Re-casting 5 classic TV series with Bruce Campbell

Bruce Campbell – MASH – Courtesy of Getty Images

5. M*A*S*H* – Hawkeye Pierce

Before anyone says it, yes, Alan Alda was perfect in the role. No one else could play the wisecracking doc in this series about the Korean War any better than him. I tend to agree with that sentiment.

However, Bruce Campbell has the perfect demeanor and delivery to have given Alda a run for his money. Now, obviously, I am imagining 1990’s or early 2000’s Campbell in the role of Hawkeye Pierce. What made Alan’s portrayal of this iconic character so special is that he was able to rattle off one-liners with the speed of Groucho Marx.

It is that classic movie sensibility that he possesses that Bruce also does. For anyone that has seen the Super 8 shorts of Sam Raimi and Josh Becker featuring the actor, The Hudsucker Proxy, McHale’s Navy or Crimewave knows that he is capable of that distinct rhythmic way of saying dialogue that actors from the 1930’s and 1940’s possessed.

Think Cary Grant in his screwball comedies like Bringing Up Baby and The Awful Truth and you have the right idea. Bruce could also dial it back like Alda when a scene would turn serious. Hawkeye Pierce would embody the best of both worlds, drama and comedy. It would be great fun to imagine Campbell tormenting Margaret Houlihan or Frank Burns.