10 Actresses Who'd Have Been 100% Perfect For A Part Years Before (or Later) aka DREAM CASTING
Sometimes an actress is just a few years too late or too early for a part. What if the casting director could have chosen from an All-Time pool?
Please note: Unless otherwise noted, author is NOT FINDING FAULT IN THE SLIGHTEST with existing performances, but is merely noting other interesting candidates (unrestricted by constraints of realities caused by time and availability)
{list will grow slowly, people, it's not a subject that can be pulled out of a hat. They have to be truly inspired}
Your opinions welcomed. RavenGlamDVDCollector@gmail.com
Please note: Unless otherwise noted, author is NOT FINDING FAULT IN THE SLIGHTEST with existing performances, but is merely noting other interesting candidates (unrestricted by constraints of realities caused by time and availability)
{list will grow slowly, people, it's not a subject that can be pulled out of a hat. They have to be truly inspired}
Your opinions welcomed. RavenGlamDVDCollector@gmail.com
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- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Christina Applegate was born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, to record producer/executive Robert Applegate and singer-actress Nancy Priddy. Her parents split-up shortly after her birth. She has two half-siblings from her father's re-marriage - Alisa (b. October 10, 1977) and Kyle (b. July 15, 1981). Alisa and Christina are best friends and even lived together while Alisa was going to college. Christina's mother took her along on all of her auditions and acting jobs. She made her acting debut at age five months, when her mother got her in a commercial for Playtex nursers. Her mother never remarried, but kept company with Stephen Stills. Christina still cherishes a guitar Stephen gave her when she was young. She played in a number of TV series before landing her breakout role in Married... with Children (1987). Christina still studies jazz dance.Dream Casting: Buffy, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Ideal Time: 1987 - 1989, MARRIED WITH CHILDREN #2, #3
Missed By: about seven years too early
(this entry might have the lot of you convinced that I am totally nuts! Kelly Bundy as The Slayer?)
Okay, she is f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c in MARRIED WITH CHILDREN as Kelly Bundy, and I am not going to suggest anybody else for that part, but just a few years later, came Sarah Michelle Gellar's star turn as Buffy. Again, that one was like f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c but ultimately played the part too innocent. What was Principal Snyder's case against Buffy? In real life, the Sarah Michelle version would have won him over in a heartbeat. Buffy was perhaps more meant to be a little teen terror; blonde and beautiful, but also truly a little tornado.
So, don't get me wrong. SMG was a classic, she's tops in my Annals of Fame. And she had the teenage angst thing down pat. But Christina Applegate would, had BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER been cast in 1992*, have been a VERY INTERESTING choice.
*there is of course also the Kristy Swanson failed BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER movie, but I am only talking about the TV series
Pros and Cons: Buffy Summers was a cheerleader. Cheerleaders have a different built than Sarah Michelle Gellar, more Christina Applegate. There were constant buzz-killing references in the series to Buffy being 'short'. (Hell, I feel like a traitor for saying this, for Sarah is lovely, lovely, lovely)
Gleefully being spiteful, Christina did this regularly on MARRIED WITH CHILDREN, she'd have made a great Vampire Slayer... When she was on a roll as Kelly Bundy, especially pitted against rivals at school, she showed considerable spirit, + she was a dreamgirl deluxe back in her day. The actress is notoriously confused with her ditzy character on MARRIED WITH CHILDREN, people are like, she must be really, really dumb in real life too, but that's just because Christina was so damned great at portraying the hugely self-centered Kelly Bundy. Sounds outrageous, I know, but she'd have knocked our socks off in that part!- Actress
- Producer
Marnette Patterson is an American-born actress who was raised in Los Angeles, California. Her name is a combination of her two great grandmothers: Mary and Nettie. Her aunt is Dana Dillaway, former child actress who appeared in Giant (1956) as Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson's daughter Judy. Marnette started her career on Nightmare on Elm Street followed by Sliver with Sharon Stone and William Baldwin. She worked in many film and television projects before landing in comedy. She was a series regular on multiple sitcom and single camera projects. She then went on to the TV show Charmed for it's final season. She is also a singer who started as a junior vocal winner on "Star Search" and was the voice of Lucy in Charlie Brown. She has worked in numerous film and television projects with the likes of Amy Adams, Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper among many others. She recently produced and starred in a film called Charisma Killers and is slated to produce and star in one summer of 2023.Dream Casting: Kelly Taylor, BEVERLY HILLS 90210
Ideal Time: 2002, when WHO'S YOUR DADDY? was filmed
Missed By: 12 years or so too late
While Jennie Garth is a favorite of mine, even more so because she was the lead in WITHOUT CONSENT, she had problems living up to the part of super-glamorous high school vixen Kelly. Had Marnette been around on the scene about twelve years earlier than her appearance in WHO'S YOUR DADDY? (2004), she'd have been absolutely perfect for the part.
