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

The problem is that the issue has been miscast.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

By contrast, Jay Leno seems miscast as Ed Sullivan, strangely rendering the legendary showman into a gangster persona.

From Salon • Jan. 23, 2025

González isn’t miscast as English spy Marjorie Stewart because she’s playing the kind of actress who would play Stewart opposite Dalton.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2024

But any version of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” lives or dies with its central character, and Scott, though miscast agewise, has an uncanny way of making himself blank, of creating a man who isn’t there.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 4, 2024

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

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman