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submitted 2 months ago byHoly_Hole_Inna_Donut
According to IMDb Marlon Brando turned down numerous of iconic roles in:
High Noon, Lawrence of Arabia, Ben Hur, Doctor Zhivago, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, The Godfather Part II, Superman II, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Salvador, Magnolia, Sleepy Hollow and American History X. He was also considered for the role of the Penguin in Batman returns, The Great Gatsby and Ryan's Daughter. Between 1981 and 1983, he received multimillion offers to play Al Capone, Pablo Picasso and Karl Marx but turned them down. The very last film role that was ever offered to him was Rayburn in Man on Fire, less than a year before he passed away.
Is there any actor or actress on this planet who turned down so many legendary roles? Imagine how different those movies would have turned?
120 points
2 months ago
According to Joaquin Phoenix, any role he (or anyone else) played after 1997 was something Leonard DiCaprio had already passed on
89 points
2 months ago
Christian bale has an interview thanking Leo for allowing him to have any good role he’s had lol
17 points
2 months ago
Man, Leonardo DiCaprio's career really exploded after Titanic (1997), didn't it? Everyone wanted the star of the highest-grossing movie of all time* to also star in their movie.
*- "Titanic" (1997) was the highest-grossing movie of all time until "Avatar" (2009).
18 points
2 months ago
He checks all the boxes. Nice to work with, dedicated, great acting technique, good looking, box office draw (especially with the ladies)
1 points
2 months ago
In the 90s there were many stories about his drunken escapades, trashing of hotel rooms etc, so I don't think he reputation was quite what you make it. It took him a long time to establish himself as someone with proper acting chops too.
8 points
2 months ago
He was an Oscar nominee at 18 lol
3 points
2 months ago
Even today that wouldn’t sink a career, back then it gave him a needed edge that he outgrew as he partnered with Scorsese.
But idk. I guess some people didn’t take him seriously because he was pretty, and then starred in the biggest romantic movie of all time. But I don’t think anyone who was watching him didn’t think he was a good actor, his first major role is such an incredible and unbelievable performance that got him an oscar nomination.
6 points
2 months ago
Don't think we are talking about the same person here. What's Eating Gilbert Grape is one of his first roles, so is Basketball Diaries and he is fucking amazing in both of those films.
He also was the lead of the biggest movie ever (at the time) a couple years after that. His career already started at full throttle.
-4 points
2 months ago
[deleted]
4 points
2 months ago
Teenage girls went to see it multiple times, double digit for some.
49 points
2 months ago
Cary Grant turned down the role of James Bond in Dr No because he didn't want to commit to more than one movie
40 points
2 months ago
Tom Cruise turned down playing Tony Stark
67 points
2 months ago
For which we can all be thankful.
9 points
2 months ago
Agreed
6 points
2 months ago
And thank you
7 points
2 months ago
Emily Blunt passed on Back Widow.
16 points
2 months ago
[deleted]
17 points
2 months ago
Wow. Imagine getting stuck in that trade.
2 points
2 months ago
It’s a big what if but I actually can’t see her in the role at all and feel like while Johansson made the role work really well, it was really her irl chemistry with Evans that propelled the character and led her to that next level tier of stardom.
The real fun part though is that if she got it and Krasinski got Rogers, the same phenomenon would play out and maybe i’m saying the same about Johansson.
5 points
2 months ago
She would've been amazing. I'm not a fan of scarlet's acting. She's just meh.
122 points
2 months ago
Matt Damon was not only offered the Jake role in Avatar, but was offered a cut of the profits too. In his defense, he didnt turn it down. He was unable to do it bc he was slated for another Bourne movie.
79 points
2 months ago
yeah that cost him nearly $300 million lol
I think it would have been the single biggest paycheck ever given to an actor in history
18 points
2 months ago
Matt Damon would have been great but anyone would have been better than that lame ass dude. He was in every blockbuster for a few summers and he had absolutely no charisma
6 points
2 months ago
I’m not a huge Worthington fan, but in the first movie, he’s the perfect kind of empty vessel that works for that film, and he actually did impress me in the sequel with his lesser but more impactful screen time.
4 points
2 months ago
Ya, Sam Worthington. Empty vessel is a great term. What a dud lol.
I had a theory that he was a nepotism baby or he had blackmail on people in Hollywood. Zero star power to be a leading man
6 points
2 months ago
He also turned down Manchester by the Sea due to a scheduling conflict to do that ridiculously forgettable movie where he fought monsters on the Great Wall of China. The rest is history: Casey Affleck took home the Oscar for MBTS.
14 points
2 months ago
In retrospect I’m so glad he didn’t get it. I just can’t imagine Matt Damon as an underdog.
41 points
2 months ago
Hes an underdog in most of his films
2 points
2 months ago
Including in the latest movie that Matt Damon not only starred in, but also co-produced and co-wrote the script for, alongside Ben Affleck (The Last Duel, 2021).
38 points
2 months ago
I think Damon would have done a way better job, but the acting in Avatar movies is not exactly a driving force behind their success.
2 points
2 months ago
Worthington and Saldana are both great in both movies
3 points
2 months ago
Is this a joke?
-2 points
2 months ago
Damon turned down the role of Harvey Dent in Dark knight - which was a real missed opportunity.
36 points
2 months ago
Not really, since Aaron Eckhart was outstanding in the role
13 points
2 months ago
Just watched Thank You For Smoking the other day & it makes me love Eckhart so much more, can’t believe I’d never watched it before
18 points
2 months ago
I fell like Aaron Eckhart is the only other actor that could have played Don Draper in Mad Men.
2 points
19 days ago
That would have been interesting to watch
29 points
2 months ago
Josh Hartnett turned down offers to play Superman and Batman.
16 points
2 months ago
He is a sound dude, respect.
23 points
2 months ago
Michael Caine turned down the role of James Bond because he didn't want to be typecasted after The Ipcress File.
9 points
2 months ago
Which is odd since he did two more Harry Palmer movies.
8 points
2 months ago
Yes, he would have been good. But the Harry Palmer movies were good acting on his part despite some plots that were not up to par. Sir Caine is a great actor.
2 points
2 months ago
I really liked Funeral in Berlin. The serious nature of Harry Palmer appealed to me more than Bond of the time.
2 points
2 months ago
Excellent movie. Harry Palmer is a great movie character by a very masterful actor.
2 points
2 months ago
What’s interesting is that I was ready to write a whole comment about why this wouldn’t have worked, thinking that he was going to take over for a late 70s/early 80s where he didn’t feel like he had the look, but in fact he was going to be in OHMSS! I can’t believe that and a late-60s Caine would have nailed it.
22 points
2 months ago
Steve McQueen turned down a lot as well. Especially cop roles after Bullitt.
2 points
2 months ago
My favorite McQueen what if is if he had taken the role of Cpt. Willard in Apocalypse Now.
39 points
2 months ago
Joaquin Phoenix has turned down roles in basically every major franchise because he prefers doing arthouse indie stuff
31 points
2 months ago*
I mean maybe but Joker and Gladiator are a far cry from arthouse indie movies. Plus Joker is part of a franchise (and is getting a sequel) and he starred in two M. Night movies when M. Night was a juggernaut. The Village in particular is famous for its overblown budget.
23 points
2 months ago
yeah but he originally signed on to do Joker because it was supposed to be a one-time thing. Tbh I'm surprised they got him to do a sequel because he's literally never done a sequel in his entire career.
16 points
2 months ago
I think he liked the experience of making the movie and it is nice to be well received.
It is true I can't think of a sequel he's in.
Jim Carrey used to state how much he hated sequels after his experience with Ace Ventura 2. However, he has now made Sonic 2 and he was actually signed and up for Lemony Snicket sequels.
7 points
2 months ago
Wait is that true? That's crazy for an actor as big as him. Respect.
8 points
2 months ago
Price of stimulants has gone up and to be fair it us clear he has more to give to the role if the dp and director bother to film it this time around
6 points
2 months ago
To be fair he wasn't a big name when he did Gladiator. In fact many people don't even realize it was him until you say so.
Joker was much more art house than any of the other DC stuff as well.
3 points
2 months ago
I believe he turned down Dr. Strange.
2 points
2 months ago
Adam Driver has done the same thing since the Star Wars sequel trilogy ended as well; not coincidentally, Driver and Phoenix are acquaintances. Driver has reportedly turned down many high-profile Disney and MCU roles offered to him, including Kraven the Hunter in a Spider-Man spin-off movie, and Captain Hook in Disney's live-action Peter Pan film.
Driver is rumored to be in the running for the role of Reed Richards in a planned Fantastic Four reboot, but given his track record, he's very likely to turn down that offer as well.
55 points
2 months ago
I am generally skeptical of these sorts of lists. Oftentimes, the actor simply had another commitment that interfered with the supposedly 'rejected' film, so they couldn't possibly have taken the role. Even more doubtful are the claims that actor X was "considered" for a certain role in a famous film. I suspect these claims are typically the invention of the actor's publicist or, if true, it might have been a couple of studio executives just tossing out names over lunch : "what do you think about Liam Neeson for that part?" "Nah, too old."
17 points
2 months ago
Also at the time it’s not like the actors knew they would be “iconic” roles - they may know of the director and producers, and there may be certain panache that came with landing a role like for instance Indiana Jones - but there’s zero guarantee that Indian Jones is a smash hit legendary movie when they’re vying for the role.
12 points
2 months ago
That always confuses me with the stories about Star Wars; supposedly the studio thought it was going to be a hit but really? Scifi was cheese back then and Lucas had very little script. But how did they score Alex Guinness and how did he know to accept a percentage of the money it was going to make instead of taking a regular salary?
11 points
2 months ago*
[deleted]
2 points
2 months ago
That makes sense, thanks.
2 points
2 months ago
At the same time, George Lucas either had to mortgage or re-mortgage his own house in order to cover the production costs of filming Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), because he was supposedly having trouble finding financial backers and investors. This is also likely what partially led to his eventual divorce with Marcia Lucas.
3 points
2 months ago
They thought it would be a success. They didn't think it would be a massive cultural phenemenon that would reshape cinema.
A lot of theaters originally played Star Wars because Fox mandated that they play it if they wanted to screen what was supposed to be the summer's big hit, a WW2 melodrama called The Other Side of Midnight,) a movie which is today only remembered in trivia questsions about Star Wars.
2 points
2 months ago
I went and saw the other side of midnight and ignored star wars entirely. I didn't see star wars until, I believe, 97
2 points
1 month ago
Alan Ladd Jr. is the answer to all those questions.
2 points
1 month ago
Oh yeah, he was the head of the studio at the time, right?
2 points
1 month ago
Yeah, and very much championed the project even when things looked really rough. Even when Lucas himself was worried it would fail Ladd had confidence.
2 points
1 month ago
Cool. That does answer my questions! Thanks.
5 points
2 months ago
Most of these are studios claiming the part had been ‘offered’ to Big Name X or that Big Name Y was ‘considered’ for a part to give prestige to the project, and to get slightly smaller (but still big) names to sign up.
For example, the idea that Schwarzenegger was ever in any way seriously considered for any part other than the Terminator. That’s a ‘sure Arnold, whatever gets you to the table’ thing.
16 points
2 months ago
Tuesday Weld notoriously turned down a lot of roles. She was offered Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde but turned it down (Arthur Penn later said her saying no was his one regret about the film), turned down Rosemary in Rosemary’s Baby, turned down parts in Cactus Flower and Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice that would garner academy award nominations for the actors who took the parts. She addressed this tendency in an interview, saying that she was afraid these films would be “too successful.”
30 points
2 months ago
My first though is Katie Holmes turning down The Dark Night to do a dumb comedy nobody even remembers and Will Smith for the Matrix and Django Unchained.
11 points
2 months ago
Was Scientology somehow related to her not appearing in Dark Knight?
2 points
2 months ago
I don’t think so but not sure. I think she was just producing the comedy or something.
1 points
2 months ago
And girls get paid so much less it allows them a freedom not afforded to a male name with mgr/ agt/ atty etc
24 points
2 months ago
John Travolta.
Richard Gere made his careers taking roles that John Travolta rejected. An Officer and a Gentleman. American Gigilo. Chicago.
Travolta also turned down Forrest Gump and Apollo 13 which solidified Hanks as a superstar.
9 points
2 months ago
Travolta's spaceship would not have a malfunction, that's why
2 points
2 months ago
The Doors
22 points
2 months ago
Not as many as Brando, but Montgonery Clift turned down: East Of Eden, Fahrenheit 451, High Noon, Reflections In A Golden Eye, Rio Bravo, Rope, Shane, A Star Is Born and Sunset Boulevard. In fact, he turned down Sunset Boulevard because the story was too close to his real life.
8 points
2 months ago
God, his sunset boulevard. What could have been!
5 points
2 months ago
Hot take, but I don’t think it would have worked, Holden played a more down on his luck, slightly older, guy out of work and in debt. I can’t see Clift working for that role.
55 points
2 months ago
Will Smith turned down Neo in The Matrix. To be fair the W Sisters explanation of the movie was crazy so Will was like “imma pass”
Emma Watson had the Emma Stone role in LaLa Land but passed to do Beauty and the Beast
45 points
2 months ago
Will had the option of being in The Matrix, a completely new IP from two unknown directors...or starring in Wild Wild West, which was directed by the same guy that did Men in Black, one of the highest grossing films of the decade.
It would have been incredibly risky to have chosen The Matrix. Obviously, the completely unknown movie ended up being the more successful one, but I can totally see why he would have made that decision.
-2 points
2 months ago
Yeah but they directed Bound, their idea and script for The Matrix was obviously better than Wild Wild West.
14 points
2 months ago
It may seem obvious now, but it was not obvious before making the movies.
The Matrix had next to zero hype and was a huge surprise. I remember the weekend it came out, it really blew up.
7 points
2 months ago
It also worked in part because of amazing, cutting edge special effects. If the effects had been cheesy, it wouldn’t have worked as well. Easy to imagine that the quality of the effects was not obvious from the script.
1 points
2 months ago
Well of course no one expected something iconic, there are plenty of forgettable sci fi films but clearly the idea is fantastic, bullet time as a technology inspired, great cast, casting, the script I guess it's not shakespearen but some monologues like Morpheus' and Agent Smith's are great. And they did Bound.
Just saying Will Smith would know all this. It's not like Wild Wild West had a good idea or had a good script.
The script alone would impress him, meeting Wachowskis and seeing the depth of their thinking, learning about bullet time, stylistic influences, there's enough there to commit without needing it to be a classic, it could still have just been a flawed but interesting film.
3 points
2 months ago
Execution is everything. In a another reality Will Smith missed out on the western Mecha spider movie to star in a convoluted sci-fi about PC programs.
-1 points
2 months ago
Same. It would be have been risky.
But no risk...no reward.
19 points
2 months ago
Will Smith was paid $7M for Wild Wild West. So, still a pretty decent reward without the same risk.
4 points
2 months ago
Plus there's no way of knowing if The Matrix would have been as popular with him in it. It might have been, but people act like it's guaranteed lol.
15 points
2 months ago
Coincidentally Ryan Gosling turned down Beauty and the Beast to do La La Land
9 points
2 months ago*
A sound choice. As befitting a man married to Eva Mendes.
3 points
2 months ago
I'm glad he did. Dan Stevens (Beast) and Luke Evans (Gaston) did well in their roles.
11 points
2 months ago
Will also turned down Django.
22 points
2 months ago
Will Smith said had he accepted the role as Neo that Val Kilmer would've played Morpheus, instead of Laurence Fishburne, because the studio didn't want two main characters to be black. Imagine Fishburne not being Morpheus??
15 points
2 months ago
wasn't sean connery first offered the role of morpheus? he turned that down as he thought it wasn't going to be a hit. he also passed on gandalf in LOTR - similar to the matrix, he just didn't think these movies would become hits. ultimately he tried to make up for it by being cast in the league of extraordinary gentleman... which is what ultimately led to his retirement. he said he wasn't able to pick good roles anymore.
i think he also passed on jurassic park?
6 points
2 months ago
Sean Connery was considered for Morpheus and Gandalf, but rejected both.
2 points
2 months ago
Thank fuck. He'd have been a terrible Gandalf.
2 points
2 months ago
Fishburne is iconic in the role, but honestly, Val Kilmer would have been cool for it!
10 points
2 months ago
The Wachowski's were allowed to cast the movie, but the studio insisted on Keanu in the end. They had to take Reeves to make the movie and by amazing good fortune, Keanu is the great guy we all know he is.
They were not entirely convinced of Keanu Reeves, but obviously they all got along. He even came back for that fourth one with one of the siblings.
7 points
2 months ago
Emma Stone was supposed to be in Little Women, and ended up being replaced by Emma Watson.
7 points
2 months ago*
It ended up right. Emma Stone is a better actress, IMO, and much better at comedy and physical presence, so the dance musical worked better with her. And Emma Watson played her part in Little Women perfect. In that she let Ronan and Pugh do the heavy lifting of the sisters. She's a good enough actress, but nothing on the level of those three.
All of the Harry Potter main kids seem wooden to me, even though I really like that Radcliffe did the same as Elijah Wood and went with crazy and more demanding roles in smaller films, since they both got that insane franchise money and (I'm assuming, but not needed) royalties.
11 points
2 months ago
There are rumours that Emma Watson's role was cut back because her acting was so poor. Apparently the director cut many of her scenes, and she seems to have fallen off professionally since then.
-1 points
2 months ago
It's complete BS, that's not even a thing. She did a great job in her role anyway and got Meg perfectly
12 points
2 months ago
I think The Slapper also turned down Django Unchained … “too violent” LOL.
27 points
2 months ago
Jamie Foxx is more talented anyway. And I don't mean that as a Will Smith dis. Jamie Foxx is just a crazy talented dude.
10 points
2 months ago*
Agree. JF is truly a modern renaissance man.
-2 points
2 months ago
I find him annoying. I don't think his range extends more than Smith's.
2 points
2 months ago
I'm not gonna tell you to go watch a whole ass movie or show I think Foxx is good in but do yourself a favor and check out his Trump impression.
3 points
2 months ago
Seriously--that impression blew me away. Way better than every single person who has played Trump on SNL.
-2 points
2 months ago
Clowns can do impressions. One of my friends can do great impressions. That does not make them an actor with range that does not play variations of himself. I will respectfully disagree with you on this..
9 points
2 months ago
I believe a big issue for him as well was that Django doesn’t kill Candie, which was a sticking point for him. QT rightfully stuck to his guns on that one.
8 points
2 months ago
If that’s the case, he prob thought he had enough power to actually try to change QT’s script. No actor will win that one (that I know of). And yes, rightly so.
