Hmmm. Difficult one. I even went online to see what other people had said in the past… the consensus seems to be John Wayne playing Genghis Khan in The Conquerer.
I asked Ruf and, after complaining bitterly that it was a very difficult question, announced Dick Van Dyke. By which I assume he means in Mary Poppins… That is NOT a cockney accent!
For me, I would have to say Scarlett Johannson in The Other Boleyn Girl. Not because she was a bad actress but purely for the fact that I don’t believe a raven-haired temptress like Anne Boleyn would have had such a blonde sister. And the choice of the gorgeous Eric Bana as the middle-aged King Henry is also way off the mark. Richard Burton’s portrayal in Anne of the Thousand Days was far more believeable.
For me, it must be Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot in a whole tranche of lamentable Agatha Christie adaptations. But then David Suchet also manages to make Albert Finney look maladroit in the rôle.
Id forgotten Peter Ustinov’s HP!
I think a lot of Americans will disagree with you on the Mary Poppins pick. I saw this movie when I was a kid and DVD and Julie Andrews were very believable to this kid. It’s one of those childhood memories that worked (liked Chitty-chitty Bang-Bang). But you have a better perspective fronm the other side of the pond.
Happy MCW!
To be fair, I agree that he did all the singing and dancing brilliantly and, to my mind, he IS Caractacus Potts from CCBB. But that faux cockerneyness in MP? Ugh!
Yes! Great choices, both. And although I think Eric Bana is usually hot stuff (hellllloooooo, Troy), he was totally wrong as Henry. So wrong, I wanted to smush a grapefruit in his face. Happy MCW!
LMAO… I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to smush a grapefruit in anyone’s face before. That’s brilliant :)
i’m with buzz re mary poppins, sugar, it worked for us insular americans! ;~D totally agree re eric bana. xoxox
I think The Other Boleyn Girl was a bit of a disappointment all round when it comes to casting… although Ruf would disagree since NP and SJ are two of his favourite leading ladies. I’ve already had to tell him that, should either they or Cameron Diaz come calling, I shall silently slink away… well, after I’ve blacked their eyes anyway. Chortle :)
I loved Mary Poppins and didn’t realize untl I lived in England that he got no where close to a cockney accent. If he had done a good one, no one in American would have understood him.
Scarlet Johannson – seemed too modern to play the role of Anne Boleyn. Who would you have picked? I would have gone with an obscure ENGLISH actor. That way, I would have believed it more.
Nice picks. Happy MCW!
Keep up, Boxer! ;P SJ was playing her sister Mary. But you’re right, it should have been some obscure English actress with dark hair. Cant think of anyone off the top of my head tho. NP was probably just about ok as Anne because, having been brought up in France, it is said that she had very accented English.
Dick VanDyke’s energy and talents were perfect for the role….he just got nowhere near a good dialect down.
Hey Ron, that sums it up perfectly. I would never decry DvD’s efforts in making the film such a success. It’s just that horrible accent!
hi JO JO. MP was a childhood favourite, so it’s really hard for me to agree wiht you on this one. Watching it as an adult, I cringe at the cheesiness. Happy MCW.
Hey Kim, I think that’s the crux of the matter. As a child, you dont even notice. But I still wont take anything away from the rest of DvD’s performance because I loved it too