History Main / HypotheticalCasting

* Creator/AnneRice envisioned Creator/RutgerHauer as Lestat in a film version of ''Literature/TheVampireChronicles'' and was so appalled that Creator/TomCruise was cast in ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'' that she boycotted the film, though she later came round.

* Creator/TommyWiseau wanted either Creator/JohnnyDepp or Creator/CrispinGlover to play him in ''Film/TheDisasterArtist''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has an in-universe example: In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS13E18IAmFuriousYellow I am Furious (Yellow), in response to a remark about who should play Homer in a live-action "Angry Dad" movie, Bart suggests Creator/JohnGoodman, but Homer strangles him and exclaims, "Isn't it obvious?! It should be Creator/GaryOldman!"

** For ''Film/TheShining'', he envisioned Creator/ MichaelMoriarty, Creator/MartinSheen or Creator/JonVoight as Jack Torrence, believing that they would best convey an ordinary family man who snaps. He was against Creator/JackNicholson's casting, feeling that it was telegraphing Jack's insanity to the audience.

* Creator/JoanCrawford was asked who should play her in a film. She picked Creator/FayeDunaway. The result was ''Film/MommieDearest''.

* Creator/AynRand wanted Creator/FarrahFawcett to play Dagny Taggart in a film version of ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'', as she was a fan of ''Series/CharliesAngels''.

* When the rumor mill started that Disney would do a live-action VideoGame/KnightsOftheOldRepublic tie-in, photomanips abounded of who would be cast for Revan. Top contender? Creator/KeanuReeves. Played with in the case of Kreia from [[VideoGame/KnightsOftheOldRepublicIITheSithLords second game]], where the discussion on Website/{{Reddit}} just cut to the chase and said that the actress who voiced her would be the best fit to reprise it for live-action.

* There have been many candidates to play Film/JamesBond over the years. To give one example, Creator/CliveOwen was a fan-favourite choice to replace Creator/PierceBrosnan. It turned out he was neither offered the part nor seriously considered.

* Winton Groom, who wrote the book ''Film/ForrestGump'' was based on, envisioned Creator/JohnGoodman in the lead role.

* For years, Creator/VincentPrince was the favourite candidate to play ComicBook/DoctorStrange. Given that he was the visual basis for the character, this is unsurprising.

* Even before an ''Comicbook/XMen'' movie was announced, Creator/PatrickStewart was the fans' ''only'' choice for ComicBook/ProfessorX.

* Creator/RussellTDavies has mentioned envisioning certain actors in his head while creating various characters for ''Series/DoctorWho.'' He said that while creating Adelaide Brooke for "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars The Waters of Mars]]", he created her with Creator/HelenMirren in mind (the role eventually went to Lindsay Duncan, who does bear a slight similarity to Mirren.) Similarly, for River Song, they considered Creator/KateWinslet for the part (which went to Creator/AlexKingston.)
** A sketch for the Ninth Doctor's look describes him as "Creator/TerrenceStamp if he ran a fruit stall".

* Even before an ''Comicbook/XMen'' movie was announced, Creator/PatrickStewart was the fans' ''only'' choice for Charles Xavier.
** ''Wizard Magazine'' once suggested Creator/AlanCumming for Comicbook/{{Nightcrawler}}. Guess who played him in ''Film/XMen2?''

* DiscussedTrope in ''Film/{{Scream 1996}}''-- Sidney says "with my luck they'd cast Creator/ToriSpelling". In the sequel when they have indeed made a FilmWithinAFilm about the events, Sidney is played by...Tori Spelling (who found it ActuallyPrettyFunny).

* The producers of ''Film/TaxiDriver'' were looking for a "Cybill Shepherd" type to play Betsy. When agent Sue Mengers heard this, she reportedly called them and asked why not hire Cybill Shepherd.

* Creator/PhilipPullman was ecstatic when Creator/NicoleKidman was cast as Marisa Coulter in ''Film/TheGoldenCompass'', as she had been his personal favorite for the role (he had wanted Jason Isaacs as Lord Azriel, but that role went to Creator/DanielCraig). He even approved the AdaptationDyeJob - Mrs Coulter was black-haired in the book and blonde in the film - by saying "I was wrong. She has to be blonde."
* Creator/BetteDavis gave Creator/SusanSarandon her nod to play her in a hypothetical film adaptation of her life. After several projects that never got off the ground, she got her wish in ''{{Series/Feud}}''.

* After having the whole Series/{{Angel}}-[[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]]-Spike triangle explained to him, Lorne reflects that "I could sell that story to any studio in a heartbeat. I see [[Creator/JohnnyDepp Depp]] and [[Creator/OrlandoBloom Bloom]] - but then again, I see them a lot."

* Many fans of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' have their bets on who to play certain characters in [[Series/GameOfThrones its TV adaptation]] before it airs. The only popular fan-favorites to make the cast are Creator/PeterDinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Creator/SeanBean (Ned Stark), and Creator/CharlesDance (Tywin Lannister).