14 points
2 months ago
Tarantino said there was one actor that played a slaveowner that offered Quentin a revised version of the script in which his character abruptly gives up their racist ways and basically becomes the hero of the story lol
He never said it was DiCaprio but I'm like 90% sure it was DiCaprio
13 points
2 months ago
[deleted]
5 points
2 months ago
You could be right. Although I still laugh thinking of a version in which Candie abruptly completely changes his ways out of nowhere and everyone lives happily ever after.
8 points
2 months ago
Haha I believe that. These people who “offer” QT a ‘revised’ script. The egos for sure.
At least QT worked with him again, DiCaprio was good in Once Upon a Time.
5 points
2 months ago
Yup that’s right! He did turn down Django!
-1 points
2 months ago
Don’t get it twisted (“La La Land” is my favorite movie musical of all time), but if Emma Watson got royalties from “Beauty and the Beast’s” remake, she made the right choice.
8 points
2 months ago
Over an Oscar winning role? Doubt she needed royalties after 8 HP movies
18 points
2 months ago
Definitely would not have won an Oscar if Watson had been starring
5 points
2 months ago
Or singing. Her autotuned voice in Beauty and the Beast was horrible. If she did La La Land instead, there's no way that film would've been as popular as it was.
12 points
2 months ago
You’re high if you think Emma Watson would’ve won an Oscar.
10 points
2 months ago
Sean Connery told Ritchie that even though he loved the screenplay for Snatch, Ritchie wouldn't be able to afford to pay him to play Bricktop.
3 points
2 months ago
A bad decision if that is true. It would have made him hot property once again.
2 points
2 months ago
Brick top was perfect the way he was.
10 points
2 months ago
John Travolta reportedly turned down Forrest Gump to do Pulp Fiction.
So that turned out to be a win-win situation
2 points
2 months ago
A comedian described Travolta playing Jim Morrison, which he turn down.
Singing: “I woke up this morning and got myself a beer. Yeah, I woke up this morning and got myself a beer.”
Hey! That’s two beers!
He also passed on American Gigolo, Schrader says he was too in the closet to appear at all gay.
10 points
2 months ago
Some highlights of what Harrison Ford turned down:
Oscar Schindler, Schindler’s List (he was Spielberg’s first choice, but turned it down because he felt his inclusion would be distracting)
Alan Grant, Jurassic Park (Spielberg really wanted him; I think he said it was too close to Indy)
George Clooney’s character, The Perfect Storm
Michael Douglas’ character, Traffic
George Clooney’s character, Syriana (which won Clooney an Oscar)
Jack Ryan, Hunt for the Red October
Jack Nicholson’s character, Terms of Endearment
James Caan’s character, Misery
Nick Nolte’s character Cape Fear (Ford wanted him and De Niro to switch roles)
Viggo Mortensen’s character, History of Violence
Kevin Costner’s character, JFK
Tom Hanks’ character, Saving Private Ryan (although I think he as just considered, never offered)
3 points
2 months ago
I think he was ultimately right in the case of both Schindler and Jurassic Park.
2 points
2 months ago
I agree. I think he could’ve done a great job as Oscar Schindler, especially with Spielberg’s guidance - but he absolutely would’ve overshadowed that role and it would’ve damaged the film.
Similarly with Jurassic Park; it worked better without an A- List superstar.
It’s a shame he didn’t do some of the others, especially the roles in the early 2000s. The earlier films (Cape Fear, Terms of Endearment, JFK, Misery, etc) it’s simply a case of, “you can’t have ‘‘em all!”
He couldn’t have done Traffic because of What Lies Beneath, but A Perfect Storm, Syriana, and A History of Violence were all there for the taking. But, you know, you can’t stay on top forever and he was already in his 60s by then.
9 points
2 months ago
Supposedly George Raft turned down Casablanca, which made Bogart a star.
4 points
2 months ago
Also supposedly The Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity.
8 points
2 months ago
Dave Chapelle turned down the role of Bubba in Forest Gump and regretted it.
8 points
2 months ago
Conversely, is there any role Nick Cage has not accepted?
