What about Seinfeld's dad?!: 11 (well, 12) slightly less jarringly recast roles
We realize that Inventories are never complete,
and we rely on commentators to let us (and everybody else) know what we missed.
Since there were so many solid suggestions for "The Darrin Effect" this week, we figured we'd offer a sequel.
Some things that are still off the table: soap operas (because crazy recasting
is just par for the course) and what's referred to as SORAS (soap opera rapid
aging syndrome), in which a character rapidly ages from one season to the next
(like Chrissy Seaver on Growing Pains).
1. The two Morty Seinfelds (and Frank
Costanzas) on Seinfeld
Veteran television actor Philip Bruns played Jerry
Seinfeld's father, Morty, when the character briefly debuted in Seinfeld's second episode, "The
Stakeout." The story goes that series co-creator Larry David wanted someone
more cantankerous for the part, and Bruns was too relaxed. When Morty returned
for "The Pony Remark" in season two, he had been replaced by another television
veteran, Barney Martin, who held the role until the show went off the air in
1998. Less remembered is John Randolph, who appeared as George Costanza's
father, Frank, in one episode of season four. Although viewers can at least see
Philip Bruns as Jerry's dad in reruns, John Randolph's scenes as Frank Costanza
were re-shot with Jerry Stiller for syndication.
2. The three Jack Ryans in The Hunt For Red
October, Patriot Games/Clear And Present Danger, and The Sum Of All Fears
Jack Ryan, frequent protagonist and center of the "Ryanverse"
created by Tom Clancy's novels, has had three different faces in film
adaptations. It began in 1990 with The Hunt For Red October, where Alec Baldwin came
closest to accurately portraying Ryan's youthful vigor. When filming for the
next Clancy adaptation, Patriot Games, was delayed from 1991 to 1992, Baldwin opted out
because it conflicted with his plans to appear on Broadway. The producers then
approached Harrison Ford, who had turned down Red October, supposedly because the
film wasn't focused on Ryan's character enough. Even though Ford was a spry 49
when he made Patriot Games, Clancy considered him too old to play Ryan, whom
Clancy imagined to be in his early 30s. (Clancy later disowned the film.) Ford
continued the role in 1994's Clear And Present Danger, but turned it down for
2002's The Sum Of All Fears. In came Ben Affleck, who's 30 years younger than
Ford, forcing some major deviations from the book. Instead of being married
with children and Deputy Director of the CIA, Affleck's Ryan was an unmarried
low-level intelligence worker. Don't expect a repeat performance from Affleck,
though. The film helped nix any future he might have had as an action star, and
when word came out in March of this year that Sam Raimi was in negotiations to
do another Jack Ryan film with a younger lead, Ryan Gosling's name was
mentioned, not Affleck's. But Ford mentioned in an interview that he'd be
interested in revisiting the character.
3. The two Harriet Winslows on Family
Matters