miscast

American  

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

verb (used with object)

• miscasts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• miscast,
  past participle,  past
• miscasting
  present participle

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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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• miscasting
  present
• miscast
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• miscast
  simple
• miscasts
  simple
• have miscast
  perfect
• has miscast
  perfect
• am miscasting
  progressive
• are miscasting
  progressive
• is miscasting
  progressive
• have been miscasting
  perfect progressive
• has been miscasting
  perfect progressive

Past

• miscast
  simple
• had miscast
  perfect
• was miscasting
  progressive
• were miscasting
  progressive
• had been miscasting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will miscast
  simple
• will have miscast
  perfect
• will be miscasting
  progressive
• will have been miscasting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of miscast

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

miscast miscasts miscasting

Points deducted for some stiff dramatic reenactments; I would prefer a picture of an empty desk than one of a miscast George Washington sitting at it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

That instinct, he told me, comes from a lifetime of feeling miscast in American politics.

From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2026

He starred in a middling revival of the musical “Promises, Promises,” and won a Tony for playing Oscar Levant in “Good Night, Oscar”—despite being flagrantly miscast, in my view.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

I think Jimmy Stewart is miscast in “Vertigo,” and I think Hitchcock felt that as well, that he was too old for the part.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2024

It takes more than a dozen crewmen to lift the woefully miscast Liberty Bell to the railing.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

This construction, in my view, unfortunately miscasts both the issue and the intent of the Framers.

From US News ● Jun. 29, 2015

Notwithstanding, the worst of these miscasts fell to my lot.

From The Master of Appleby A Novel Tale Concerning Itself in Part with the Great Struggle in the Two Carolinas; but Chiefly with the Adventures Therein of Two Gentlemen Who Loved One and the Same Lady by Lynde, Francis

Despite some spirited action scenes, my disappointment falls squarely on the miscasting of Phoebe Waller-Bridge as an unlikable, uninspiring character, annoying and smug and with a smirk in nearly every scene.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 15, 2023

Sometimes an actor's choices just seem all wrong; other times, miscasting an actor can have a detrimental effect on a film.

From Salon ● Dec. 12, 2022

Meanwhile, David Rooney in The Hollywood Reporter criticised the "miscasting" of Clarke, writing: "There's neither softness nor fragility in her grating Holly."

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2022

So ya got trouble in River City, and the miscasting of Jackman is hardly the only problem.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 11, 2022

But sometimes, miscasting can be very interesting, in the hands of an actor who knows what she’s doing — and Kidman is definitely that.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 9, 2021