On many shows when an actor decides to leave, the producers re-cast a new actor for that character. I, personally, hate it when they do this. I know that Lost when never do such a thing, but how does everyone feel about the matter?

I only accept the replacement, if it's early in the show...before we got to know the character It's ok then.

But if we know this character's face by heart and the way they move and speak and they replace that person with someone entirely different! Then we have a problem. Just make a new character if he/she's going to look that different.

It really bothers me then.

I absolutely hate it when they do this! However, I think that I have been scarred by the show 'Passions'. They change actors ridiculously fast and they cast people who don't necessarily even look like the person that they are supposed to! I get that it's a soap opera and if someone wants to be on the show forever then it'd be a long career in tv but at the same time I think that when you signed on in the beginning you need to stick with it.

I hate it when they do that! Just kill the person off or find a reason for them to be gone for a long time if you think they may come back at some point. Or, in the case of the 4400, kill them AND bring them back. :smile:

I even didnt like it when they did this for dumbledore in Harry Potter, granted they couldnt help it then

If they did that to Lost I might actually stop watching... Especially if they replaced Sawyer!!:D

I think they handled it in the Matrix well, when the lady who played the Oracle died between movie 2 and 3. But, then again, few things can make the excuse that Matrix did for the new oracle

I can't stand it when they replace actors, UNLESS the person died in real life, and their character was too big of a deal to kill off, in which case, they better find someone who looks ridiculously close.

I even didnt like it when they did this for dumbledore in Harry Potter, granted they couldnt help it then

I think they actually did a really good job with that.

If they did that to Lost I might actually stop watching... Especially if they replaced Sawyer!!:D
They would NEVER! Would they?No, they wouldn't.

I agree with the Matrix comment...she didn't have a whole bunch of scenes and was really only used sparringly in the movie although her part in the movie is a big part she wasn't as memorable a character as Neo, Morpheus etc. Like if they replaced Rousseau...while she does play a big part in furthering the story when she is on she's not as beloved a character as Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Charlie, Locke...pretty much anyone who is in just about every episode.

I don't like it when a character gets replaced and it's rarely seen nowadays but if they did I don't think I could stop watching because I'm already too engrossed in the show that I have to stick with it til the end.

If they did replace Charlie maybe they could get one of his fellow hobbits to take over the role.

I don't think they'd ever replace Dom. And honestly, I don't think Elijah, Billy, or Sean look anything like him, either. :p

I think it really depends on the role and the new actor. The one that immediately comes to mind was when Becky was replaced on "Roseanne", and then later the old Becky came back. At first I was unhappy with the change, but when the old Becky came back I found that I actually liked the replacement better than the original.

I usually hate when that happens.

They do that in soaps a lot, but in those things you kind of just adjust to the new actor. Still, the character rjust isn't the same person anymore.

The only time it works out is when the character is rarely seen and the new actor is close enough in voice and appearance to the previous actor.

I don't think that they could ever get away with that in Lost. For Lost, the audience pays much closer attention to the details.

I even didnt like it when they did this for dumbledore in Harry Potter, granted they couldnt help it then
Aw, I hated that the most. Obviously, there was nothing that they could do about it, but the original actor WAS Dumbledore. He fit the role better than anyone else ever could.

I absolutely hate this. It happened on the soap I watch (yes, I watch a soap, but just one ;) ) a couple of years ago and I still haven't gotten over it. I know it happens all the time on soaps, but when they don't even bother to try to keep a bit of the same character, it can really take you out of the story.

I have mixed feeling about actor replacements, there are some that i hate and some that i like.
Obviously if the original actor dies there's no other choice, like Richard Harris in Harry Potter, he did an absolute wonderful job, but Micheal Gambon did the right thing and didn't try to replace him, but went off want he had been doing all along.
Some replacements i couldn't stand, when the actress playing Colleen in the Dr. Quinn series left, i couldn't stand her replacement she just totally turned the character around, but I understand wholeheartedly why the original actress left.
The Waltons, when Richard Thomas left they brought in another actor i couldn't stand, he totally turned the role of John Boy around, and then when they made the follow up movies and brought Richard Thomas back i thought that was the best thing they could have done!
Just my two cents.

I think it really depends on the role and the new actor. The one that immediately comes to mind was when Becky was replaced on "Roseanne", and then later the old Becky came back. At first I was unhappy with the change, but when the old Becky came back I found that I actually liked the replacement better than the original.
That's what I thought about too. The only reason it didn't bother me too much was that they made a joke of it on the show. They talked about replacing Darren on Bewitched and the new Becky said that she liked the second one much better. And when the old Becky came back they all asked her where she'd been this whole time. It was just weird because they totally changed the characters when the actors changed.