Yes, I know Jennie took the part to a whole new level, and was ultimately the real star of that show, but take one look at Marnette in the aforementioned movie, and you'll see what an absolutely striking Kelly Taylor she'd have been. Wonder what she'd have looked like rolling on the floor/bed with a telephone?
Pros and Cons: I've already mentioned that Jennie turned the part around. The rival became the real heroine of the story. I'm mostly referring to the initial seasons when Kelly wasn't all politically correct.
Ever noticed how history repeated itself? BEVERLY HILLS 90210, rival vixen character Kelly Taylor, weaker supposed-to-be main character Brenda Walsh... 90210 years later, rival vixen character Naomi Clark, weaker supposed-to-be main character Annie Wilson... Vixen, in both cases, becomes far less vixeny, really has a heart of gold, really is the main character (eat your heart out, Shenae Grimes!)
In failed movie WHO'S YOUR DADDY?, typecasted Marnette is once again the drop-dead gorgeous blonde cheerleader making fools of the boys who is soon revealed as a conniving little user and airhead intent only on getting her photo-shoot for Playboy-styled Heaven magazine (not that The Raven sees anything wrong with that, but her methods were 'far less than nice'). Marnette plays the part with dedication! Her Britney van Horn has the boys trembling in front of her, and falling over their own feet trying to please her. The scene in the shop where she is shown the flyer for tonight's big rave party where she tells the boys that if the party was worth attending she'd have known about it, especially reminded me of the Kelly Taylor character as she was back in the earliest episodes of BH90210. Blonde, arrogant, the leader of the pack...
Check out the movie. Be warned though, it is a real stinker. A total missed opportunity to have made something much better. Even it's sexual content is very, very little, so don't come complaining to me afterward. But Marnette truly shines in her few scenes. Just as she would have had she gotten the All-American dream part I'm waffling-waffling about...!- Actress
- Soundtrack
Gena Lee Nolin was born on 29 November 1971 in Duluth, Minnesota, USA. She is an actress, known for Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding (2003), Baywatch (1989) and Sheena (2000). She has been married to Cale Hulse since 3 September 2004. They have two children. She was previously married to Greg Fahlman and David Alan Feiler.Dream Casting: (which she did of course do!) Sheena, SHEENA
Ideal Time: when she was wasting her time playing drunk-up-in-the-lifeguard-towers Neely on BAYWATCH
Missed By: about two, three years
(Entry done with apology and great respect to Gena Lee Nolin. Author has done research on you, and knows about the health problem that affected you, making your seemingly perfect life a painful hell)
Gena Lee Nolin's drunk and disorderly, thoroughly nasty Neelie on BAYWATCH wasn't exactly convincing, even by BAYWATCH standards. We never really saw her intoxicated, just moody and hell-bent on getting her own way. The character was totally miscast. Not without just cause. BAYWATCH casting went all-out for the prettiest they could find, and here they e-x-c-e-l-l-e-d themselves. They found an unbelievably beautiful girl with long, platinum-blonde hair and a finely-chiseled face and legs for days and days and more days till all of red-blooded mankind is in a daze. But, oh please! An alcoholic who looks like that?
Next season, Neelie came round like a typical BEVERLY HILLS 90210 vixen-turned-good-girl-with-a-heart-of-gold. Real-life pregnancy also played a considerable part in this transformation.
After BAYWATCH ended, co-producer Douglas Schwartz must have remembered the gorgeous blonde starlet, and she was cast as the lead in his SHEENA. All as it should have been, but... Problem! Gena Lee Nolin in the red BAYWATCH monokini was a feast for the eyes. In SHEENA though, as dull as ditchwater. Help, where is Tanya Roberts?!
All through the series (currently watching S02E07 tomorrow) there are clear signs that there is no sparkle in Gena. Smiles are empty, eyes lack the real sparkle, the magic, the reason to want to watch this show. Granted, it was never going to be in the class of the John Guillermin movie of 1984. But Gina doesn't look like a bright starlet anymore.
Research on Wikipedia revealed ill health caused by thyroid problems. She was misdiagnosed with postnatal depression, went on to SHEENA while not getting proper treatment. This clearly resulted in her 'kind of looking as if she has misgivings playing a Darak'na, the character continually smeared with black mud', not that I would have blamed her entirely.
Bottom line is that the major draw-card, the very heart of the show, the heroine, appears half-hearted, ambivalent about having to endure all these running around in the jungle monkey business. If the actress couldn't give the camera what was needed, it's sure as hell not going to appear on our screens just because of some token cleavage.
Pros and Cons: Could only have gone wonderfully had this project been done earlier.
The whole vibe of this list has to be understood as wishful thinking, it is entirely unrealistic. But just think: If project SHEENA had come around a couple of years earlier, how great that show would have been, with Gena still at her best. I do understand that she already had health problems on the BAYWATCH set, but during her first episodes, undetectable on film. During that time, she would have done busloads for the animal-skin clad look just like she did for the famed red BAYWATCH monokini.
My apologies once more to Gena. I'm sure you tried your best.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Judy Greer was born and raised outside of Detroit, Michigan, as Judith Therese Evans. She is the daughter of Mollie Ann (née Greer), a hospital administrator and former nun, and Richard Evans, a mechanical engineer. She has German, Irish, English, Welsh, and Scottish ancestry. After training for nearly ten years in classical Russian ballet, Greer shifted her interest to acting and was accepted into Chicago's prestigious Theatre School at DePaul University.
After a variety of odd jobs during college, from telemarketer to oyster shucker, Greer landed her first on-screen role just three days after graduation -- a small part in the Jason Lee-David Schwimmer comedy Kissing a Fool (1998). She flew to Los Angeles for the film's premiere and never left. Greer quickly landed a role in the dark comedy Jawbreaker (1999), with Rose McGowan and Rebecca Gayheart. Greer starred as a school wallflower-turned-babe in a story about high school girls who accidentally kill their best friend and try to cover up the murder.
She went on to play a news correspondent in David O. Russell's Three Kings (1999), landing a memorable opening love scene with George Clooney. Her performance caught the eye of Hollywood, and she appeared next in Mike Nichols's What Planet Are You From? (2000) as a flight attendant opposite Garry Shandling. Her television credits include a recurring role as Jason Bateman's assistant Kitty on Fox's Arrested Development (2003), as well as guest-starring roles on Love & Money (1999), Maggie Winters (1998), and Early Edition (1996).
Greer starred opposite Jennifer Garner in Columbia Pictures' romantic comedy 13 Going on 30 (2004), directed by Gary Winick. Greer played an office colleague alongside Garner's character, with whom she shares a checkered past.
She co-starred in writer-director M. Night Shyamalan's The Village (2004), opposite Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sigourney Weaver, and William Hurt. Set in 1897, the film revolves around a close-knit community that lives with the knowledge that a mythical race of creatures resides in the woods surrounding them. The Village (2004) was released July 30, 2004, by Touchtone Pictures. Greer also co-starred in director Wes Craven's Cursed (2005), a modern twist on the classic werewolf tale written by Kevin Williamson. The busy actress also landed a co-starring role opposite Orlando Bloom and Susan Sarandon in writer-director Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown (2005), playing the sister of Bloom's character and daughter of Sarandon's character.
She also joined Jeff Bridges and Jeanne Tripplehorn in the independent film The Amateurs (2005) by writer-director Michael Traeger. The film revolves around a motley group of friends who band together to make an amateur porn film. Greer plays a young temptress at the local mattress store who secures a role in the movie by allowing the store to be used as a film location.
Greer wrapped production in New York on a co-starring role opposite Tom McCarthy ("The Station Agent") in Danny Leiner's The Great New Wonderful (2005) for Serenade Films/Sly Dog Films. The dark comedy tells five different stories against the backdrop of an uncertain post-September 11 New York. The cast also includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Edie Falco and Tony Shalhoub.
She also appeared in writer-director Adam Goldberg's psychological drama I Love Your Work (2003), opposite Giovanni Ribisi. The film is about a fictional movie star (Ribisi) and his gradual meltdown and increasing obsession with a young film student and his girlfriend. The stellar cast also included Franka Potente, Christina Ricci, and Jason Lee and debuted at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. In the film, Greer plays Samantha, the personal assistant of Ribisi's character.
Greer had a starring role as the female lead role in the comedy The Hebrew Hammer (2003) as the feisty, fearless Esther, who joins forces with an Orthodox Jewish Blaxploitation hero (Adam Goldberg) to save Hanukkah from an evil son of Santa Claus (Andy Dick). The Hebrew Hammer (2003) debuted at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and premiered on Comedy Central followed by a theatrical release.
She also appeared in Adaptation. (2002), from director Spike Jonze. In the film, Nicolas Cage stars as self-loathing writer Charlie Kaufman (and twin brother Donald) as he attempts to adapt the novel "The Orchid Thief" for the big screen. Greer played Alice, the waitress with whom he becomes obsessed -- the object of his fantasies.
Greer turned in a scene-stealing comedic performance in The Wedding Planner (2001), with Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey, in which she played Penny, Lopez's sweet but ditsy assistant who tries hard, but often falls a little short. Equally adept at more dramatic roles, Greer gave a standout performance opposite Mel Gibson in What Women Want (2000), playing a suicidal file clerk rescued by the one man who can hear women's thoughts. Greer's pivotal scene with Gibson is the heart of the film.
With a genuine gift for comedy and an engaging on-screen presence, Judy Greer has quickly become one of Hollywood's most captivating talents. Having appeared in such diverse films as Jawbreaker (1999), What Women Want (2000), The Wedding Planner (2001), Adaptation. (2002), and Wilson (2017) as well as a number of upcoming feature film projects, Greer turns in scene-stealing performances opposite some of the industry's biggest stars.Dream Casting: Karen, CALIFORNICATION
Ideal Time: actually, she was there
Missed By: a hair's breadth?
Came to me while I was watching “Perverts and Whores”, the third last episode of the third last season of CALIFORNICATION: Judy Greer has always been around as Trixie, and tonight, here as she walks away telling Hank how the sparks are gonna fly one day, oh boy! I'm sure she had been a contender for the part of Karen. Look at the similarities. Natascha McElhone, Judy Greer, it's patently obvious. In the right place, at the right time, she simply lost out.* While I am tre-men-dous-ly happy with Natascha in the part, I do see the possibilities with Judy, and ever since 13 GOING ON 30 have I wanted TomTom in a role more specifically catering to showing off her beauty. Just to say I think that she, too, would have made a fine Karen...
Pros and Cons: None. She has the same kind of looks, and the soft voice, she has that Karen-quality about her. Hey, I'm not talking about Trixie, people, about the actress!
*pure speculation on author's part, researched without success- Actress
- Soundtrack
Rachel Anne McAdams was born on November 17, 1978 in London, Ontario, Canada, to Sandra Kay (Gale), a nurse, and Lance Frederick McAdams, a truck driver and furniture mover. She is of English, Welsh, Irish, and Scottish descent. Rachel became involved with acting as a teenager and by the age of 13 was performing in Shakespearean productions in summer theater camp; she went on to graduate with honors with a BFA degree in Theater from York University. After her debut in an episode of Disney's The Famous Jett Jackson (1998), she co-starred in the Canadian TV series Slings and Arrows (2003), a comedy-drama about the trials and travails of a Shakespearean theater group, and won a Gemini award for her performance in 2003.
Her breakout role as Regina George in the hit comedy Mean Girls (2004) instantly catapulted her onto the short list of Hollywood's hottest young actresses. She followed that film with a star turn opposite Ryan Gosling in the adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks bestseller The Notebook (2004), which was a surprise box office success and became the predominant romantic drama for a new, young generation of moviegoers. After filming, McAdams and Gosling became romantically involved and dated through mid-2007. McAdams next showcased her versatility onscreen with the manic comedy Wedding Crashers (2005), the thriller Red Eye (2005), and the holiday drama The Family Stone (2005).
McAdams then explored the independent film world with Married Life (2007), which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and also starred Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson. Starring roles in the military drama The Lucky Ones (2008), the newspaper thriller State of Play (2009), and the romance The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) followed before she starred opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in Guy Ritchie's international blockbuster Sherlock Holmes (2009). McAdams played the plucky producer of a failing morning TV show in Morning Glory (2010), the materialistic fiancée of Owen Wilson in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris (2011), and returned to romantic drama territory with the hit film The Vow (2012) opposite Channing Tatum. The actress also stars with Ben Affleck in Terrence Malick's To the Wonder (2012) and alongside Noomi Rapace in Brian De Palma's thriller Passion (2012).
In 2005, McAdams received ShoWest's "Supporting Actress of the Year" Award as well as the "Breakthrough Actress of the Year" at the Hollywood Film Awards. In 2009, she was awarded with ShoWest's "Female Star of the Year." As of 2011, she has been romantically linked with her Midnight in Paris (2011) co-star Michael Sheen.Dream Casting: Kelly, CHARLIE'S ANGELS, 1976
Ideal Tine: During 2012's filming of THE VOW
Missed By: She overshot by 36 years!
Watching THE VOW (2012)*, I was constantly reminded of Jaclyn Smith in the original TV series of CHARLIE'S ANGELS. Only, if Jaclyn could only have been this great! Don't get me wrong, back in the day, I was a fan, but in retrospect, hell, when you analyze it closely, it stares you in the face that the look of the time was far, far from flattering, and that the girls lacked softness, especially the kind of softness that appeared from the Nineties onward. Also, and this is way more damning, Jaclyn didn't make the character anything warmer beyond the basic script. If Rachel had been around back then (instead of still only being the sparkle in her parents' eyes) she'd have made a terrific Kelly.
Big consolation: Had she been around back then, she'd have been way old now, even older than me!
*to appreciate my observation, IMDbers should see THE VOW instead of looking at her (current) blonde picture here.