11. Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara
Long before Fifty Shades of Grey or Twilight, the book-to-movie adaptation the world was waiting for was Gone With the Wind. While Clark Gable was the obvious go-to pick for Rhett Butler, the search for Scarlett O’Hara was intense and would include just about every major actress in Hollywood.
In the end, the role went to a true surprise candidate: Vivian Leigh, a British actress with a few minor credits on her resume. There was a lot of uproar among the book’s many fans (the joke was that Southerners shrugged “Better a Brit than a Yankee”) and the pressure reportedly got to Leigh on set with her acting up.
In the end, that intensity just fueled her performance as the rough and tumble conniving Scarlett endured heartache but did not give up. It turned into an iconic performance that won Leigh the Oscar and the highlight of her troubled career. It’s still ironic how the most famous Southern Belle on film wasn’t even really an American.
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