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

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

Smith is miscast as Myrtle, for a start: Her onstage bearing exudes a homely approachability rather than high-strung poise or inscrutable aloofness.

From New York Times • Mar. 26, 2024

And rookie Tye Kartye has at times outplayed free-agent signee Kailer Yamamoto — who often seems miscast in a fourth-line role.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 3, 2024

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

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman