Editing Dogma (film) (section)

===Casting===

[[Jason Lee (actor)|Jason Lee]] was initially attached to play Loki. When that role went to [[Matt Damon]], due to his onscreen chemistry with Affleck in ''[[Good Will Hunting]]'', Lee received the Azrael role due to scheduling conflicts with filming ''[[Mumford (film)|Mumford]]''. Smith envisioned [[Samuel L. Jackson]] as Rufus, but was convinced to hire [[Chris Rock]] after meeting him. [[Alan Rickman]] was recruited to play Metatron.<ref name="Beginning" /> [[Albert Brooks]] was offered the role of Cardinal Glick, but turned it down.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 June 2011 |title=The Lost Roles of Albert Brooks |url=https://www.vulture.com/2011/06/the-lost-roles-of-albert-brooks.html |website=Vulture}}</ref> [[Emma Thompson]] was originally attached to play God, but had to withdraw when she became pregnant.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tvovermind.com/10-things-didnt-know-movie-dogma/ |title=10 Things You Didn't Know About Dogma |website=TV Overmind |date=March 16, 2018 |access-date=September 22, 2022}}</ref>  Smith — a fan of ''[[The X-Files]]'' — offered the role of Bethany to [[Gillian Anderson]], but "heard back that she really hated it."<ref>{{Cite tweet |last=Smith |first=Kevin |user=ThatKevinSmith |number=183551632200581121 |date=24 March 2012 |title=Via @fukidosan "have Gillian Anderson play a part" I tried to, once: she was offered the lead in DOGMA. Heard back that she really hated it. |access-date=22 September 2022}}</ref>

Critics expressed surprise at the film's eclectic casting, which Smith said was done deliberately to emphasize contrasts between characters — Rickman as the powerful Metatron, for example, opposite Mewes as the hopelessly verbose stoner Jay, "...{{nbsp}}a Shakespearean trained actor of the highest order next to a dude from New Jersey." Smith warned Mewes that he would have to take his acting to a higher level. "I really impressed upon him that he had to be prepared for this movie. 'There are real actors in this one,' we kept telling him."<ref name="movie.com">{{Cite web |title=About the Production |url=http://www.dogma-movie.com/about/productionnf.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991127081316/http://www.dogma-movie.com/about/productionnf.html |archive-date=1999-11-27 |access-date=2015-11-19 |website=Dogma (official site)}}</ref> In response, Mewes memorized not only his own dialogue but the entire screenplay, because he "didn't want to piss off that Rickman dude".<ref>{{cite web |date=March 29, 2006 |title=My Boring-Ass Life |url=http://silentbobspeaks.com/?p=236 |access-date=2009-06-18 |website=silentbobspeaks.com}}</ref>

Other unorthodox casting decisions included George Carlin, who had made his [[atheism]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/top-george-carlin-quotes-on-religion-4072040 |title=Top George Carlin Quotes on Religion |last=Cline |first=Austin |date=May 30, 2018 |website=ThoughtCo |access-date=March 5, 2019}}</ref> a cornerstone of his public image, as a Catholic priest; Mexican actress [[Salma Hayek]] as Serendipity — "the [Muse] who throughout history inspired all the geniuses of art and music, like Mozart and Michelangelo, and never got any of the credit" — and singer-songwriter [[Alanis Morissette]] as God. "There's a Zen Buddhist serenity to Alanis that calls to mind something otherworldly," Smith explained. "She's definitely ethereal in nature, even when not speaking, and she carries an air about her that played into the role."<ref name = "movie.com"/>

It was rumored in the years following the film’s release that Fiorentino and Smith did not get along during the filming. Smith stated that rumors of a falling out between the two had been misconstrued and overstated, and that while the two hadn’t spoken in years, they amicably reconnected following his near fatal heart attack. He attributed the rumors to a careless comment: “ I remember on a commentary track on the DVD — Janeane Garofalo was in the movie and at one point I said it would have better if she played the lead, which was a really shitty and stupid thing to say. Thoughtless, considering that Linda was the lead and Linda did a great job. So it had been years since I had spoken with Linda and I got an email from her. And of course I was thankful to hear from her and it also gave me a chance to say I’m so sorry that I ever said that thing years ago. It gives you a chance to make amends. So that was my favorite one. I heard from so many people, but that one really stood out for me because, if somebody had said, ‘Oh, the movie would have been better if Ben Affleck directed it,’ that would have hurt my feelings. I know it hurt her feelings and really unnecessarily because I always loved her performance in the movie.”<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.thedailybeast.com/kevin-smith-on-surviving-a-heart-attack-its-like-i-got-to-attend-my-own-wake |title=Kevin Smith on Surviving a Heart Attack: 'It's Like I Got to Attend My Own Wake' |first1=Matt|last1=Wilstein|work=The Daily Beast|date=May 9, 2018|access-date=August 1, 2023}}</ref>