I would be fine with them replacing Dumbledore if they wrote the character the same way. I was and still am irritated that he's not like how he is in the book. The first two movies, the character was written PERFECTLY. Emma isn't sure if she wants to do the next two movies. It's really going to suck if she doesn't come back.
I don't like when actors are replaced. Bleh. It's just weird.

I would be fine with them replacing Dumbledore if they wrote the character the same way. I was and still am irritated that he's not like how he is in the book. The first two movies, the character was written PERFECTLY. Emma isn't sure if she wants to do the next two movies. It's really going to suck if she doesn't come back.
I don't like when actors are replaced. Bleh. It's just weird.

WTF?! Why in heaven wouldn't she want to come back?

:shesaid: That's weird and I would not be ok with it. Not that she cares what I think, but she needs to stay on with these movies! She's not worried about being typecasted is she?

I can't stand it when characters are replaced mid season - espeically the way some soap operas do it, where you suddenly see a new person and get a voice over saying "the role of so and so will now be played by so and so". It's almost laughable.

I do think the Harry Potter series did a great job with the Dumbledore replacement. They were in a tough spot though since the books had already been written and read so how could Dumbledore just disappear from the movies?

But Emma Watson must come back to the HP films! I have heard the rumours that she might not but.. I think that would be an awful career decision for her. I feel like we've watched her grow up so a new Hermione now just wouldnt work for me.

I think when you have a character who's as big of a deal as Hermione, it would be extremely difficult to re-cast them. Plus, Emma has already been in the first five films, I really don't see why she can't just do two more. Of course, it is her decision, so whatever.

ive only seen this happen in soaps (not a harry Potter or a Matrix fan:rolleyes:), and the only time its really bugged me was a character in Home & Away - i just thought the old actor was alot better looking, heheh

nah seriously, if it was in a drama like Lost i'd hate it. the only programme that gets away with it constantly is Dr. Who :redface:

I've never seen Dr. Who. Why do they replace actors?

I hate that too. If you start a show, and gewt to know the character, then the person who plays it is changed it just gets confusing. I think if an actor commits to something. they should stay wiht it until the producers/writers say its time to go.

but is it better than killing the character?

I don't think so

Yes, definitely not better than killing the characters. Show continuity is much better than character necessity.

I hate when they replace actors... If it's early in the first season then it has a better chance of working but anything past the middle of first season is just really annoying and ruins the quality of the show... I would rather they just write the character away for sometime until they can get the original actor to come back.

It really could work out both ways. It could improve the show. I too watch a soap *gasp* and recently 1 actress left and was replaced by another who was HORRIBLE. There was such an outcry from fans that the new chick was fired and they hired another soap veteran. The new person is doing a fantastic job (imo).

It can work for movies as well. Look at the 007 franchise. Sean Connery will always be James Bond to me, but I liked Roger Moore as well. Wasn’t as thrilled with the newer replacements, but I think it’s a combination of the change in actors as well as the stories are getting a bit….I don’t know…..blah. There will always be die hard fans that refuse to give the new person a shot, but a lot of times they work out well.

I'm a big fan of giving the new person a shot before deciding if a show is doomed or not.

Yea but James Bond doesn't require character continuity. On something like Lost, Jack is Jack, no one else could ever be Jack

^Yeah, and since there have been so many James Bonds, that's kind of what people some to expect, now.

Some I could live with..some not....if Walt came back and they needed a smaller younger boy...I could. Think Matthew Fox is going to hard to keep..think he could replace Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible films...

I haven't had time to read through this and see if it was mentioned, but anyone that watches That 70's Show will know what I'm talking about. THEY REPLACED Laurie! And it was terrible!
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I don't mind replacing actors if they keep the character the same. But in the case of Dumbledore, they definitely chose the wrong replacement. The new actor just makes Dumbledore seem kind of mean.

And I didn't mind the Laurie replacement. I thought that she did fine. Besides, she wasn't even around for that long.

I get used to it but usually I'm so used to the actor/actress that is currently playing the character that when they change them they obviously don't look like the same character anymore so the character may aswell have left rather than be replaced. Emmerdale they replaced Victoria with someone who looks nothing like her and on My Parents Are Aliens they've replaced half the cast, said it's all new characters but they practically have the same kind of personalities as the last ones so I've given up watching it now... Just watch repeats on Nickelodean instead!

I don't really like it when they change actors in the middle of a series...I could live with it...in MOST cases, however
If Emma decides not to come back I will have a really really hard time watching the last two movies...I am already having a hard time because they cut so much out, but I think that would be one step to many and I wouldn't buy them for sure
As for if they replaced someone on Lost I think it would depend on who they replaced, if it was one of the major characters I think my reaction would not be good, but if it was one of the more peripheral characters or as someone posted a bit above me Walt that would be easier to handle, but I can't see myself enjoying this show as much if Sawyer, Kate, Jack, Loche, Sayid, Charlie or Clair weren't themselves...:twocents: