Discussion Main / CreatorChosenCasting

There were a lot of examples on the page that didn't fit the trope description. Here they are, collected by what trope the example's author apparently thought this was:

"The director wanted an actor, who they couldn't get, but in the end they could":

• The Genie in Aladdin was written with Robin Williams in mind. When met with resistance, the writers created a reel of his stand-up to animation of the Genie.
• The Back to the Future trilogy:
  • Michael J. Fox was always Robert Zemeckis' and Bob Gale's top choice to play Marty McFly, based on his performance on Family Ties. Fox was initially unavailable due to his commitments on Family Ties, so they briefly went with Eric Stoltz; when they determined that Stoltz wasn't right for the role, they dismissed him (turning him into The Other Marty) and were able to get Fox.
  • They also specifically had Mary Steenburgen in mind for Clara in Back to the Future Part III, and got their wish when her kids talked her into taking the role.
• Al Pacino became interested in starring in a remake of Scarface since 1974, when he starred in a production of Bertolt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Producer Martin Bregman became interested, but Howard Hughes prevented the film from being acquired. Three years after Hughes died, eight of his films, including Scarface were sold to Universal. The result? Scarface (1983).
• Robert De Niro was Brian De Palma's first choice for Al Capone in The Untouchables. He wasn't available at first so they used Bob Hoskins instead but once DeNiro became available, Hoskins was paid to leave the role.
• The A-Team:
  • Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell wrote the role of Face with Dirk Benedict in mind, but NBC insisted that the part should be played by another actor, hence why he's played by Tim Dunigan in the pilot.
  • The role of B. A. Baracus was written specifically for Mr. T.
• Charmed (1998):
  • Alyssa Milano was was the producers' first choice for the role of Phoebe, but the network forced them to cast Lori Rom for the pilot. When the series was picked up Rom dropped out, allowing the producers to cast Milano after all.
  • When the crew decided to create a fourth sister rather than recast Prue, their only choice for Paige was Rose McGowan. Holly Marie Combs confirmed on Twitter that Rose didn't have to audition because they were that determined to cast her.
• The writers of Portal 2 wrote Wheatley's character specifically with Stephen Merchant in mind, but they never expected to actually land him for the role. It wasn't until after the actor they first cast backed out that they decided to contact Merchant, just for the hell of it, and, lo and behold, he said yes.

"A character was created for a specific actor":

• One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda was so fascinated by Kazuki Yao's portrayal of the Jango and Bon Clay / Mr 2 characters that he specifically created the character Franky, the crew carpenter, to make Yao a permanent character in the voice cast.
• Woody Allen not only wrote the role of Annie Hall especially for Diane Keaton, but he also based the character on her, too.
• John Singleton wrote the role of Doughboy in Boyz n the Hood, especially for Ice Cube, who he met while working as an intern on The Arsenio Hall Show. He cast Laurence Fishburne after meeting him while working as a production assistant and security guard on Pee-wee's Playhouse.
• Escape from New York director John Carpenter always had Kurt Russell in mind for Snake Plissken. At the time, Russell was trying to overcome the "lightweight" screen image conveyed by his roles in several Disney comedies.
• John Hughes had Matthew Broderick in mind when he wrote Ferris Bueller's Day Off, saying that he was the only actor he could think of who could pull off the role, calling him clever and charming.
  Certain guys would have played Ferris and you would have thought, "Where's my wallet?" I had to have that look; that charm had to come through. Jimmy Stewart could have played Ferris at 15...I needed Matthew.
• John Cleese wrote the role of Wanda Gershwitz in A Fish Called Wanda for Jamie Lee Curtis after seeing her in Trading Places and realized that she could be sexy, duplicitous, and funny.
• Right from the beginning of production of Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola envisioned Bill Murray playing Bob Harris, wanting to show off "his more sensitive side" and feeling amused by the image of him dressed in a kimono. She described her mental pictures of Murray as a significant source of inspiration for the story. She later stated that she couldn't have made the film without him.
• The role of Nino Brown in New Jack City was written especially for Wesley Snipes after Barry Michael Cooper saw him in the music video for Michael Jackson's "Bad".
• The role of Lydia Tár in Tár was written with Cate Blanchett in mind, and writer-director Todd Field has said that the film would've never seen the light of day had she said no.
• Paul Schrader wrote the role of Betsy in Taxi Driver with Cybill Shepherd in mind.
• Once The Daniels wrote the main character of Everything Everywhere All at Once as a middle-aged Asian woman who becomes an interdimensional martial arts heroine, they downright named her Michelle hoping Michelle Yeoh would sign. She did, but asked them to not name the character after herself (it became Evelyn).
• In Battlestar Galactica (2003), Laura Roslin was written with Mary McDonnell in mind, and to their surprise, she accepted the role. Apparently, the same thing happened with Edward James Olmos for Commander Adama.
• The creators of Brooklyn Nine-Nine said that they wrote the role of Terry Jeffords with Terry Crews in mind to the point they named the character "Terry", so he'd have to accept it.
• On Everything's Gonna Be Okay, the role of Drea Stevens was created specifically for actress Lillian Carrier, as she had originally auditioned for the role of Matilda Moss but lost out to Kayla Cromer.
• In the Japanese horror-comedy series Ghost Negotiator Tenma, the creator specifically cast J-pop idol and actor Tsuyoshi Domoto to play the titular character after working with him in another show and finding out Domoto was terrified of ghosts.
• Legion: Harry Lloyd was offered the role of Charles Xavier without having to audition, and he happily accepted it.
• Jonathan Pryce starred played the lead role in Trevor Griffiths' play Comedians, a part that was written especially for him. He reprised the role in two television adaptations, one of which was Play for Today.
• In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, it's said that Hideo Kojima specifically chose the late Chikao Ohtsuka to voice Big Boss, whose son, Snake, is voiced by Ohtsuka's own son Akio Ōtsuka in hopes that it could help the two actors, who were estranged at the time, reconcile. And it worked.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender: The creators reportedly asked the casting director for a "Jason Isaacs type" to voice-act the villainous Admiral Zhao (who was based on Isaacs' character in The Patriot). The casting director got them the real thing.
• Batman: The Animated Series creator Paul Dini wrote the part of Harley Quinn for his college friend Arleen Sorkin after seeing her play a roller-skating jester in a Dream Sequence on Days of Our Lives.
• Gravity Falls: Kristen Schaal was always intended to voice Mabel, to the point that Alex Hirsch would've scrapped the show entirely if he couldnt get her.
• Discord from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic was created after Lauren Faust had a Star Trek Archive Binge and is basically a sadistic, but Laughably Evil version of Q. As such, they originally intended to get a John de Lancie sound-alike for the role, but instead managed to get the real John de Lancie. Lauren has even said herself to have been blown away when they got him. (And then, de Lancie himself was blown away by the Periphery Demographic's reaction, having forgotten his session in the recording studio.)
• Steven Universe:
  • Steven's parents were designed with the intent of being voiced by Tom Scharpling and Susan Egan, respectively, to the point Steven's father Greg was originally named "Tom".
  • After failing an audition for Garnet, Erica Luttrell was later cast as Sapphire because Rebecca Sugar still wanted to work with her.

"A director wanted a specific actor due to their previous work":

• James Earl Jones was cast Mufasa in The Lion King (1994) because the directors wanted him, they found his voice "powerful" and similar to a lion's roar.
• John Lasseter always wanted Tom Hanks to voice Woody in Toy Story because he "has the ability to take emotions and make them appealing. Even if the character, like the one in A League of Their Own, is down-and-out and despicable".
• Alien:
  • Bill Paxton was cast as Pvt. Hudson in Aliens after a chance encounter with James Cameron at Los Angeles International Airport, during which he mentioned he would be interested in a role. The studio supported his casting because of positive feedback for his performance in Weird Science.
  • David Fincher specifically cast Paul McGann and Ralph Brown in Alien³ because he was a fan of Withnail and I.
• Bob Clark specifically cast Olivia Hussey in Black Christmas based on her performance in Romeo and Juliet.
• Jean Simmons was suggested by J. Arthur Rank to star in Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder's screen adaptation of The Blue Lagoon after the world premiere of Great Expectations.
  • Similarly, Randal Kleiser always had Brooke Shields in mind for Emmeline in the 1980 film adaptation, based solely on her performance in Pretty Baby.
• David Fincher cast Helena Bonham Carter as Marla in Fight Club based on her performance in The Wings of the Dove.
• John Hughes always wanted Macaulay Culkin to star in Home Alone because of his experience while shooting Uncle Buck.
• Steven Spielberg always had Sean Connery in mind for Henry Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, stating "Who better to be the father of Indiana Jones than the original James Bond?"
• Ridley Scott specifically cast Tim Curry as Darkness in Legend (1985) because he was a fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
• Debra Winger was the creators' preferred choice for Paula in An Officer and a Gentleman, based on her performance in Urban Cowboy.
• William Wyler commented when he cast Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday:
  She had everything I was looking for: charm, innocence, and talent. She also was very funny. She was absolutely enchanting, and we said, 'That's the girl!'
• Billy Wilder always had in mind Marilyn Monroe as "The Girl" in The Seven Year Itch.
• Bruce Robinson cast Paul McGann as Marwood in Withnail and I after seeing him on the stage. Then he fired him because he felt that his Liverpudlian accent was wrong for the part. He was recast when Robinson couldn't find anyone else.
• Joss Whedon cast Juliet Landau as Drusilla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer after seeing her in Ed Wood.
• Doctor Who:
  • Colin Baker was cast as the Sixth Doctor without an audition, as he was the only actor considered for the part.
  • Russell T Davies didn't audition anyone for the Tenth Doctor, as he knew that David Tennant would be perfect having worked with him on Casanova.
  • Steven Moffat cast Matt Smith based on his audition for Sherlock. He originally planned that the Eleventh Doctor would be older, but he felt that Smith perfectly embodied the role. He planned to cast Peter Capaldi, who would succeed Smith.
  • Chris Chibnall cast Jodie Whittaker having worked with her on Broadchurch.
• Jorge Garcia was cast as Hurley in Lost after J. J. Abrams saw him in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
• Jon Favreau chose several of the actors in The Mandalorian himself, including Pedro Pascal.
• Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss only had Benedict Cumberbatch in mind for Sherlock after seeing him in Atonement.
• For the ride Soarin' at Epcot in Walt Disney World, Patrick Warburton was chosen as the flight attendant in the safety video after the imagineers had seen him as Kronk in The Emperor's New Groove.
• Being the huge nerd that he is, Tetsuya Nomura chose Leonard Nimoy and Mark Hamill to voice Master Xehanort and Master Eraqus respectively in the Kingdom Hearts series starting with the English dub of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep specifically so he could pit Spock of Star Trek and Luke Skywalker of Star Wars up against each other.
• For Slow Damage, Fuchii Kabura (the director and scenario writer) specifically requested that Yuki Ono be cast as Towa, expressing that only he can pull off Towa's scenes in a certain bad ending, namely Fujieda's.