Major Roles Rejected by Famous Actors
Mel Gibson – ‘Gladiator’
Playing the unhinged Detective Riggs in Lethal Weapon, we should have seen the potential for a public meltdown that awaited us when Mel Gibson was ostracized from Hollywood after antisemitic and racist rants were made public. But before all that happened, Gibson was a top-billing Hollywood star, which is why we aren’t surprised he was offered the lead in Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning drama Gladiator. Gibson was just in his early 40s at the time, but reportedly turned it down thinking he was too old for the battle sequences. The film won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor. Would Gibson have won?
Molly Ringwald – ‘Pretty Woman’
Molly Ringwald was quickly becoming America’s sweetheart in the late 1980s thanks to her iconic roles in a series of John Hughes films, but the actress didn’t seem long for the limelight of Hollywood and moved to France and eventually into obscurity. Julia Roberts became our Pretty Woman and earned an Oscar nomination and a massively successful Hollywood career to boot.
Tom Hanks – ‘Jerry Maguire’
In 1996, Tom Cruise was already a bankable film star, but one of his most memorable roles was almost never meant to be. Jerry Maguire writer and director Cameron Crowe has said that he wrote the role with Tom Hanks in mind, but Hanks was busy with his first directorial role on That Thing You Do and couldn’t fit the role into his schedule. Nobody seems too upset that Hanks couldn’t take the role, even Hanks himself. Hanks told Access Hollywood, “I think you look at it now and it couldn’t have been anybody other than Tom Cruise. It’s the way the movie’s operated. I don’t think anybody would look at that now and say, ‘That movie was not perfect.’”
Julia Roberts – ‘The Blind Side’
Molly Ringwald’s loss was Julia Roberts’ gain for Pretty Woman, but Roberts’ loss was Sandra Bullock’s gain when the former turned down the role of Leigh Anne Touhy in The Blind Side. Bullock went on to win her first and only Oscar (so far) for the role. The Blind Side wasn’t Roberts’ only big acting regret: She also reportedly turned down the lead female role in Sleepless in Seattle.
Thomas Jane – ‘Mad Men’
Jon Hamm’s star-making turn as Don Draper in AMC’s Mad Men is another one of those characters where it’s difficult to picture anybody else in the role, but Hamm wasn’t anywhere on the casting director’s radar in preproduction. They reportedly wanted Thomas Jane, who at the time was coming off some recent buzz with The Punisher and The Mist. Hamm told Marc Maron on a WTF podcast, “The casting directors didn’t know who I was. I wasn’t on anybody’s lists. The funny thing was, I think they went to Thomas Jane for it, and they were told that Thomas Jane does not do television. Now starring in [HBO’s] Hung, by the way.”
Paul Giamatti – ‘The Office’
It almost seems blasphemous to picture anybody else as NBC’s most dysfunctional and beloved boss Michael Scott in The Office, but that’s almost what we got as producers on the show were eyeing Sideways’ Paul Giamatti fresh off his critically acclaimed role. Giamatti’s fine talents probably would have done well thanks to the incredible scripts, but Steve Carrell was born for that role.
Tom Cruise – ‘Footloose’
Years before Tom Cruise nearly missed an iconic role in Jerry Maguire, he almost stole one from another young actor. In 1983, Cruise had just wowed audiences in Risky Business, and producers on the upcoming Footloose were eyeing the young heartthrob (think the underwear dance scene). But Cruise’s busy schedule filming All the Right Moves and Legend meant he couldn’t sign on. Up-and-comer Kevin Bacon was happy to put his foot in the door for this one. And we’re happy he did so since the “Kevin Bacon Game” was officially born.
John Travolta – ‘Forrest Gump’
Oh, good god no! We just can’t see this and we’re eternally happy that Travolta was busy with his work on Pulp Fiction to ever make this a reality. Forrest Gump is a national treasure, … a three hours and change national treasure that we adore.
Michelle Pfeiffer – ‘The Silence of the Lambs’
Michelle Pfeiffer was one of the biggest leading ladies in Hollywood in the early ’90s and was highly coveted for several roles. Pfeiffer was offered the female lead in the film adaptation for The Silence of the Lambs, but reportedly turned it down after feeling the subject matter of the film too gruesome. (What, a guy who tortures women and cuts off part of their skin!?) Since Silence of the Lambs went on to become just one of three films to win the “Big 5” Academy Awards (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay), we can’t think of any good reason why we’d like to see Pfeiffer in the role. But this wasn’t the only huge role Pfeiffer turned down, as the next year she eschewed the female lead in Basic Instinct, not wanting to reveal so much skin.
