MovieChat Forums > Cleopatra (1963) Discussion > Yes, Roddy McDowall Was Miscast

Yes, Roddy McDowall Was Miscast


He was more like Jay Robinson, the actor who played Caligula in The Robe. I can't see Roddy's character turning into Augustus Caesar.


Is that how one says it? As simply as that. "Mark Antony is dead. Lord Antony is dead." "The soup is hot; the soup is cold."

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Robinson & McDowell were wonderful in their roles.

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I think McDowell was well-cast for the character as it was written. The real question is... was Augustus as much of a wuss as he is presented in the film, laying in bed when battles are being fought all around him? I just can't believe that the first Emperor of Rome was anything like how he was portrayed.

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By all accounts he seems to have been a cold, calculating, ruthless man. not someone to cross unless you could be very sure of succeeding.

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He's always been portrayed like that, so I'm sure it's true.

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I thought McDowell acted the role very well. As for being a 'wuss', Octavian was sickly as a youth and had bad teeth, so his being ill during the Battle of Actium is credible.

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