miscast

American  

[mis-kast, -kahst] / mɪsˈkæst, -ˈkɑst /

verb (used with object)

miscast, miscasting

1. to assign an unsuitable role to (an actor).

   Tom was miscast as Romeo.

2. to allot (a role) to an unsuitable actor.

3. to select unsuitable actors for (a play, motion picture, or the like).

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miscast British  

/ ˌmɪsˈkɑːst /

verb

1. to cast badly

2. (often passive)

   1. to cast (a role or the roles) in (a play, film, etc) inappropriately

      Falstaff was certainly miscast

   2. to assign an inappropriate role to

      he was miscast as Othello

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Etymology

Origin of miscast

1925–30; mis- ¹ + cast (in sense “to select or assign actors”)

Example Sentences

Miscast American actors clobbered the wit out of Ayckbourn's words.

From Time Magazine Archive

Miscast as an actress, Miss Dahl shows high promise for a career on magazine covers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Miscast as a morbidly jealous wife, Gertrude Lawrence manages to give her role a lynx-eyed dignity which is an excellent foil for the brittle vibrance of Miriam Hop kins.

From Time Magazine Archive

Miscast, mis-kast′, v.t. and v.i. to cast erroneously.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various