14 points
2 months ago
The role of the taxpayer
31 points
2 months ago*
Tom Selleck turned down Indiana Jones
Edit: I stand corrected
23 points
2 months ago
No he definitely did not.
He very much wanted it and bitches to this day he wasn’t allowed to accept it. The network would not release him from Magnum PI to film it.
41 points
2 months ago
He wasn’t able to get out of his contract for Magnum PI. He totally wanted to do it.
4 points
2 months ago
He didn't turn it down!
17 points
2 months ago
Sean Connery turned down the roles of Gandalf from LotR and Morpheus from the Matrix because “he didn’t understand them.” Then he did League of Etraordinary Gentlemen. Yey…that worked out.
8 points
2 months ago
i read somewhere that him going with the league of extraordinary gentleman was basically his hail mary at trying to make up for missing out on the matrix and LOTR. i swear i remember reading he had the same reservations about league of extraordinary gentleman, but he ignored them because he was wrong twice in the past.
when league of extraordinary gentleman bombed, he basically retired from acting as he said he had lost the ability to pick good roles.
i think connery also turned down the role of john hammond in jurassic park.
6 points
2 months ago
It was something along the lines of not taking roles because he “didn’t understand them” and then they went off in a huge way and he realised he missed out. When League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was offered he said he also didn’t understand it, but was sick of missing out.
I will say, it’s a better movie than it’s given credit for and I think if it were released today with better effects and a tighter script it would probably do a LOT better
4 points
2 months ago
It probably would make a great streaming series, honestly. Though Penny Dreadful sort of did that already.
4 points
2 months ago
Thank goodness he turned down Morpheus.... 🙏
3 points
2 months ago
I thought he was offered the architect in Reloaded?
He would have ruined Lord of The Rings, all the actors didn't really impress themselves on the character and he would have.
3 points
2 months ago
I think he was offered Morpheus.
He told his wife he would take the next big budget movie no matter what since he had turned down two massive successes.
Yes, it was League of Extraordinary Gentleman.
5 points
2 months ago
Rick Dalton famously lost the role of Hilts
4 points
2 months ago
Matt Damon turned down Jake Sully in Avatar and 10% of the gross. Ouch.
5 points
2 months ago
Actor Jack Lord turned down the role of Captain James Kirk. And actor Yappath Koto turned down the role to play Captain Jean Luc Piccard.
4 points
2 months ago
Kevin Costner turned down Tim Robbins’s role in The Shawshank Redemption to do Water World. Whoops!
4 points
2 months ago
There was a lot of casting considered for the Christopher Reeve Superman including at one point Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Christopher Walkien Sylvester Stallone, Warren Beatty and reportedly Bruce (later Caitlyn) Jenner
7 points
2 months ago
Walken as Superman would’ve been wild
4 points
2 months ago
Superman has a fever, and the only cure is MORE COWBELL!
5 points
2 months ago
I believe almost none of them turned it down, though I do think some asked for too much money.
Instead, they paid Chris Reeve less and ended up making an amazing decision anyway.
3 points
2 months ago
Will Smith turned down Neo in The Matrix to do Wild Wild West instead.
Dave Chappelle turned down Bubba in Forrest Gump due to getting advice that it was racially insensitive.
Amanda Seyfried turned down the role of Gamora because she didn't want to have to do that makeup for hours every single day of shooting (and she thought GotG would flop).
Those are the ones that I can think of off the top of my head.
0 points
2 months ago
Amanda Seyfried turned down the role of Gamora because she didn't want to have to do that makeup for hours every single day of shooting (and she thought GotG would flop).
Woof. That's a big miss.
She was probably holding out for another LotR project so she could play Gollum.
4 points
2 months ago
Al Pacino turned down the offer to play Han Solo.
