Many actors, especially the ones that take part in action movies, have stunt doubles. But sometimes, actors can’t continue to work for whatever reason. In such situations, producers can’t get away with makeup and visual effects, so they have to hire a replacement.
While watching our favorite films and shows, we at Bright Side discovered 10 cases where actors were replaced without anyone really noticing. And now, we can’t help but share these facts with you.
Lavender Brown (Kathleen Cauley, Jennifer Smith, and Jessie Cave) — Harry Potter
Lavender Brown is Harry Potter’s Hogwarts classmate. The most screen time her character got was in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince where Lavender who was played by Jessie Cave dated Ron Weasley.
But Lavender also appeared in other Harry Potter movies, just in shorter scenes. In the second movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, she was portrayed by Kathleen Cauley, and in the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, she was portrayed by Jennifer Smith.
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford and Vic Armstrong) — Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
During the shooting of fight scenes with an assassin in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Harrison Ford injured his back. He was forced to fly to Los Angeles for surgery. Steven Spielberg and the crew were saved by Vic Armstrong, Harrison Ford’s stunt double in the franchise. Armstrong was so similar to Ford in terms of his appearance and gestures that the crew always confused them. So, most of the film’s action sequences were shot by the stunt double and Harrison Ford appeared only in close-ups that were shot later.
Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer and Joshua Pence) — The Social Network
If there are twin characters in a movie, they’re either portrayed by real twins or one actor. But neither of these options were good enough for David Fincher during the filming of The Social Network. This is why he chose Armie Hammer and Joshua Pence (who don’t even look similar) for the roles of Cameron and Tyler.
Hammer looked the most similar to the real brothers in terms of appearance. He played Cameron and Tyler was played by Pence. The special effects team used a CG-model of Hammer’s face to make the other brother look the same.
George McFly (Crispin Glover and Jeffrey Weissman) — Back to the Future 2
The role of George McFly, the father of Marty McFly in Back to the Future, made Crispin Glover extremely popular. When he was invited to take part in the sequel, the actor required to be paid the same amount of money as Michael J. Fox. This was rejected, so he didn’t take part in the film. Instead, the father of Marty was played by Jeffrey Weissman who received a great makeup job to look like Crispin Glover. Director Robert Zemeckis tried to shoot the movie in a way that nobody would notice that the actor was different. He cut down the script, used some archive materials, and used tricks (for example, George McFly was hanging upside down in the scene where he was in the future).
When the film was released, Crispin Glover sued the creators and got compensation almost equal to the money he asked for to begin with. After that, the Screen Actors Guild made new rules about using materials containing the likeliness of other actors.
Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane and Martin Bayfield) — Harry Potter
Robbie Coltrane who played the role of Hagrid isn’t actually tall enough to be considered a giant — he’s only 6 ft tall. So, in the scenes where he was supposed to look bigger than the other characters, he was replaced by stunt-double, Martin Bayfield, who is 6’8″. The special effects team made a mask for Bayfield that looked just like the head of the giant.
This work was really hard for the actor: the costume was very heavy and extremely hot inside. The mask had some sort of ventilation to make the work a bit more comfortable and there was a special vest under the suit that covered up pipes of cold water.
Because the costume was so huge, Martin Bayfield got a special chair that was even bigger than the director’s.
Fandral the Dashing (Joshua Dallas and Zachary Levi) — The Marvel Universe
Zachary Levi was supposed to play Fandral the Dashing in Thor. But because he was busy with the show Chuck, Joshua Dallas was asked to play the role instead.
By the time work on Thor: The Dark World started, Dallas was the star of the show Once Upon a Time and he couldn’t take part in the sequel. So, Zachary Levi played the part in the sequel and in Thor: Ragnarok.
Mandy Milkovich (Jane Levy and Emma Greenwell) — Shameless
In the first season of Shameless, Mandy Milkovich was portrayed by Jane Levy. She appeared in 5 episodes. But after the actress landed a leading role in Suburgatory, she left the project.
Emma Greenwell replaced Levy on set and played the part throughout all the following seasons.
Voldemort (6 actors) — Harry Potter
In all of the Harry Potter movies, there were 6 actors (in total) who played Voldemort. The first time we saw the villain was in the first film. Richard Bremmer was in Hagrid’s memory and Ian Hart was the face on the back of Professor Quirrell’s head.
Ralph Fiennes got the role of the Dark Lord at the end of the fourth film. The face of Voldemort in his portrayal is the most easily recognized by fans. Bremmer wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t continue to play the role and was actually happy that he was replaced by his good friend, Ralph Fiennes.
Victor Bennett (Anthony Denison and James Read) — Charmed
In one of the episodes of the first season of Charmed, the sisters meet their father who left them 20 years before after the divorce and the death of his ex-wife. Victor Bennett was played by Anthony Denison.
But in all of the following episodes, actor James Read played the father of the witches. That’s why in his first appearance, he was an ambiguous person, but later, he turned out to be a good father.
Rachel (Jennifer Aniston and an unknown girl) — Friends
Fans of Friends noticed that in one of the episodes of season 9, Rachel wasn’t played by Jennifer Anniston. The most attentive viewers noticed the following: when Joey was telling a story about his audition, there was a girl next to him but it wasn’t Anniston! She had the same hairstyle and even a dimple on her cheek, but she was wearing different clothes. But after a cut, Anniston was suddenly back.
Which replacements were a surprising discovery for you? Tell us in the comment section below.
Preview photo credit Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban / Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince / Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
SOURCE: BRIGHTSIDE
Kayode Emmanuel Ojo is the Co-Founder and Managing Director at SHEFFA Limited. He is presently studying Computer Science at the National Open University, Victoria Island, Lagos.