Favorites - 16 Characters Who Were Recast in Movies/TV

TV and movies can be a bit weird especially when they are serialized. One thing that is definitely a head-turner is when an actor replaces another actor in the same role. The thing that got me on this path was thinking about Harriett Winslow from Family Matters. I vividly remember Judyann Elder replacing the role that Jo Marie Payton had played for almost a decade. That’s just one I've noticed and I thought it was weird. I also saw it a lot on other shows too. Movies even go through this.

The reasons for actors replacing other actors can vary.  Some die during the role. Others get fired or just decide to quit. It can happen at the beginning, during production, or well on into the lifespan of the series. So, here are 16 characters who were recast for a show or movie series. I’ll even throw a game in this too. Hopefully, I can fit all that into a nice title for this post. I’ll only be doing shows and movies I’ve seen, so I’m sorry if I’m leaving your favorite one out. It’s also not in any order as well.

1. Vivian Banks (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) 

This is probably one of the most known recasts. Janet Hubert played Vivian on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for three years. From what I heard and read, she and Will Smith didn’t get along. She supposedly violated her contract (she was pregnant at the time) and got ousted. After that, Daphne Reid was brought in to play Vivian for the rest of the show’s run. She was actually the first Vivian I remember seeing since I didn’t watch the show until the fourth season. She even got to play the part for three years, so it sounds a little equal, you think?

As for which version I liked better, I have to go with Hubert on this one. She seemed to have more of a bite to her. She also kind of got more to do than Reid did. The episode where she decides to go back into dancing is one of her coolest moments. Reid’s Vivian seemed to be more in the background at times. Even though she didn’t much to do, I did like her and she had some good moments. Still, the first Vivian did it for me.

2. James Rhodes (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Yeah, you probably knew this was coming. Terrance Howard originally played James “Rhodey” Rhodes in the first Iron Man movie. Stuff happened behind the scenes (issues of money) and Howard either left or was let go. It was a bit of mess. Don Cheadle was brought in to play Rhodes and stuck with it since then. When it comes which version I liked more, I gotta go with Cheadle on this one. Howard’s a good actor but he felt too serious. Maybe if he stayed around, he probably would have loosened up. At least Cheadle’s been good in the role. I wish they’d do more with the character in general.

3. Jimmy Olsen (Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman)

Here’s one that I’ve actually brought up some time ago. Michael Landes played the role of Jimmy Olsen for the first season of Lois and Clark. He apparently got fired at the end of the season for looking too much like Dean Cain (Clark Kent/Superman) and got replaced with Justin Whalin. When I reviewed the show a few years back, I said Landes was the superior Jimmy. I still hold to that and it sucks that it happened. I did like Whalin’s Jimmy but he didn’t do it for me in a lot of areas. I think the writing for him wasn’t as good and he didn’t get used well either. If you’re curious, you can go back and read for yourself.

4. James Bond (The James Bond Franchise)

 

This one is pretty much a no-brainer. The actor for James Bond has been recast a lot over the years. We had Sean Connery, George Labenzy, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosman. I won’t throw Daniel Craig into that group (even though he's pictured...) because his movies were reboots. The reasons for these replacements vary from actor to actor. Some mostly got tired of the role. I know Roger Moore must had gotten tired since he was pushing 58 years old when he left. As for which Pre-Reboot Bond is my favorite, I’d say Connery and follow it up with coin-toss between Dalton and Brosman.

5. Dr. Elizabeth Weir (the Stargate franchise)

Now, this is a confusing one. Weir was the leader on Stargate: Atlantis. She was first brought on Stargate: SG-1 during the seventh season and she played by Jessica Steen. Steen didn’t want to move to Vancouver,  so Torri Higginson became the new Weir. Higginson stuck around for the first 3 seasons of SGA. Then, Weir was written out during the fourth season in order for Amanda Tapping (Col. Carter from SG-1) to become the new leader of Atlantis.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Higginson was supposed to come back to the role as part of some plot, but that didn’t happen. I actually not sure on why but it would have been a reduced role. In the fifth season, Weir was brought back and played by Michelle Morgan for one episode. I don’t remember much from that episode, so I can’t say how Morgan did. Weir wasn’t exactly my favorite character on either show, but Higginson was good in the role and I was a little sad that she didn’t initially come back.

6. Rachel Dawes (Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy)

 

This is another big one that folk should remember. Rachel Dawes was first played by Katie Holmes in Batman Begins. Holmes opted out of playing Dawes for The Dark Knight, so Maggie Gyllenhaal was cast as the new Rachel. When it comes to which one was better, I liked Gyllenhaal more. While I’ll admit that Holmes was cute in the role, Gyllenhaal seemed more the D.A. type. Yes, Gyllenhaal was cute too. I’m keeping it equal here, folks.

7. Harriett Winslow (Family Matters)

 

This was the one that started this thought process. Jo Marie Payton played Harriett Winslow on two shows (Perfect Strangers and Family Matters) from 1989 to 1998. When the show got moved to CBS during the final (ninth) season, Payton left the show. She wanted to leave earlier but her contract wasn’t over yet.  Judyann Elder was when cast to play the new Harriett and she stayed around until the show ended.

