Bizarre Casting

Guy Ritchie is making a Sherlock Holmes film.

He has cast Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock Holmes. Ok, a bit young, but a bit eccentric too and not too awful a bit of casting. He has proven his accent credentials already on Chaplin so no worries on that score (Downey's involvement worries me nowhere near as much as Guy Ritchie's, for example).

My beef is with today's rumour/news that he has cast JUDE LAW as Watson. That's right - Alfie.

Look, if you want to save your career, Mrs Madonna, I would suggest that casting turkey bait like Jude Law is about the worst thing you can do. I mean, the comedy version with Will Ferrell will be certainly dreadful, but seriously, can it be any stranger than casting the star of The Holiday as a divorced Doctor down on his luck? Maybe Guy got confused because Law was in Sleuth? Or perhaps he was the person who enjoyed Sky Captain and The World Of Tomorrow (2/10) (the only film I have turned off halfway through for TEN YEARS)

Plus, how young are you casting here? If I recall my Holmes, they meet when both already middle aged, if not later - are you trying to "sex up" Sherlock? Next thing we'll have Jason Statham as "Moriar'y" and see him "'aving a giraffe" on the Reichenbach Falls. All you then need to do is add a buxom blonde love interest for Holmes and I will have to shoot you. Actually, I bet Jennifer Ellison is free.

I am starting to think Ritchie can do no right.

Or maybe it's just that for me Jeremy Brett IS Holmes. I can't read any of the books without recalling his portrayal - or that of grey haired, mustachioed Dr Watson (sorry, can't remember the actor's name). Johnny Depp.... now wouldn't that be interesting... if only I had Tim Burton's number and a couple of hundred million dollars.

So, what is the strangest casting you guys can remember?

Bad casting that comes to mind (or maybe just odd casting) is for me (and Mrs Algo) the decision to have King Henry VIII played by both Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Eric Bana, two actors who bear very little resemblance to the "big hairy king". Sure, he is reputed to have been quite a hottie in his youth, but by the time these films are set he was verging on portly and more like Mike Ashley than Michael Douglas. Plus, and lets face it, Henry VIII was a ginge. Now, good ginger actors are indeed thin on the ground but you could at least throw a bone to Damien Lewis?

Never mind all the other historical inaccuracies that populate these shows - this casting is just weird.

Hey, I am not the man to judge their attractiveness, and they may be really good in the role (I have seen neither the Tudors or The Other Boleyn Girl) but this just seemed odd.

Over to you, occasional and single-digit numbered readers - comments and opinions below as usual.

A