Johnny Depp – ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’
The coming-of-age masterpiece from John Hughes is one of those films that somehow never seems to get old, but the cute-as-a-button Matthew Broderick was almost never involved at all. Johnny Depp was initially offered the role. He couldn’t accept due to scheduling conflicts. We know now Depp’s ability to bring a quirkiness to his characters. Would that have helped or hurt the film? We’ll never know for sure. Chika-chik-a!
Denzel Washington – ‘Se7en’
How good was Brad Pitt in his role as Detective David Mills in Se7en? It turned out to be one of the actor’s first big breakout hits. But the film could have looked much different if Denzel Washington had not turned down the role, saying he thought the subject matter too dark (not going to argue with that; the gluttony victim image is still seared into my brain). Washington says he had one other big regret — turning down the lead in Michael Clayton. “With Clayton, it was the best material I had read in a long time, but I was nervous about a first-time director, and I was wrong. It happens.”
Jack Nicholson – ‘The Godfather’
What could have been? The Godfather is one of the best – if not the best – movies ever made. The film helped launch the career of Al Pacino, not too mention featuring Marlon Brando in his absolute prime. But what if a young rabble-rouser by the name of Jack Nicholson had taken the part of Michael Corleone? Nicholson was coming off his own star-making role in Easy Rider, and if the future could give us any indication of Nicholson’s take on organized crime (The Departed), it’s likely Nicholson would have fit The Godfather role like a finely tailored Italian suit.
Hugh Jackman – James Bond
Jackman has admitted that he turned down the role of British secret agent extradonaire James Bond, saying he thought the role might limit future opportunities. “I thought it would box me in too much. My natural instinct is to keep as many doors open as possible,” Jackman told The Hollywood Reporter in 2013.
Nicolas Cage – ‘The Wrestler’
We all love Nicolas Cage, mostly for the facial expressions that have given us endless memes, but Cage nearly had a shot at a comeback role in 2008’s The Wrestler.
Director Darren Aronofsky originally wanted Mickey Rourke to play the lead, but Rourke was considered “box office poison at the time,” as the BBC puts it. So, Fox Searchlight offered the role to Cage and he accepted! However, Cage began to research the role and knew the wrestler was a former steroid abuser and realized he’d never be able to achieve the physique needed unless he used steroids. Cage resigned and Rourke was offered the part anyway. Rourke received an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for the role. Cage has gone on to star in such box office drivel as Bangkok Dangerous, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and Drive Angry. Queue the Nic Cage meme.
Emma Watson – ‘La La Land’
The beloved modern musical La La Land reunited the picture-perfect pair of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, who had incredible chemistry in the comedy romp Crazy, Stupid, Love. The reunion was almost not to be though.
According to La La Land director Damien Chazelle, Miles Teller was in talks for Gosling’s role, and Emma Watson was originally attached to Stone’s role, but Watson’s busy Beauty and the Beast schedule forced her to back out.
Sean Connery – ‘The Lord of the Rings’
The Lord of the Rings film series is one of the most acclaimed trilogies in history, becoming a box office balrog behemoth and garnering numerous awards and nominations, including Ian McKellen for his role as Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring.
But the role almost had a different look (and accent). Sean Connery was offered the role, but reportedly turned it down because “he never understood it.” In Connery’s case, YOU SHALL PASS … on this film role.
Mark Wahlberg – ‘Brokeback Mountain’
Brokeback Mountain is the breakthrough 2005 film of two cowboys carrying on a secretive, forbidden love affair. Performances by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger earned them each Oscar nominations, but the on-screen couple almost had a funkier look.
Mark Wahlberg was originally sought for the role and read the script. Wahlberg said that he was a “little creeped out,” and that it was “very graphic, descriptive.” Umm, alright Marky Mark, chill. It’s just a movie.
Marilyn Monroe – ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’
When Truman Capote released his acclaimed novella, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, it didn’t take long for movie studios to swoop in and option the story for a film. Audrey Hepburn eventually landed the lead role of Holly Golightly, but author Capote had another icon in mind.
Marilyn Monroe was originally attached to the film, but Monroe decided to turn down the role because her agents warned her that playing Golightly could be bad for her image off screen.
Al Pacino – ‘Star Wars’
When you try to picture the legendary Han Solo as any other actor, there’s just nobody else who fits into that role as seamlessly as Harrison Ford. It was almost never meant to be though.
