Well, there's no doubt Keaton was a surprising choice for the role. But can someone do a good job with a role and still be "miscast"? If so, how would "miscast" be defined?
Well, as I alluded to, De Caprio portraying an ugly troll like J. Edgar was ridiculous. He didn't represent the real Hoover. I don't know
what he represented! Another example was the great job turned in by Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash. But a face as familiar as Cash being played by an actor with a hair lip was just too distracting in the closeups.
Going back to Babe Ruth, Bendix was at his best in the role, but he was right handed, and instead of reversing the film, (as with Cooper in
The Pride of the Yankees) they opted for him swing and pitch lefty, and as a baseball fan, the scenes of him pitching were flat out embarrassing. My Grandmother would have been more convincing!
Johnny Dep, though not Italian, was at least a dark actor, and was good in the role of Joe Pistone in
Donny Brasco. I'll tell you who I think was perfectly cast for a role: Dustin Hoffman as Dutch Schultz in
Billy Bathgate. He may have been a tad old for the role, but he represented the intelligent, yet cruel and ruthless criminal psychopath that was the Dutchman extremely well.
Hoffman with Steven Hill. Remember him as the original leader of the
Mission Impossible team before Peter Graves?