This was a weird one. While Elder is probably a good actress, she didn’t fit the role Payton played. Even I was taken aback at this one. “Who’s this,” my 12-year old self probably said back then. Payton pretty much had that role and personality down, so anyone else jumping into it would have been weird. Since the show was already on its last leg, I wonder why they didn’t just write out Harriett after Payton left. I guess since they were on a new network, the creators probably thought they would have been around much longer. Considering how weird that last season was (Steve went into Space!!!), it was time to hang it up.

8. George McFly, Marty McFly, and Jennifer Parker  (Back To the Future trilogy)

Since it’s the trilogy, I had to group them together. Let’s go with the controversial one first. Crispin Glover played George Mcfly, Marty’s dad, in the first movie. Because of  stuff behind the camera, Glover didn’t come back for the sequel and Jeffrey Weissman replaced him. The team even got Weissman in prosthetics to look like Glover did in the previous movie and Glover apparently didn’t like that. He sued the company and actually won. I didn’t realize this one until a few years ago.

Then we get to Jennifer who was first played by Claudia Wells. She opted out of coming back because of her sick mother, so Leah Thompson became Jennifer. This was another one I didn’t even know about until recently. The two just blended together to me. I always wondered why they reshot the ending of the first movie for part 2 and I now I know. 

Then, there’s Marty who was played by Michael J. Fox. Because of his time with Family Ties, Fox couldn't be in the first movie. Eric Stoltz was brought in to play Marty and even shot some footage. Stoltz wasn’t working out, so Robert Zemickas fired him and was able to get Fox in for the role. Even though Fox was awesome in the role, I wonder how Stoltz would have done if he wasn’t let go.

9. Sabertooth (The X-Men Franchise)

Now, this was a weird but understandable cast change. Tyler Mane played the role of Sabertooth in the first X-Men movie. When the time came to do an origin movie for Wolverine, the producers went with Liev Schreiber for the role of ‘ole Victor Creed. They wanted someone who was similar to Hugh Jackman’s look since James (Logan) and Victor were brothers. I gotta say that it did work and I thought Schreiber was good as Sabertooth. Too bad he didn’t get to… well, that would be spoiling Logan, wouldn’t it?

10. Iroh (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

I was going to leave off voice actors since they tend to switch a lot in animation, but I wanted to mention this one. Iroh was Prince Zuko’s cool uncle on Avatar: the Last Airbender and he was played by Mako Iwamatsua, a well-known actor. You would have been able to spot Mako’s voice in anything. During the second season of the show, Mako passed away from cancer. Greg Baldwin took the torch and voiced Iroh for the rest of the show and on The Legend of Korra. Iroh was a cool character and he was even cooler because of Mako. The creators of the show dedicated an episode to Mako’s memory and even named a character after him in The Legend of Korra.

11. Batman (The 90’s Batman franchise)

And now here’s the most overrated superhero these days… just kidding. Y’all know I like Batman! The character was recast throughout the 90’s. You’d think he was James Bond or something. Michael Keaton played the character for two movies. Since Warner Bros. wanted to go with a lighter tone after Batman Return’s dour-ness, director Tim Burton left. When Batman Forever’s script was revealed, Keaton got out of there as well.

Val Kilmer was then brought on to play the Dark Knight and he mostly succeeded. Unfortunately, he apparently wasn’t all that great behind the camera. He was then replaced by George Clooney for Batman and Robin. We all know how that turned out. When it comes to who was the best of this movie series, I gotta give it to Keaton. Even though he was a bit stiff, Kilmer would come in second. Had Clooney been given a better script and direction, he might have been good. Oh well… at least the current crop of Batman films have been nice.

12. Big Boss (The Metal Gear Solid series)

 

I also thought I’d touch on this big one in the video game realm. For years, David Hayter was the voice of Solid Snake. He also lent his gravelly voice to the younger version of the father, Big Boss. When it came time for Ground Zeroes and the Phantom Pain, director Hideo Kojima decided to go down a different path for the voice of Big Boss. He put Kiefer Sutherland in the role for those games since he wanted to go in a different direction. A lot of folk as well as Hayter himself were taken aback at the decision. While I was a little dismayed about it, Sutherland did a good job in Kojima’s final two Konami games. Still, Hayter’s voice is iconic and won’t be forgotten.

13. April O’Neil (the 90’s TMNT movies) 

This was another one I really didn’t notice until a few years ago. Judith Hoag played April O’Neill in the first TMNT movie from 1990. Skip a couple of years and suddenly Paige Turco was playing the character for the next two movies. From what I’ve read in an interview, Hoag didn’t get asked to come back. She also made some remarks about the violence in the first movie. To her, I say “It’s got ninjas in it. Of course it’s going to be violent.” Anyway, I had a fondness for Hoag in the role but Turco was nice in the role too. It’s too bad the two sequels weren’t good, though.

14. The Doctor (Doctor Who) 

Finally, I might as well as end with the other British character here. The Doctor has been replaced many times over the years. The reason it even became a thing was because William Hartnell, the first Doctor, had health problems and his contract was up soon. It was built into the fabric of the show and it’s called “Regeneration.” Whenever a actor was going to leave, another would take their place and it would be a bit of an event. Each actor has had their reasons for leaving the show and it’s still an ongoing thing. When the 100th anniversary rolls around, it’ll happen again if the show’s even around at that point.

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Well, that's all I got. There are others I could have listed, but this list has to end somewhere. If you got any recasts that you liked or disliked, let me know. Well, I'll get back to watching subpar Mummy movies.