There have been many times in movies and TV shows that a character is suddenly recast and played by someone new. It's not very common, but it does happen. Sometimes there's an explanation for it, but other times they're replaced with no rhyme or reason. Whether it's the actor or the show, characters are sadly replaced, even in the middle of a season or production. Sometimes it just doesn't work out.
While most of the time producers try to find another actor or actress that looks just like the previous actor in order to ease the transition for the audience and make it a little easier, there have been plenty of times in which producers have recast characters with an actor who was strikingly different. Nevertheless, recasts do happen, and most of the time without any warning.
10 Vivian Banks - 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'
Some of you might remember when watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when you were younger that Aunt Viv looked strangely different after season 3. When the show first aired, Aunt Viv was played by Janet Hubert, and she played the role through season 3 when she was replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid in 1993 who played her until the series finale. There was a lot of speculation as to why Janet Hubert was replaced — some thought her pregnancy was a violation of her contract, while others speculated that it was her feud with Will Smith. Apparently, the two didn't get along while filming the show, and Janet recalled in her memoir that Will requested that she be fired.
9 Dumbledore - 'Harry Potter'
If you ever decided to do a Harry Potter binge, you might notice a change in Dumbledore after the second movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The role of Dumbledore was originally played by Richard Harris, but he was unfortunately recast before the third movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Richard Harris had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and his health took a turn for the worse. Sadly, he passed away before the third movie was filmed and producers were forced to recast the role, and Michael Gambon took on the role.
8 Carol Willick - 'Friends'
During the second episode of Friends, we're first introduced to the character of Carol Willick, Ross Geller's ex-wife that had just left him for another woman. To thicken the plot, she also found out that she was pregnant with Ross' child. In the beginning, Carol was played by Anita Barone, however, she was eventually recast and was eventually played by Jane Sibbett instead. Anita Barone decided to quit the role in order to pursue bigger acting parts and other projects.
7 Ryan Vogelson - 'Last Man Standing'
Many people might not remember, but back in 2011, Nick Jonas had a role on the sitcom Last Man Standing. He first appeared on an episode where he played the role of Ryan Vogelson, who was Kristin Baxter's husband. These days, Nick no longer plays the role of Ryan, and instead, the role is now played by Jordan Masterson. Nick went on to do other things like become a judge on The Voice and reunite with the Jonas Brothers, of course. His time on the show was so short that people tend to forget that he ever played the role, especially not that Jordan Masterson took over.
6 Reggie Mantle - 'Riverdale'
Originally, the role of Reggie Mantle in the hit show Riverdale was played by Ross Butler, however, fans might notice that Ross is no longer playing the role of Reggie, instead, Charle Melton stepped in and took over. Ross did have a good reason for leaving, though, as he also had a role in the hit Netflix show, 13 Reasons Why.
Unfortunately for Ross, he couldn't play both roles as there were scheduling conflicts. As a result, he left Riverdale and went on to focus solely on 13 Reasons Why. Therefore, Charles Melton stepped in to take on the role, and now Reggie has a brand new face.
5 Laurie Forman - 'That '70s Show'
Throughout the first five seasons of That '70s Show, the role of Laurie Forman, aka Eric's sister, was played by Lisa Robin Kelly. However, fans might've noticed that Lisa Robin Kelly no longer played the role of Laurie during season 6. They were right, as Christina Moore took over the role. Lisa didn't return to the show because of personal issues in her life that she had to step away to take care of. She never really got herself back on track, as she was arrested for a DUI in 2010 and in 2013, and had a number of domestic violence charges. She decided to go to rehab to try to get her life together, however, she tragically passed away due to an accidental overdose.
4 Daario Neharis - 'Game Of Thrones'
On the hit show Game of Thrones, the role of Daario Naharis was originally played by Ed Skrein. However, when the character came back again in season four after only appearing in a handful of episodes before that, fans noticed that the actor playing Daario wasn't the same. They were right, as producers decided to recast the role and chose Michiel Huisman to take on the role.
According to Ed Skrein, things were more complicated than they seemed and blamed politics on the fact that the show forced him to walk away from the show that he intended to stay on for the long haul. Unfortunately for him, that didn't get to happen and he was very easily replaced.
3 Mandy Baxter - 'Last Man Standing'
After ABC canceled Last Man Standing, Fox decided that they were going to bring back the show. While fans were super excited to have the show back, they were awfully confused to see that one of the main characters, Mandy Baxter was suddenly recast. Molly Ephraim originally played Mandy, and she was known to be short with dark hair. Fans were thrown for a loop when the new Mandy was the complete opposite. Molly McCook took over the role of Mandy, and she was tall with blonde hair, a stark difference from the original actress. Fans were not happy about the change, however, the original Mandy had to leave the show because she took on other acting gigs, assuming the show was canceled for good, forcing the show to recast her.
2 Victoria - 'Twilight'
There were a number of vampires that appeared throughout the Twilight Saga, one of the most prevalent vampires being Victoria, a blood-thirsty vampire out for revenge after her mate was killed. Victoria wanted nothing more than to seek revenge on Edward Cullen and kill his human lover, Bella Swan. Originally, in Twilight, and the second movie, New Moon, the role of Victoria was played by Rachelle Lefevre. However, when it came to the third movie, Eclipse, Rachelle was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard. Apparently, the recast came with a bit of controversy as Rachelle claimed that she was blindsided, as she turned down other acting roles to play Victoria. According to producers, it was because of scheduling conflicts that they decided to recast her.
1 Penny - 'The Big Bang Theory'
Believe it or not, Kaley Cuoco wasn't always supposed to play the beloved role of Penny on The Big Bang Theory. She originally tried out for the role but didn't get the part. Originally, Kaley had auditioned for a role that no longer exists — Katie — who was only in the show for the unaired pilot. The role of Katie was played by Amanda Walsh, but after the original pilot was scrapped, and producers got rid of Katie and replaced her with the character Penny. As a result, actress Amanda Walsh was replaced as well, and Kaley took over. As we all know, the rest is history.