Why is Dawson playing Diplo? And other curious casting choices

And more importantly, why is the character of Diplo - one of the most influential men in dance music - being played by former Dawson’s Creek heartthrob James Van Der Beek?

Remember him? The blond-haired, blue-eyed boy whose posters once graced the walls of teens around the globe?

Viceland’s new mockumentary, and first fully scripted series, What Would Diplo Do?, follows the life of a fictional Diplo who picks fights with fellow DJ Calvin Harris and imagines himself in ninja sword fights.

"This show isn't a reflection of myself," Diplo told Rolling Stone. "It's more of a reflection of my Twitter persona, which was always a joke… this is a sort of social commentary on the social media and the EDM age.”

A new Twitter account has been created to bring the Diplo character we meet on screen to life, and it’s been tweeting out a few gems:

There is a reason why Dawson, sorry James has been cast in the role - he impressed when playing Diplo in a  promotional tour video for the DJ. Yes that really happened as well.

Still confused with this casting decision? Here are five others which have prompted furrowed brows from TV and movie fans.

Elijah Wood, Green Street

It’s hard to imagine the next chapter of Frodo Baggins’ mystical quest through Middle Earth involving him taking on a gang of football hooligans.

The decision to cast Elijah Wood as a disgraced Harvard student who moves to London - and discovers that his in-laws are members of West Ham's football hooligan firm - puzzled Lord of the Rings fans.

The film was released in 2005, only two years after the final instalment in Tolkien's epic trilogy, leaving audiences confused by Elijah’s decision to take on a role so far removed from his furry-footed alter ego.

Ashton Kutcher, Jobs

The fact that you probably haven’t even heard of this movie says it all. In 2013, Ashton Kutcher played Steve Jobs in a biopic of the Apple co-founder’s life. Yes, really.

Though the actor does bear a striking similarity to the young Jobs, the decision to cast him was universally mocked. Up to this point, Ashton’s career had largely consisted of playing hunky dorks in rom coms and popular US sitcoms like Two And A Half Men. The movie ultimately flopped but critics judged Ashton’s performance surprisingly kindly.

Moving swiftly from one That ‘70s Show actor to the next...

Topher Grace, Spider-Man 3

Fans of the retro comedy series were taken aback by the decision to cast Topher, who stars as goofy good guy Eric Forman, as Spider-Man 3’s main villain Venom.

Vince Vaughan, Psycho

Vince is often typecast as a loveable rogue. So, it’s hard to believe that the team behind the 1998 remake of Hitchcock’s psychological thriller classic chose him to play one of cinema’s creepiest characters, Norman Bates.

Vince’s move to the dark side didn’t help the film’s fortunes much - it scored a lowly 4.6/10 on IMDB and 37% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Joseph Fiennes, Michael Jackson in Urban Myths

Last year, Sky Arts announced plans to release a new comedy series, Urban Myths, with each episode recreating a different rumoured story involving celebrities. The Elizabeth, Michael & Marlon episode was set to explore the alleged car journey that Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson and Marlon Brando shared in the aftermath of 9/11.

The casting of Shakespeare In Love star Joseph Fiennes as the King of Pop was met with criticism from the off, with some commentators suggesting it was an example of whitewashing (a Hollywood trend in which white actors are given roles that could have been more appropriately filled by actors of colour).

When the trailer for the episode was finally released earlier this year, jaws dropped across the globe. 

The late superstar’s daughter Paris tweeted her concerns at the time, describing herself as “incredibly offended”.  

Sky Arts eventually decided not to air the episode, publishing a series of tweets explaining their decision.