Actors replaced during filming

[Ray]

Robert Stack was replaced by Richard Conte during the early stages of filming The Other Love. Although he was in a better physical condition as well as being nine years younger than Conte, Richard was the better actor, and had great chemistry with Barbara Stanwyck. Unfortunately all the pool scenes were scrapped for the finished film, so we lost the rare opportunity of seeing her in a bathing costume.

[batman]

Marlon Brando jumped ship on the eve of starting The Egyptian and was replaced by John Gavin ...... as Brando had broken his contract the studio forced him to do the awful Desiree instead.

Brando was a late replacement for Montgomery Clift in Reflections in a Golden Eye. Clift died just before filming started. Liz Taylor persuaded Brando to do the part and he gave IMHO one of his best performances.

Oliver Reed was replaced halfway through filming his scenes for Cutthroat Island ..... apparently he mooned Geena Davis at a party and she wasn't impressed.

Michael Caine and Lewis Collins replaced Barry Foster and Brian Capron in Jack the Ripper when the budget was increased and the series sold to the US. The Foster/Capron footage can be viewed as an extra in the DVD.

[Toscana]

On TV Robert Donley played James Garners Dad Rocky in the pilot Rockford Files. Noah Beery did the other 122 episodes. Chritopher George played Dan August in the Pilot The House in Greenapple Road But Burt Reynolds got to play 28 episodes in the series Dan August. Chris George gave Dan August the elbowand tried his luck on the big screen with John Wayne but didn't make the grade. Burt took on Dan August and ran with it for a year got his big screen chance in Fuzz which lead to Deliverence and the rest as they say......

[midnight sheep]

Samantha Eggar played Maggie Gioberti in the unscreened Falcon Crest pilot but was replaced by Susan Sullivan for the series.

[SainT]

Trivia for Family Plot (1976):
Roy Thinnes was originally hired to play Arthur Adamson, but Hitchcock's first choice William Devane became available so Hitchcock fired Thinnes without a reason and hired Devane. Some key scenes had been shot prior to this. Everything that had been shot was re-shot except for long shots which to this day remain as Roy Thinnes and not William Devane.
Family Plot (1976) - Trivia

Trivia for Roy Thinnes:
Was originally hired to play Arthur Adamson in Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot (1976), but the Hitchcock had always wanted William Devane for the part. Devane was originally unavailable, so Hitchcock began filming with Thinnes in the role. When Devane became suddenly available one month into filming, Hitchcock unceremoniously fired Thinnes without explanation and replaced him with Devane. (Hitchcock later claimed he was dissatisfied with Thinnes' performance.) The way Hitchcock handled the firing led to a famously public confrontation between the two men in a crowded Chasen's Restaurant. Thinnes can be seen in several publicity stills from the production, but no footage apparently exists.
Roy Thinnes - Biography


Greg

[will.15]

Was Hitchcock getting cheap? Neither actor was from the A list.

Bruce Dern should have played the baddie and a bigger star should have had his part.

[Toscana]

Not so much replaced but cut from the film, Kenneth More had all his part removed from The Collector.

[Reeldigger]

Was Hitchcock getting cheap? Neither actor was from the A list.

Bruce Dern should have played the baddie and a bigger star should have had his part.

There are two explanations for this. According to one, Hitchcock's last contract with Universal forced him to work within budgets which precluded hiring major stars. To me, though, the explanation which makes more sense was Hitch's reported displeasure with the high fees demanded by Paul Newman and Julie Andrews for Torn Curtain. Both their salaries sent the budget soaring and cut deeply into the film's profitability. The picture wasn't much of a money-maker to begin with.

[dremble wedge]

Margaret Rutherford started filming The Virgin and the Gypsy in 1969 but was replaced due to illness by Fay Compton. I think she was also cast in Song of Norway but was replaced in that too.

[CaptainWaggett]

Margaret Rutherford started filming The Virgin and the Gypsy in 1969 but was replaced due to illness by Fay Compton. I think she was also cast in Song of Norway but was replaced in that too.

The dresses must have needed a bit of adjusting to fit Florence Henderson

[Mr Sloane]

The dresses must have needed a bit of adjusting to fit Florence Henderson

No silly, Harry Secombe replaced her.

[Toscana]

Watched ShiteCreek last night and I noticed one of the McCant brother playing the villian. The poor mans Tom Bell one. Wasn't he the original Sharp. Broke his leg or cracked his face during early filming and was replaced by the new Patrick Allen, Pole Bean.
Bit spiteful but I pulled family cab duty last night.

[didi-5]

September, the Woody Allen film was junked and recast. Maureen O'Sullivan, Charles Durning, and Sam Shepard were replaced by Elaine Stritch, Denholm Elliott and Sam Waterson. Sam Shepard had earlier replaced Christopher Walken.

The BBC Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing was filmed with Penelope Keith and Michael York in 1978 and then hidden away to be redone a couple of years later with Cherie Lunghi and Robert Lindsay in the roles.

[Kitty Whiskers]

No silly, Harry Secombe replaced her.

I think I'd be really put out if my part was recast with Harry Secombe! Not to say there's anything wrong with Harry (he was adorable) but if he's the natural successor to your part in a film, it's time for a serious make-over!

[batman]

Watched ShiteCreek last night and I noticed one of the McCant brother playing the villian. The poor mans Tom Bell one. Wasn't he the original Sharp. Broke his leg or cracked his face during early filming and was replaced by the new Patrick Allen, Pole Bean.
Bit spiteful but I pulled family cab duty last night.

IIRC Paul McGann broke his leg while playing football with the crew during the filming of the first Sharpe episode.

[HUGHJAMPTON]

Ernest Thesiger had shot all his scenes as the sculptor/rabble rouser, Theotocopulos in H.G.Wells' Things To Come, when Wells himself decided that Thesiger's voice was too cultured to make the plea to the masses, and had him replaced by Cedic Hardwicke.

Thesiger found out when he turned up for the premiere of the film with a group of friends, only to find he wasn't in it.