History Main / StuntCasting

*** Later on, with ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', they cast Creator/BrianDrummond (who played Vegeta in the original Saban 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.

* ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' alumni Lucas Grabeel will be Gian/Big G's singing voice in an episode of the American version of ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}''.

* ''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 moan.]]

* ''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.

** 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.

* 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.

* 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."
* ''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, Creator/ChristopherLee, and Creator/LeonardNimoy.

* ''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]].)

* 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 Keifer 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.

* 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. [[GrowingTheBeard Starting with]] ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'', the company started putting [[SubvertedTrope less emphasis]] on the actors they hire for movies.

* 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. The film turned out to be SoOkayItsAverage and broke even at the box office, but males and general Disney fans were turned off.

* ''Film/TheCrowCityOfAngels'' features Music/IggyPop as one of the thugs. He was originally asked to play Funboy in [[Film/TheCrow the first film]], but had to decline due to scheduling issues.

** 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, occasionally, rock/pop/country singers) in all three of its principal roles.
* 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).

** Hasselhoff had previously become a bit infamous for playing the title roles in the musical ''Theatre/JekyllAndHyde'' on Broadway, and one performance 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.

* 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.

* 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 a most offbeat way: The {{Mockumentary}} ''Pittsburgh'' is built around this production, and claims that Goldblum's primary reason for doing something so atypical was to help his then-girlfriend get a green card.

* ''{{Theatre/Waitress}}'' 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.

This can overlap with WTHCastingAgency 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?

* 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'', [[WTHCastingAgency it earned them a lot of ridicule]]. [[GrowingTheBeard Starting with]] ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'', the company started putting [[SubvertedTrope less emphasis]] on the actors they hire for movies.

** 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 WTHCastingAgency 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'').

* 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/{{Shrek}}'' it won the company critical acclaim. In others, like Creator/WillSmith in ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' and Creator/JerrySeinfeld in ''WesternAnimation/BeeMovie'', [[WTHCastingAgency it earned them a lot of ridicule]]. [[GrowingTheBeard Starting with]] ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda,'' the company started putting [[SubvertedTrope less emphasis]] on the actors they hire for movies.

* ''{{Theatre/Waitress}}'' became notorious for a tendency to do this, such as casting Joe Sugg and Colleen Ballinger, both mostly famous for their Website/YouTube videos.

** 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 [[WTHCastingAgency "What the Hell?" Casting]]:

** 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 Maureen Lipman, who was less of a name, but would still have been known for her sitcom ''Agony''.

* TheNineties revival of ''Theatre/{{Grease}}'' was also notorious for this. (Seriously, Rosie O'Donnell 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).

* 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, Robert Guillame 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.

* During its final year on Broadway, ''Theatre/{{Aida|JohnRice}}'' cast well known R&B stars in the title role, such as Toni Braxton, Deborah Cox and Creator/MichelleWilliams. While this usually paid off in singing ability, the acting sometimes left a lot to be desired.

* The Broadway adaptation of Disney's ''Theatre/BeautyAndTheBeast'' initially featured Tom Bosley 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 Debbie Gibson, Toni Braxton, Andrea [=McArdle=] (the original Broadway Theatre/{{Annie}}), [[Series/TheSopranos Jamie-Lynn Sigler]], and Creator/ChristyCalrsonRomano. And Donny Osmond did some PlayingAgainstType as Gaston for a while.
* ''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 Rosie O'Donnell 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 Aaron Carter.

* 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, Harvey Fierstein, 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.

* 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, Nicole Scherzinger and Leona Lewis in the role.

* Patti [=LuPone=] 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.

** Similarly, Aya Hirano was also cast as Shinobu the vampire in LightNovel/{{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.
* Blake Lewis as Kasuka in one episode ''LightNovel/{{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 even 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.

* Creator/KimberlyJBrown from ''Film/{{Halloweentown}}'' did the voice of Miyu in the first 7 episodes of ''Manga/VampirePrincessMiyu'' before being replaced with Dorothy Fahn 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}}''.

** Similarly, Aya Hirano was also cast as Shinobu the vampire in LightNovel/{{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.

** Similarly, Aya Hirano was also cast as Shinobu the vampire in LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}} even though Shinobu never spoke a single word in the entire series. It must be noted, however, that with the recently announced prequel anime, maybe this was a case of extreme foresight in the case of the casting company.

* 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, and ''WesternAnimation/RandyCunninghamNinthGradeNinja'' had no less than ''three'' actresses known for their Disney work (Creator/SarahHyland, Creator/PiperCurda, and Creator/LauraMarano).

* 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!

** ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' parodied and this trope in episode 49 and pointed out the widespread egregious use of Morgan Freeman for his deep sultry tones.

*** "[[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 conving actress they could have cast...
*** 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 a DorkAge 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]].