[[folder:Literature]]
* In the back of ''Literature/{{Inkheart}}'', Cornelia Funke mentioned that she always imagined Mo to be a bit like Creator/BrendanFraser, and then the casting went like that for the movie.
* In the back of ''Literature/DarkFire'', Cris D'Lacey made a list of all the actors he imagined playing each of his characters in response to a question.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OWYrEue9l8 This fan-made credit sequence]] for a hypothetical ''Literature/GoodOmens'' movie.
* In Creator/StephenKing's novel ''Literature/TheRegulators'', after Johnny Marinville and his black neighbor, Brad Josephson have a hard time climbing a fence to escape from monsters, Johnny jokingly suggests that they should make a movie called ''Black Men Can't Climb Fences'', where Brad would be played by Creator/LaurenceFishburne.
* Creator/JKRowling had her own ideal cast for ''Literature/HarryPotter'' long before the first movie was made, and was lucky enough to see several of her choices (Creator/RobbieColtrane as Hagrid, for one, and Creator/MaggieSmith as Minerva [=McGonagall=], for another) actually used.
** Rowling's first choice for Severus Snape was Creator/TimRoth, who turned down the role. It subsequently went to Creator/AlanRickman, who then inverted this trope by gradually overwhelming Rowling's own image of Snape and influencing how she wrote his dialogue (just ''try'' not hearing some of Snape's dialogue in the books written after the first film was made in Rickman's voice).
* Creator/StephenieMeyer's choice for [[Literature/{{Twilight}} Bella Swann]] was Creator/EmilyBrowning. Meyer also said she pictured Creator/HenryCavill when writing Edward Cullen, but by the time the movies were made, he was considered too old for the role, making it the ''second'' part he's lost to Creator/RobertPattinson (the first being [[Literature/HarryPotter Cedric Diggory.]])
** For ''Literature/TheHost'', she pictured Creator/HilarySwank as Melanie, Creator/MattDamon as Jared, Creator/RobertRedford as Jed, Creator/CaseyAffleck as Ian, and Creator/BenAffleck as Kyle.
* In Usenet discussion, Creator/TerryPratchett has suggested Creator/PetePostlethwaite as his conception of Sir Sam Vimes (which then became ComicBookFantasyCasting in the children's picture book ''Where's My Cow?''), and Creator/JamesSpader for Havelock Vetinari.
** He's also reportedly specified "the bad guy from ''Film/DieHard''" (Creator/AlanRickman) for the role of Vetinari.
* Virtually every fan of ''Literature/StarTrekNewFrontier'' seems to think that Creator/JoeFlanigan would make an ideal Mackenzie Calhoun. Just go look at all the fan-made intro vids on Youtube!
* Lot of ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' fans wanted to see Creator/MattBomer in the role of Christian Grey. A producer said that Matt wasn't straight enough for it, causing much outrage.
* Creator/NeilGaiman says that Shadow from ''Literature/AmericanGods'' is supposed to look like Creator/DwayneJohnson.
* The author of ''Literature/TheHeartsWeSold'' used a gif of Creator/MattBomer to represent the Daemon in one blog post. A fan on Twitter also proposed Creator/TomEllis as a potential alternative, which she approved of.
* Fans of ''Literature/GoneWithTheWind'' immediately envisioned Creator/ClarkGable as Rhett Butler, so it was inevitable that he be cast in the film.
* Winston Groom envisioned Creator/JohnGoodman as Literature/ForrestGump.
* ''Literature/BreakfastAtTiffanys'': Creator/TrumanCapote imagined Creator/MarilynMonroe as Holly Golightly. But her acting coach didn't want her playing a call girl, so Creator/AudreyHepburn was cast instead.
* Creator/GeorgeMacDonaldFraser once talked about casting Creator/DanielDayLewis in a proposed ''Literature/{{Flashman}}'' film, though he mentioned his ideal choice as Creator/ErrolFlynn.
* ''Literature/AxiomsEnd'' author Creator/LindsayEllis has suggested casting Creator/PedroPascal as Nils if the book ever became a movie. She also agreed with suggestions for Creator/RosaSalazar to play Cora, at least until she realized Salazar's age surpassed that of Cora.
* ''Literature/StrangerThanFanfiction'': Joey Davis tends to think that the perfect actor to portray {{God}} would be Creator/IanMcKellen. In his inner movie of God deciding homosexuality isn't a sin anymore, he has him accompanied by Moses (played by Creator/DenzelWashington) and UsefulNotes/JesusChrist (played by Creator/IdrisElba).
[[/folder]]

** Before the third film, Ralph Fiennes was a popular fan casting choice for Lupin. Ironically, Creator/RalphFiennes went on to play Lord Voldemort, which is about as far away from mild-mannered Professor Lupin as you can get. There are still plenty of fans who think Ralph Fiennes would have been a better Lupin than Creator/DavidThewlis.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has an in-universe example: In response to a remark about who should play Homer in a live-action "Angry Dad" movie, Bart suggests Creator/JohnGoodman, but Homer strangles him and exclaims, "Isn't it obvious?! It should be Creator/GaryOldman!"

