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Keith David, The Thing, 1981. Weathers, Bernie Casey, Isaac Hayes, Geoffrey Holder, Ernie Hudson, were all up for Childs – and whitey David won! (TK Carter was the token black as Nauls. Relax, there was Brit as well. And not Donald Pleasence, as usual with director John Carpenter, but Donald Moffat). However, the question was not whether Childs was black or white – but human or alien. Unless you paid attention to the final scene…
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Avery Brooks, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 1993-1999. Apollo Creed that was (in the first two Rocky films) auditioned for 175 hours of space duty as Captian (later Commander) Benjamin Sisko. And lost out – like James Earl Jones, Eriq La Salle and Tony Todd – to the majestical Brooks.
- Jim Brown, Small Soldiers, 1997. Fans thought it wild that director Joe Dante invited The Dirty Dozen to voice the very GI Joe Commando Elite force – Brick Bazooka, Nick Nitro, etc. Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, Clint Walker, George Kennedy and Dick Miller agreed. (Charles Bronson refused and Richard Jaeckel died during the production). Cheered or jeered, it was not Dante’s first plan. He’d wanted the 1986 Predator guys – led by Arnold Schwarzenegger as Chip Hazard and Weathers as Butch Meathook. For publicity over impact as – Schwarzi and Walker apart – most voices of either squad were not instantly recognisable. Not like real stars.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 3