Very few of these castings make detrimental changes to the story itself. Really, for the majority of this list, it's all about the look. This list is far more superficial than I thought it would be and it only really matters for a handful of characters. I actually had to strain my brain to think of 12. I guess my real beef with the movies are the plot omissions and the random action sequences added in that take away time from things that shouldn't have been cut. Fiona Weir (casting) did a pretty good job.
10 Worst Cast Characters in Harry Potter Films
10 & 9. Oliver and James Phelps as the Weasley Twins
Do not get me wrong: the Phelps twins give a great performance. I just find it annoying that the movie castings made half of fandom forget that the Weasley twins are not tall and lanky in the books. Rowling specifically states that Bill, Percy, and Ron are tall and thin and that Charlie, Fred, and George are short and stocky. I guess it's easy to forget that when you have a couple of tall, weedy brunettes playing them for eight movies.
At least hair dye can fix the brunette problem. I just find it hard to believe, as awesome as these guys are (I followed them on Twitter for a while and they seemed really genuine and funny) that they couldn't find talented twins who weren't so dang lanky.
8. Sir Michael Gambon as Dumbledore
There were a lot of people pushing for Sir Peter O'Toole to replace Sir Richard Harris after his death. I guess you have to be knighted to play Dumbledore? What bothers me about Michael Gambon's performances is that he immediately took the whimsy out of it.
Also, I don't think Gambon cares about the role. I mean at all. When asked if he'd read the books, Gambon said there was “No point in reading the books because you’re playing with [screenwriter] Steve Kloves’words.” When he first signed on for the role he was quoted telling an interviewer
"I just play him as myself, I don’t ease myself into any role really. I stick a beard on and play me. Every part I play is just a variant of my own personality. No real character actor, of course, just me."While I can't find the quote for you, I remember reading a couple years back that Gambon thought Dumbledore was a what-you-see-is-what-you-get character. He obviously has no respect for what he is playing and it shows in his performance. Dumbledore is wise, temperate, compassionate, quirky, and yet powerful. If you read the books you know that he also carries a lot of guilt over his friend Grindewald and that he burdens himself with Voldemort as well. If you watch Gambon you get that he's old, smart, and yells an awful lot. I think that a good Dumbledore would save yelling for 1 (and only one) moment over the span of the whole series.
Michael Gambon is a great actor. I liked him in Layer Cake. I just don't think he gives a damn about Harry Potter. He's collecting a paycheck and it shows. Seeing how I adore Harry Potter, how I've made a lot of great friends through the common interest, and how many of my pre-college achievements were made because of my involvement in the Library because of Potter... it does make me pretty mad that he can be so disrespectful of the material that so many millions love.
Viktor Krum is supposed to be tall, awkward on his feet, with a hawk-like appearance. He is supposed to have a big, hook nose. I feel like the casting director read that he's Bulgarian and that girls are jealous of Hermione for dating him and then just threw away the rest of it.
Ianevski is broad-shouldered and very conventionally good-looking. He's no Viktor Krum.
6. Robbie Jarvis as Young James Potter
James and Harry are supposed to be nearly identical, except for the eyes. With so little face time in the film, why couldn't they go on a D-Rad look-alike hunt? The guy would barely have to be able to act and they could coach the accent for the one, weirdly edited line he had anyway. Why did they just cast a skinny kid with obviously brown hair when they could have easily found a closer likeness?
5. Bill Nighy as Rufus Scrimgeour
I really do adore Bill Nighy. He's amazing. But he's no Scrimgeour. Scrimgeour is supposed to look like a lion and Bill Nighy most certainly does not. Were Sean Connery and Sir Christopher Lee not available?
4. Dave Legeno as Fenrir Greyback
This one is really bad. A werewolf who is at least a generation older than Remus, and they cast an actor who is the same age but looking younger for his age? Why did they cast a wrestler? They should have a creepy, skinny, crazy-looking older man. I understand that werewolves and wizards may age slower, but then why does Remus look fifty?!?
3. Helen McCrory as Narcissa Malfoy
This is one of those castings that I think changes the character. Narcissa is supposed to be blonde, blonde, blonde, and very delicate and sharp-featured. She's supposed to be young and beautiful, suggesting that she was a prissy, rich, young bride. Instead they cast the woman they wanted to use as Bellatrix. WRONG! And they didn't even make her totally blonde!
Rumors circulated that Naomi Watts got the role. She would have been perfect! Narcissa is supposed to be the sister who looks the least like her siblings. She's the little Black family princess. Why did they cast Helen McRory? Why are all of the adults in this series at least 10 years too old?
2. David Thewlis as Remus Lupin
I'm going to settle this once and for all. Harry's parents were 21 when they died. It says so in The Deathly Hallows and they could have asked JK Rowling if they were curious. That means that in Deathly Hallows, Remus, Snape, and Peter should have been 37. David Thewlis is 48.
Remus was supposed to have sandy hair (that slightly obscured the fact that he was going prematurely grey) and be in his mid thirties for this series. They cast a man in his (then) mid-forties with dark hair. Now he just looks like he's going seriously grey.
*bang head on desk* They messed up the whole generation. I guess my problem really extends far beyond Remus here.
1. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black
I love Gary Oldman. He's a great actor. Now that this disclaimer is out of the way... WHAT? WHAT! WHY? Sirius is supposed to be the good-looking bad boy. A tall, good-looking bad boy. Gary Oldman is 5'9" (below average height for a caucasian male) with a weak chin and is 5 years older than even David Thewlis.
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Ok, so prison aged him. Did prison shrink him?
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