Casting What-Ifs
Tupac Shakur as Malik dominates the casting counterfactuals, followed by Leonardo DiCaprio as Remy and several later alternatives.
In the discussion (7)
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- Tupac Shakur was cast as Malik before a jail sentence forced a last-minute replacement.
- His screen presence is argued to have added anger, intensity, and different chemistry throughout Malik's story.
- Leonardo DiCaprio is discussed as a rumored Remy candidate, with conflicting explanations for why it did not happen.
- Vivica A. Fox was considered for the Deja role and is preferred to the final casting.
- Gwyneth Paltrow and Juliette Lewis are reported as early possibilities for the Kristen and Taryn roles.
- Sidney Poitier was the first choice for Professor Phipps, followed by Dustin Hoffman and Samuel L. Jackson before the studio chose Laurence Fishburne.
- Michael Rapaport playing Scott Moss is rejected because the performance would not support the character's authority.
