Obviously the polar opposite of a film with a small number of characters is an ensemble piece. More often than not films with large casts have multiple plots strands and it is rare that a storyline and therefore a character do not feel expendable. However; films such as Magnolia have managed it to great effect due to storylines that the audience cares about and every actor impresses. It is Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men which is arguably the finest example of an ensemble cast.
Limited to one room; Henry Fonda holds the cast together but every character is brought to life so fantastically, no one feels overshadowed.
Vocal acting in animated films have often been unfairly criticised as an easy break for the actors involved; but vocal acting done right can cause audiences to forget that what they are looking at is simply computerised pixels on a screen. Pixar has an extraordinary repertoire of wonderfully voiced rolls. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen’s double act as Woody and Buzz in the Toy Story Trilogy managed to give pixels humanity.
However, for all the spot on vocal work that Pixar have, Disney’s Aladdin has a trump card; Robin Williams. Whoever at Disney recognised the potential genius of simply letting Williams loose at a microphone should be thanked and applauded by all; if The Academy were ever going to credit a vocal performance, it was this one.
Nowadays it would appear that biopics are the latest way to guarantee some awards attention but they are arguably the most difficult type of roles to cast. Where do you start? Someone who physically resembles the inspiration for the film or has a similar personality? It’s tough; but no film has ever matched an actor to a real life person as well as Raging Bull. Not only is it the greatest example of physical dedication to a role, it is one of the greatest performances of all time period. No one has ever matched the ferocity that De Niro had when he was locked in a police cell attacking a wall. He becomes unrecognisable as anyone else other than Jake La Motta on his road to self destruction.
Literary and comic book adaptations are also one of the most pressurising jobs for casting directors. Certain works can garner such protective fans that miscasting a popular character can cause serious backlash before filming has even begun. However, there have been occasions where a seemingly strange casting decision can end up working 
fantastically. Russell Crowe in L.A. Confidential is such a case. The character Bud White is supposed to be a physical giant (Michael Madsen was originally up for the part) but what Crowe lacks in height he more than makes up for in presence. Along with Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey, the film made for one of the best casts of the 90s.
There are however cases where adaptations manage to cast the perfect actor to bring a role to life; casting an unknown in iconic roles can work wonders; fewer preconceptions about an actor going in to watch the film can make for a less critical audience. In the case of Superman – The Movie; Christopher Reeve came out of nowhere and made playing the part of the most iconic superhero ever created look easy; he was that perfect a fit. Compared to satisfying the legions of Superman fans worldwide; making them believe a man could fly was easy.
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