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10 Times Movie And TV Actors Were Replaced For A Role

Sometimes movies and TV shows are compelled to replace an actor. The audience does not get an explanation always, but they are supposed to make lemonade out of whatever these productions offer us. There can be plenty of reasons to recast an existing character without any warning. But the biggest challenge is to find a good fit to make it acceptable to the audience. Even though recasting roles is pretty common when we look at the Hulk and Rachel Dawes, the following instances came out of nowhere and took us by surprise. Some replacements were disastrous while some instantly won our hearts. Find out the 10 times when movie and TV actors were replaced for a role.

Victoria in “Twilight”

Actors Replaced For A Role
Actors Replaced For A Role

The teen sensation “Twilight Saga” was a world full of vampires and werewolves. It had many characters but one of the most recurring appearances was by Victoria. She was the antagonist in the first three movies of the franchise. Victoria was a vindictive vampire who was hell-bent on killing Bella Swan to seek vengeance from Edward for her lover’s death. The character was played by Rachelle Lefevre in the first two movies- “Twilight” and “New Moon”, but confusion in scheduling for the 3rd installment got her replaced. According to reports, Rachelle claimed that she turned out other projects to shoot for “Ecplise”, only to later find out that Victoria was recast by Bryce Dallas Howard.

Carol Willick in “Friends”

Every member from Ross Geller’s previous marriage was recast on the classic sitcom, “Friends”. Most of us might not even remember but before Jane Sibbett, Ross’ ex-wife Carol was played by Anita Barone. Not just Carol, but even their son, Ben was replaced in the last seasons.

Dumbledore in “Harry Potter”

The beloved Headmaster with a crooked nose and wise mind was initially portrayed by Richard Harris. The late actor played Professor Dumbledore in the first two installments of “Harry Potter” franchise- “Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Chamber of Secrets”. Sadly, the character had to be recast when the actor passed away before the productions of “Chamber of Secrets” began. It was taken up by Michael Gambon who tried his best to fill Richard Harris’ shoes and did a great job.

Vivian Banks in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”

Janet Hubert played Aunt Vivian for the first three seasons of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. But she was replaced by Daphne Maxwell after season 3 who continued with the role till the end. Her replacement sparked a lot of speculation and controversy as some believed she was fired for her dispute with Will Smith.

Ryan Vogelson in “Last Man Standing

Actors Replaced For A Role
Actors Replaced For A Role

Nick Jonas had a very short time with the sitcom “Last Man Standing”, as Ryan Vogelson. He left the role quite early to pursue other projects such as judging “The Voice”, reuniting with Jonas Brothers, and starting his production company. Then Jordan Masterson stepped in and took on the role of Ryan.

Reggie Mantle in “Riverdale”

Popular actor, Ross Butler used to play Reggie Mantle in the hit young-adult show “Riverdale”. But scheduling conflicts started to emerge after he was cast in “13 Reasons Why”. So, Ross decided to let go of Riverdale and join Crestmont. His previous spot was refilled by Charlie Melton.

Laurie Forman in “That ‘70s Show”

Lisa Robin Kelly became the face of Laurie Forman after portraying her for five seasons of “That ‘70s Show”. But when the character was reintroduced in the sixth season, fans learnt that Lisa was replaced by actress Christina Moore. Reportedly, the late actress, Lisa had personal issues that forced her to leave the show.

Daario Neharis in “Game of Thrones”

Daario Neharis was originally played by Ed Skrein on the popular show.  When the character was revived in season 4, fans were confused and had to do a double-take. Daario didn’t look the same anymore since he was recast with Michiel Huisman. It was anyway a challenge to remember so many characters from GOT in a year’s gap and replacing Daario almost had us question our memory power. Actor Ed Skrein reportedly blamed behind-the-scenes politics for forcing him to walk out.

Penny in “Big Bang Theory”

Actors Replaced For A Role
Actors Replaced For A Role

Kaley Cuoco’s Penny is one of the most beloved characters in sitcom history. And we honestly can’t think of anyone better than Kaley to portray the charm, candor, and brightness of the character. But history was almost going to be different, as “Big Bang Theory” never had Penny in its script. Kaley had originally auditioned for the character named Katie but she lost the part to actress Amanda Walsh. Things weren’t gloomy for Kaley for long as the original pilot got nixed and the writers replaced Katie with Penny. At last, Amanda Walsh was let go and Kaley was called back.

Mandy Baxter in “Last Man Standing”

Molly Ephraim originally portrayed Mandy Baxter in the popular sitcom “Last Man Standing”. After ABC Network canceled the show, it was taken up by Fox. But by the time Fox brought back the show, Molly had moved on to other projects. So, they recast Molly McCook for Mandy but it didn’t go well with the audience as she looked nothing like the original Mandy.

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