Roles written for specific actors

So what are some roles written with specific actors in mind? Right now, I can think of:

Lee (The Magnificent Seven) was written for Robert Vaughn


Sgt. Dignam was written for Mark Wahlberg

I didnt know about either of those being written specifically for those two. Nice. Vaughn especially. Very cool character.

I read Chad was written for Brad in Burn After Reading. And also Quentin had Lt Aldo as well but please correct if wrong. I might be hallucinating.

Reminds me that Quentin wanted Leo for Hans Landa in “Basterds” but ultimately decided he wanted an older actor. Similar thing happened with Django, actually. Candie was written for an older actor (he’s more like Don Johnson’s character in the original script) but QT kept Leo in mind.

And, of course, Django was intended for Will Smith.

Thank zeus that didnt happen. I like him but somehow that just doesnt work for me.

Maybe his kid would have been goo...................................................................../

Apparently the role of King Yrcanos in the Doctor Who story Mindwarp was written for Brian Blessed. Hilariously it's like Prince Vultan Mark 2, so no typecasting involved . Love Brian, especially when he goes quiet, where he's sometimes even more effective.

So glad Smith didn't do that movie, he would have been terrible.

This is a really interesting topic...I know a lot of roles that were originally cast with other actors, but I know hardly anything about roles that were written for specific actors...will be keeping an eye on this thread.

Another one would be Number Six in The Prisoner. I don't think Patrick McGoohan intended anyone else but himself to play it.

I don't think Sgt. Dignam was written for Marky Mark. Denis Leary turned down the role before they went to him.

Two for The Usual Suspects:

Verbal Kint for Kevin Spacey


Dave Kujan for Chazz Palmanteri

another where I didnt know. That's interesting. Good choices.

I don’t know. I know Kujan was offered to Pacino, De Niro and Walken first.

Got these off the IMDB pages.

I remember reading something about Lawrence Fishburne's character in Boyz'N'the Hood being written for him
Might be confusing it with something else

Frances McDormand

^
Well, that goes for most Coen Bros. characters.

So Gaear Grimsrud was written for Peter Stormare?

Wouldn't surprise me.

A recent one I heard was that Robert Pattinson was so impressed with the Safdie brothers' work on 'Heaven knows what' that he contacted them and said "I want to be in your next project". So they rekindled an old story they'd been mucking around with, and wrote the part of Connie in "Good Time" explicitly for Pattinson. Great film too.

Gaear was written for Stormare, Barton Fink for Turturro, The Dude, Walter, Donny, Maude, etc. - all written for their respective actors and so on, so forth.