5 Roles In Alfred Hitchcock Movies That Were Perfectly Cast (& Who Almost Played Them)

The legendary Alfred Hitchcock is most renowned for his use of cinematography and editing to create nail-biting suspense. His filmmaking style is so distinctive that the biggest star of any Hitchcock movie is Hitchcock himself. But his movies have plenty of iconic characters played by A-listers who jumped at the opportunity to work with him, like Janet Leigh as Psycho’s Marion Crane.

The actors who ended up starring in Hitchcock’s movies, like Kim Novak in Vertigo and Cary Grant in North by Northwest, weren’t always Hitch’s first choice for the part.

5 Madeleine Elster / Judy Barton In Vertigo

Perfectly Cast: Kim Novak

The role of Madeleine Elster in Hitchcock’s universally acclaimed psychological thriller Vertigo is an interesting subversion of the femme fatale. After the shocking twist reveal, it turns out that she was acting the whole time and that her real name is Judy Barton.

Kim Novak may not have been Hitchcock’s first choice for the role, but she did a great job with it. Novak creates an air of mystique around the character ahead of the big twist (and shares fantastic chemistry with James Stewart).

Almost Cast: Vera Miles

According to IndieWire, when frequent Hitchcockian collaborator Grace Kelly got married and retired from acting, Hitchcock decided on Vera Miles as his new go-to leading lady.

However, Miles couldn’t take the role of Madeleine in Vertigo as she became pregnant before filming. So, Novak took over and Miles later played a supporting role in Psycho instead.

4 Roger Thornhill In North By Northwest

Perfectly Cast: Cary Grant

Hitchcock’s high-octane spy thriller North by Northwest is often referred to as the closest thing to a Hitchcock-directed James Bond film. Sadly, Hitch never contributed to Eon’s Bond series, but if he had, it might’ve featured set-pieces like a crop-duster attack and a chase across Mount Rushmore.

Hollywood legend Cary Grant was the perfect casting to play North by Northwest’s Roger Thornhill with both the relatability of an everyman and the suaveness of 007.

Almost Cast: James Stewart

According to Mental Floss, James Stewart lobbied for the lead role in North by Northwest. At that point, Stewart had made four movies with Hitchcock and he wanted North by Northwest to be the fifth. However, Hitchcock turned him down as he didn’t think Stewart was right for the part.

Out of respect for his regular collaborator, Hitchcock waited until Stewart took on another project before he cast the part so he wouldn’t have to outright reject him.

3 Guy Haines In Strangers On A Train

Perfectly Cast: Farley Granger

After working with Hitchcock on Rope, Farley Granger reunited with the director to play tennis player Guy Haines in Strangers on a Train. In most homages to Strangers on a Train, everybody is in on the “perfect crime” plan to commit each other’s murders, but in the original, Guy is against it.

Guy needed to be a relatable counterpoint opposite Robert Walker’s sinister Hitchcockian villain Bruno Antony and Granger brings a refreshing everyman quality to the character.

Almost Cast: William Holden

According to the Radio Times, Hitchcock felt that the role of Guy in Strangers on a Train was perfect for William Holden. He reached out with an offer, but Holden turned down the part.

While Granger’s performance in Strangers on a Train was met with positive reviews, Hitchcock always felt underwhelmed because he thought that the role cried out to be played by Holden.

2 Uncle Charlie In Shadow Of A Doubt

Perfectly Cast: Joseph Cotten

Joseph Cotten is unforgettably chilling in the villainous role of Uncle Charlie in Shadow of a Doubt, Hitchcock’s tale of a young woman hosting her uncle for a visit and learning his dark secret.

Cotten does wonders with the role as he’s initially presented as a sweet and wholesome father figure and turns out to be a heinous serial killer.

Almost Cast: William Powell

As perfect as Cotten was for the role of Uncle Charlie, according to The Cambridge Companion to Alfred Hitchcock, the director originally wanted to cast William Powell in the role.

Powell’s studio home MGM refused to lend him out to appear in the movie and Hitchcock had to find another actor. Powell did end up playing the part in a radio adaptation of the film.

1 Marion Crane In Psycho

Perfectly Cast: Janet Leigh

When Psycho hit theaters in 1960, Janet Leigh was one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Her massive star power sold the shock of the midpoint murder twist.

This casting trick has since been copied a bunch of times, but in 1960, audiences had never seen it done before. Leigh became a definitive “scream queen” in the horror genre with the shower scene alone.

Almost Cast: Angie Dickinson

By the time Hitchcock started working on Psycho, he was one of the most famous filmmakers in the world. According to WhatCulture, the shortlist for the role of Marion Crane was pretty long: Angie Dickinson, Piper Laurie, Hope Lange, Shirley Jones, Eva Marie Saint, and Lana Turner were all considered.

Leigh was always Hitchcock’s top choice for the role and she even took a quarter of her usual A-list fee for the chance to work with the “Master of Suspense.”

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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