In a 2013 Q&A with Al Pacino, the acclaimed actor revealed that the Han Solo role was essentially handed to him on a silver platter, but that Pacino “didn’t understand the script” and decided to turn it down. In the same discussion, Pacino revealed he turned down roles in Apocalypse Now (Marlon Brando) and Pretty Woman (Richard Gere).
Tom Selleck – ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’
Harrison Ford narrowly missed out on playing Han Solo, and his other iconic character almost went to another, as well.
When Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were putting the pieces in place for their adventurer-archaeologist Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg wanted Ford but Lucas demurred from casting him for another film franchise. Eighties heartthrob Tom Selleck was sought, but due to contractual restrictions on Magnum P.I., Selleck couldn’t accept the role, and Ford was chosen anyway.
Christina Applegate – ‘Legally Blonde’
Having played a dimwitted blonde in TV show Married… with Children, Christina Applegate seemed an obvious fit to star in 2001’s Legally Blonde, which is why movie bosses pursued her for the role. But Applegate said she became “scared of repeating myself” and passed. Witherspoon landed the role and earned a Golden Globe nod. Applegate would have another shot at a strong female blonde taking the lead in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy a few years later.
Leonardo DiCaprio – ‘Boogie Nights’
If you think Leonardo DiCaprio is a heartthrob now, imagine if he had played the prosthetically-enhanced porn star Dirk Diggler?
The story goes that director Paul Thomas Anderson wanted DiCaprio for the lead role after seeing the actor in The Basketball Diaries, but DiCaprio was already attached to Titanic. When asked if he would reverse his decision and star in Boogie Nights instead, DiCaprio said, “I’m not saying I would have. But it would have been a different direction, career-wise. I think they’re both great and wish I could have done them both.” It was DiCaprio who recommended his Diaries co-star Mark Wahlberg for the role.
Harrison Ford – ‘Jurassic Park’
Harrison Ford is back in another “what could have been” movie moment. Ford and director Steven Spielberg have a long film history together, and another classic role almost went Ford’s way.
During a 30th anniversary screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ford quipped that Spielberg must have not thought too highly of his acting, claiming the director “only hires me for Indian Jones.” However, Spielberg was quick to get the facts straight.
“You know who I offered Jurassic Park to? This guy. Alan Grant, Jurassic Park, right here,” said the director pointing to Ford.
Ford was quick to change the subject as the audience laughed.
Josh Hartnett – ‘Superman Returns’
Warner Bros. and DC Comics have struggled to launch a formidable box office threat to Marvel Studios’ Avengers franchise, and were actually ahead of the curve when they attempted to reboot Superman in 2006. There was much speculation as to whom WB would cast to take the mantle from the iconic Christopher Reeve, and the studio landed on unknown actor Brandon Routh, a spitting image of Reeve. Routh’s performance was widely criticized, but the movie suffered from a myriad of issues that no matter how good, no actor could have saved it.
One of the actors originally sought was the up-and-coming Josh Hartnett, who had exploded onto the Hollywood scene, but Hartnett has said he feared the role might “define” him to closely. “I didn’t want to be labeled as Superman for the rest of my career. I was maybe 22, but I saw the danger.” He made the right move.
Nicolas Cage – ‘Spider-Man’
Sony’s 2002 box office juggernaut Spider-Man can be largely credited with kickstarting the age of superheroes on the big screen. With an all-star cast, the film swung into theaters to adoring filmgoers on its way to record-breaking returns. But one of those characters almost had a very different look.
Willem Dafoe’s villainous turn as the Green Goblin almost had Nicolas Cage behind the mask. Cage has said he had to turn the role down, likely because he had a busy schedule at the time. Cage starred in and was nominated for Adaptation the same year Spider-Man hit theaters.
Will Smith – ‘The Matrix’
We’re just going to chalk this one up to “Thank god.” We love Will Smith, but nobody could have played the emotionally devoid Mr. Anderson like the expression-less Keanu Reeves. We feel like Smith would not have been a good fit in this role, although he would have been able to star alongside his wife for the sequels!
Leonardo DiCaprio – ‘American Psycho’
Christian Bale is known to bring an intensity to his roles and go to extreme measures when playing a character. It was only fitting that he’d play a character who resorted to truly extreme sadomasochism. But the role of Patrick Bateman had numerous big names attached before Bale was finally given the role. First Johnny Depp, then Brad Pitt, and finally Edward Norton all were tapped. Lionsgate Films then publicly announced Leonardo DiCaprio was set to play the role, before DiCaprio backed out so as not to dishearten his enormous Titanic fanbase (“I’ll never let go, Jack.” Jack whacks her with an ax. …). And finally, Ewan McGregor was offered the role but declined. Phew.
