Few movies are equal parts fun and traumatizing, but Boogie Nights is one of the few exceptions, as it realistically depicts the porn industry in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The movie’s immersion is massive thanks to its ensemble cast, starring actors that completely consume their characters.
With amazing performances from the likes of the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, and Burt Reynolds, these characters have become completely iconic and the mere mention of the characters’ names will take fans back to their favorite scenes. Given the tremendous star power of the movie, it isn’t easy to find perfect replacements if the movie was recast today, but this unique set of actors could give the OGs a run for their money.
Maurice - Michael Pena
Being the night club owner, Maurice lights up the room. He’s the reason why Eddie and Jack Horner meet, but his scenes aren’t limited to the night club. There’s an air of seediness to Maurice, but at the same time he’s adorable, and that role has Michael Pena written all over it. Though he’s a terrific dramatic actor, Pena has some amazing comedy chops, as proven in Ant Man, where he plays a lovable ex-convict.
Rollergirl - Zazie Beetz
Being a character who is best known for never taking off her roller skates, there isn’t much to the character on the face of things, as she’s more of a starlet who is rising in the industry, but her arc gets a lot deeper in the 1980s, as she is recognized by a former classmate and all hell breaks loose.
It’s an unnerving and intense scene, and Zazie Beetz would be perfect. In most of Beetz’s roles up to this point, she has played a sassy and upbeat character, just like how Rollergirl is at the beginning of the movie, and in Joker, we’ve seen Betz in a much dark role too.
Buck Swope - Lakeith Stanfield
He’s already been hypothetically cast in a remake of The Usual Suspects, but being such a promising upcoming actor thanks to his roles in Knives Out and the surreal Sorry To Bother You, Lakeith Stanfield needs to be cast in a lot more. Buck is one of the few characters whose story ends well, as he is finally able to open the radio store that he wanted for so long, but it isn’t without trial and error, and Stanfield would be great in an ensemble cast like this.
Little Bill - Simon Pegg
Even though the actor worked out and even got some impressive six-pack abs for the last Mission: Impossible movie, Simon Pegg is generally known for his roles in which he fails to impress people. The characters he plays often don’t have an impact on any of his friend’s lives, and people generally feel sorry for them, such as in Shaun of the Dead, The Boys, and even the Mission: Impossible series.
Many of his best movies show just how inept his characters really are, and that’s just like Little Bill, who is constantly cheated on by his wife and is never taken seriously by his friends, which leads to one of the most shocking moments of the movie.
Scotty - Jesse Plemons
Though Todd was one of the most murderous characters in the show, Jesse Plemons’ character in Breaking Bad was so interesting due to how simple-minded he was and, at the same time, confused. That’s Scotty all over. Originally played by the amazing Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Scotty is a boom operator for adult movies and, whilst shooting, he develops a secret crush on Eddie, but goes about it all wrong and makes one mistake after another, and it’d be the perfect role for Plemons.
Reed Rothchild - Harry Styles
Being the childhood friend of Eddie, Reed, who was originally played by John C. Reilly, is the fun loving jokester of the two and is always living in the moment, compared to Eddie who is always looking for a way to become more successful. Though Harry Styles doesn’t have many acting credits, he has proved how much potential he has in Dunkirk, he looks younger than he is, and there’s not much that he takes seriously.
Amber Waves - Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman’s best performances are some of her most melodramatic, and Julianne Moore gives the most melodramatic performance of a lifetime as Jack Horner’s partner. As the character is stuck in a custody battle with her ex-husband and her lifestyle is getting in the way of her seeing her children, it’s easily the meatiest role in the movie, and Nicole Kidman is perfect, as she’s equally as dramatic and motherly.
Jack Horner - Daniel Day-Lewis
Though Burt Reynolds gave a magnificent performance as Jack Horner, the celebrated porn director, and was even nominated for an Academy Award for the role, Reynolds is on record for saying that he hates the movie, which is one of the interesting behind the scenes facts about Boogie Nights.
Reynolds and Anderson locked horns every step of the way through production, but somebody who is known to work marvelously well with the director is Daniel Day-Lewis. The two have worked together two times now and just like Horner, Day-Lewis is a silver fox. Day-Lewis might be retired, but he’s come out of retirement once before.
Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler - Tom Holland
He looks extremely young for his age, which has gotten him some of his best roles, and as Eddie is a high school dropout, Holland could pull it off. Not only that, but as Tom Holland and Dirk Diggler himself, Mark Wahlberg, are both starring in the upcoming Uncharted, they’ve been working out together relentlessly, so Holland will undoubtedly have that ripped Dirk Diggler body.