* When the miniseries Series/TinMan aired, the reaction from the WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers fan list to Creator/NealMcDonough amounted to ''"How the hell did Zach Foxx end up in Oz?!"''

The purpose of a hypothetical cast may be to give the reader of a fictional work a better picture of how a character looks and acts. This is common practice for online virtual series and sometimes used by authors of commercially published works. It can also be part of a hypothetical discussion by fans of a work. Many times, when a creator is pitching a work to a production company (such as a new series to a TV network), the creator will use existing photos from previous works to help others visualize the characters (as mentioned below, Jeff Eastin used a photo of Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio circa ''Film/CatchMeIfYouCan,'' to help visualize the gentleman rogue con man of ''Series/WhiteCollar'''s Neal Caffrey.

* This is a very popular past-time in many anime and voice actor sites in Spanish-speaking countries, partly due of the long voice-acting tradition of those countries.

* When discussing who should play Comicbook/{{Hellboy}} in a film, Creator/GuillermoDelToro and Creator/MikeMignola wrote down their first choice on a napkin. They unaminously picked Creator/RonPerlman.

* There have been many candidates to play Film/JamesBond over the years. To give one example, Creator/CliveOwen was a fan-favourite choice to replace Creator/PierceBrosnan. It turned out he was neither offered the part, nor seriously considered.
* Creator/PhilipPullman was ecstatic when Creator/NicoleKidman was cast as Marisa Coulter in ''Film/TheGoldenCompass'', as she had been his personal favorite for the role (he had wanted Jason Isaacs as Lord Azriel, but that role went to Creator/DanielCraig). He even approved the AdaptationDyeJob - Mrs Coulter was black haired in the book and blonde in the film - by saying "I was wrong. She has to be blonde."

* In Creator/StephenKing's novel ''Literature/TheRegulators'', after Johnny Marinville and his black neighbor, Brad Josephson have a hard time climbing a fence to escape from monsters, Johnny jokingly suggests that they should make a movie called ''Black Men Can't Clmb Fences'', where Brad would be played by Creator/LaurenceFishburne.

** For ''Literature/TheHost'', she pictured Creator/HilarySwank as Melanie, Creator/MattDamon as Jared, Creator/RobertRedford as Jed, Creator/CaseyAffleck as Ian and Creator/BenAffleck as Kyle.

* Lot of ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' fans wanted to see Creator/MattBomer in the role of Christian Grey. A producer said that Matt wasn't straight enough for it causing many outrage.

* ''Literature/BreakfastAtTiffanys'': Creator/TrumanCapote imagined Creator/MarilynMonroe as Holy Golightly. But her acting coach didn't want her playing a call girl, so Creator/AudreyHepburn was cast instead.

** Before the third film, Ralph Fiennes was a popular fan casting choice for Lupin. Ironically, Creator/RalphFiennes went on to play Lord Voldemort, which is about as far away from mild-mannered Professor Lupin as you can get. There are still plenty fans who think Ralph Fiennes would have been a better Lupin than Creator/DavidThewlis.

** This 2005 [[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20431232_1085589,00.html Entertainment Weekly article]] speculates on who should play characters in the then upcoming ''Potter'' films. Helena Bonham-Carter is suggested... for the part of Merope Gaunt.

* When the rumor mill started that Disney would do a live action VideoGame/KnightsOftheOldRepublic tie-in, photomanips abounded of who would be cast for Revan. Top contender? Creator/KeanuReeves. Played with in the case of Kreia from [[VideoGame/KnightsOftheOldRepublicIITheSithLords second game]], where the discussion on Website/{{Reddit}} just cut to the chase and said that the actress who voiced her would be the best fit to reprise it for live action.

* During season 5 of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers,'' Creator/AdultSwim encouraged fans to submit their ideas via Twitter and the official message boards for who would play the characters in a hypothetical live action version of the show. As one would expect, the ideas were all over the place, but a few stood out as good fits, including Creator/MichaelCera as Dean Venture, Creator/HughLaurie as Phantom Limb, Creator/EdwardNorton as the Monarch, and Creator/PeterDinklage as Jonas Jr.
* In many sites, even in Wiki/ThisVeryWiki, many fans suggested the hypothetical Japanese voice cast for the dub of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. One of the most interesting voice choices were Creator/MariyaIse as Twilight Sparkle and Creator/ArisaOgasawara as Applejack, partly due both [=VAs=] worked in ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'' as the titular heroines, and both characters resemble quite a lot like those characters from MLP. Ironically enough, when the proper Japanese dub came out, Ise ''did'' work in the dub, but as voicing ''Scootaloo'' instead, while Ogasawara did not get any role there.

* The fan favourite choice to play Hal Jordan in ''Film/GreenLantern'' was Creator/NathanFillion, who voiced him in various animated productions.