pilot (before he's killed by Starscream and in a WholeEpisodeFlashback, he's [[TheOtherDarrin replaced]] with Billy Brown) and the aforementioned George Takei as Alpha Trion. |
| 321 | * On the subject of Creator/GeorgeTakei, he was a one-off villain in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. |
| 322 | ** And Creator/RobertPatrick as Piandao, famous warrior and master to Sokka. |
| 323 | * The educational kids' series ''WesternAnimation/LibertysKids'' is known for this. Creator/WalterCronkite had a recurring role as Creator/BenjaminFranklin; other celebrities playing revolutionary heroes included Creator/DustinHoffman as Benedict Arnold, Creator/AnnetteBening as Abigail Adams, Creator/BillyCrystal as John Adams, and Creator/MichaelDouglas as Patrick Henry, as well as General Norman Schwarzkopf, Creator/SylvesterStallone, Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, Creator/BenStiller, and Creator/WhoopiGoldberg. |
| 324 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' features a "special guest star" -- who isn't even always an actor -- almost every episode nowadays, and of course most of the promo is devoted to their part, however small it might be. (Example: "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS22E1ElementarySchoolMusical Elementary School Musical]]" had a lot of emphasis placed on the appearances of three of the cast of ''Series/{{Glee}}'' (Creator/LeaMichele, Creator/CoryMonteith and Amber Riley, if you're wondering) while - at least in the UK - pretty much ignoring the stars of ''Series/FlightOfTheConchords'', whose roles were much more important to the episode.) |
| 325 | ** Early on, episodes like "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E17HomerAtTheBat Homer at the Bat]]", "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E12MargeVsTheMonorail Marge vs. the Monorail]]" and "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E22KrustyGetsKancelled Krusty Gets Kancelled]]" were criticized for being too "gimmicky" for using this trope (Marge's VA, Creator/JulieKavner, sat out from the latter episode because of this). |
| 326 | * ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' brings back Creator/StephenColbert as Phil Ken Sebben in the last episode, and - this being Harvey Birdman - [[LampshadeHanging lampshades it]]. |
| 327 | -->'''Phil Ken Sebben''': Ha ha ha! Final episode stunt casting! |
| 328 | * Creator/SeanPenn was cast as Terrence on ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBirdsMovie'', whose dialogue [[TheQuietOne consists almost entirely of grunts]]. |
| 329 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' cast Creator/JayLeno as Cartman's cat and Creator/GeorgeClooney as Stan's dog in early episodes. Actual celebrity appearances, meanwhile, were pretty much never voiced by real thing. |
| 330 | * While they would sometimes appear as themselves ([[AdamWesting or a comical exaggeration thereof]]), ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' practically made a RunningGag out of casting big-name actors and celebrities as ancillary characters. Half the fun was in trying to guess who was voicing them before the credit roll confirmed it. |
| 331 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' called in Music/WeirdAlYankovic to play a OneEpisodeWonder character who's basically [[FunPersonified Pinkie Pie]]'s DistaffCounterpart. Subverted with Creator/JohnDeLancie's role as Discord, as he was so popular that he ended up promoted to a recurring character. Also played with when Broadway star Lena Hall guest starred as Applejack's pop star friend Rara (as she was a fan of the show). |
| 332 | * For the first season finale of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'', Gyro invents a device that allows Donald to talk without his raspy voice. Rather than just have Donald's regular voice actor Tony Anselmo talking in his normal voice however, Creator/DonCheadle provides Donald's regular voice, and does so until the device is destroyed at the end of the episode. |
| 333 | * In general, Creator/DisneyChannel seems to have a habit of casting their popular stars in supporting roles in their animated shows. For example, ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' had Music/AshleyTisdale as Candace, ''WesternAnimation/KickButtowski'' had Creator/EmilyOsment as Kendall, WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan had Creator/RossLynch as Werewolf by Night and ''WesternAnimation/RandyCunninghamNinthGradeNinja'' had no less than ''three'' actresses known for their Disney work (Creator/SarahHyland, Creator/PiperCurda, and Creator/LauraMarano). |
| 334 | * ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' seemed headed this way at the start, casting high-profile musicians Aimee Mann and Music/NickiMinaj as the voices of the gem fusions Opal and Sugilite, respectively. This trend was then abandoned (possibly for budgetary reasons, which is {{Lampshaded}} in a later episode) with the two characters only having sporadic, non-speaking appearances. Aimee Mann would later return as Opal for the movie. |
| 335 | * From the Japanese dub of ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'', we have Creator/JunkoTakeuchi and Creator/YumikoKobayashi as the two main characters. No other well-known seiyuus seem to have roles in the dub. [[note]] In case you're wondering, Takeuchi voiced Gumball and Kobayashi voiced Darwin, a double case of CrossDressingVoices. [[/note]] |
| 336 | * ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries'': |
| 337 | ** For an otherwise small animated series in the early 2000s that relied on up and coming voiceover talent, aside from Creator/MelissaJoanHart voicing the two aunts, one episode guest starred Mr T as [[InkSuitActor an alien drawn to resemble him]] and of course dropping his famous catchphrase. It then however subverted his persona by having the alien be an ExtremeDoormat who surrenders to any potential conflict. |
| 338 | ** An episode involving Sabrina, the aunts and Chloe casting a spell to become a famous GirlGroup has a sequence where Music/WeirdAlYankovic appears AsHimself to parody their single. |
| 339 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheWeekenders'' episode "My Punky Valentine" has an absolutely out of nowhere cameo from Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt, who pops up when the others suggest she distract Tino from the girl they disapprove of him fancying. She then reappears at the end to say the traditional "later days" send-off. |
| 340 | [[/folder]] |
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