10 Times Actors Were Replaced In Their Roles & Totally Divided Fans!

It’s no secret that every person is different, with their own style, hobbies, and tastes in food, music, movies, etc. Some people are hardcore fantasy fans, while others enjoy romantic comedies the most. However, there is one thing that unites every single movie (and TV show) lover -- they all hate when an actor is replaced throughout the series. Even if the character is secondary, even if the new actor is much cooler and more suitable for the role, it’s still really hard to accept a new person portraying someone we already know. Unfortunately, that happens quite often due to various reasons. The directors always try to find the best solution to these complicated situations; sometimes they just replace the character, making up a story of their sudden disappearance, or even kill them off, but some big characters can’t just be “deleted” from the storyline. And that’s when we see new actors on the screen. So, let’s take a look at some roles that were notoriously portrayed by different people. 

1. Michael Gambon Replaces Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter

Legendary actor Richard Harris played Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies but sadly he passed away before production on the third film, and Michael Gambon came to the rescue. Fans got divided into two camps, some thinking that Harris was the only canon Dumbledore, while others considered Gambon much better suited for the role, as he was able to portray the powerful side of the wisest wizard of all time.

2. Charles Melton Replaces Ross Butler as Reggie Mantle on “Riverdale”

The role of the captain of the football team, The Riverdale Bulldogs, was recast after the first season. Ross Butler left “Riverdale” to focus on another popular teen drama, “13 Reasons Why”. In the first 2 seasons, Reggie was a recurring character, but after Season 3, he became a regular. Perhaps due to Charles Melton's unique take on the character?

3. Mads Mikkelsen Replaces Johnny Depp as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts

Some fans of the Wizarding World were very upset when they found out about the replacement of the main antagonist of the Fantastic Beasts film series. However, after seeing Mads transformed into Grindelwald, he one the naysayers over! He managed to give the character a fresh look without being too different from the style introduced by Depp. 

4. Bryce Dallas Howard Replaces Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria in Twilight

This recast was so on point that lots of people didn't even notice that the evil vampire, who had been hunting Bella for 3 movies straight, was played by another actress. The reason for the change was allegedly a scheduling conflict, however Rachelle herself said that she was fully committed to the Twilight saga and couldn’t understand the decision to fire her. 

5. Don Cheadle Replaces Terrence Howard as James Rhodes/War Machine in the MCU

There are lots of crazy rumors and speculations about this recast. Some people believe that there was some drama among the cast, while others think it was a salary issue. Anyway, Terrence Howard original played War Machine for only one Iron Man movie and was replaced with Don Cheadle afterward. We love Terrence but have to admit that Cheadle really nailed the role of Tony Stark’s bff. 

6. Sara Paxton Replaces Kimberly J. Brown as Marnie in Halloweentown

Kimberly J. Brown played our favorite Cromwell witch for 3 movies before being replaced by Sara Paxton. The actress herself didn’t know why she was recast, saying that she’d heard lots of rumors, not knowing which one is true. However, fans couldn’t accept Sara as new Marnie, and perhaps that’s why the third movie about the magical town is the least popular one. 

7. Jude Law, Johnny Depp, & Colin Farrell Replace Heath Ledger as Tony Shephard in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

One of the best and most charismatic actors of his era, Heath Ledger tragically passed away in 2008. At that time, he was filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and the main part of the film had already shot, so director Terry GIlliam had to find a way to recast Ledger’s character Tony. Gilliam’s idea of having 4 actors portraying the role was truly brilliant. He changed the plot of the film so that, every time Tony traveled through magical realms, there were new transformed versions of himself, which were portrayed by Ledger, Law, Farrell, and Depp. 

8. Michiel Huisman Replaces Ed Skrein as Daario Naharis on "Game of Thrones"

The notorious sellsword, who later became Daenerys’s ally and lover, was originally played by blond Ed Skrein, but only for 3 episodes before being replaced by dark-haired Michiel Huisman. Rumors had it that Skrein left “Game of Thrones” to concentrate on his movie The Transporter Refuelled; however, the actor shut these rumors down, saying that it was a lot more political than that. Still, the debate continues among fans as to who made the better Daario.

9. Jane Sibbet Replaces Anita Baron as Carol on "Friends”

The first time we see Ross’s ex-wife Carol, she is portrayed by Anita Baron. Initially, Baron auditioned for one of the main roles in “Friends” but got to play Carol instead. However, after only one episode, she left the show to pursue a more full-time role. Since then, Jane Sibbet got to portray one of the most popular recurring characters of the series.

10. Liam Hemsworth Replaces Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia on “The Witcher”

This is one we're still experiencing the fallout from as it happened very recently and we've yet to see the results. A few months ago, the fans of “The Witcher” series were devastated to find out that Henry Cavill wouldn’t return to his role of Geralt in Season 4 (presumably to concentrate on his role of Superman in the DCU -- oops!). At least we have one more season to enjoy with amazing Henry playing the badass witcher when Season 3 premieres some time this year. And after that, we’ll get the chance to see Liam Hemsworth's take on our favorite character. Good luck, Liam!