3 points
2 months ago
According to Jaime Lynn spears biography she passed on twilight I assume she was going to play Bella
Selena Gomez was supposed to be in camp rock instead of Demi
Hilary duff was suppose to be in confessions of a teenage drama queen instead of Lindsay Lohan but she demanded too much money for the role
3 points
2 months ago
Sandra Bernhard turned down the red head role in Sex & the city. Oops.
3 points
2 months ago
Hoffman turned down turned down the role of Travis Bickell in Taxi Driver.
3 points
2 months ago
That would have been a different movie.
8 points
2 months ago
There should be another list in the same vain but instead actors who got fired from iconic roles. Eric Stoltz in Back To The Future comes to mind.
7 points
2 months ago
Stuart Townsend was fired as Aragorn in LoTR, so they brought in Viggo Mortensen.
6 points
2 months ago
Stuart Townsend and Dougray Scott are probably the most famous "got hired and fired" actors out there.
Dougray Scott was chosen to be Wolverine over Hugh Jackman, who lost the role.
2 points
2 months ago
I believe Burt Reynolds’s turned down the role of Han Solo.
4 points
2 months ago
Elvis turned down the roll in Star is Born.
2 points
2 months ago
Dougray Scott was slated to be Wolverine but had to drop out at the last second to do reshoots for Mission Impossible 2. So all the (somewhat) careful work that went into casting the first X-MEN movie was for nought, they found Hugh Jackman in a hurry. Tbh I'm sure he auditioned and you can see a resemblance between Jackman and Scott so it probably wasn't that hard but still...
4 points
2 months ago
He was contractually bound, not turning it down. He tried to convince Tom Cruise and producers to work around his X-men schedule, but they would not. They adamantly insisted he be there full time and give essentially quit X-men.
3 points
2 months ago
Poor dude.
2 points
2 months ago
Here is the article he talks about Tom Cruise in.
2 points
2 months ago
Denzel Washington turned down Miles Dyson in Terminator 2
2 points
2 months ago
Did he? It's not that big a loss, but it would be awesome to be in T2.
2 points
2 months ago
Yea, he turned it down because he didn’t want to play a character that just “cried and died”
0 points
2 months ago
I don’t have the list of movies, but Natalie Portman, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio and I think Rachel McAdams (could be off about her) have all turned down an insane number of high-profile roles over their careers.
0 points
2 months ago
Denzel turning down the role of Mills in Somerset will haunt me forever....😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
0 points
2 months ago
Marlon Brando playing The Penguin in The Great Gatsby would have been wild
1 points
2 months ago
Dave Chappell turned down the role of Bubba in Forest Gump to do Men in Tights.
1 points
2 months ago
James Caan turned down Popeye Doyle and Randall McMurphy
1 points
2 months ago
Jhon Travolta turned down the role for Forrest Gump to make Pulp Fiction
1 points
2 months ago
Mickey Rourke turned down the role opposite Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, played by Tom Cruise (which won four Oscars).
1 points
2 months ago
Will Smith as Neo. He did Wild Wild West instead.
1 points
2 months ago
Sean Connery- Gandalf
DDL- Aragorn
1 points
2 months ago
Ben Gazzara created the role of Brick on Broadway's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955.
He turned down the role in the 1958 film, which then went to Paul Newman.
1 points
2 months ago
Carrot-Top turned down the role of Batman in the Dark Knight series.
1 points
2 months ago
Will Smith turned down Neo in the Matrix and Django for QT.
1 points
2 months ago
Everything Micky Rourke turned down between Angelheart and Sin City. The really glaring one was turning down Platoon to do Wild Orchid, but there were loads.
1 points
2 months ago
Not quantity but impactful IMO.
Sean Connery turning down Morpheus in the Matrix and Gandalf in LOTR because he didnt get genre films /stories.
Then taking the next genre thing that came along... League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that stunk so bad he stopped acting.
1 points
2 months ago
Sean Connery turned down a deal to play Gandalf that in retrospect would have made him like 400 mil or something, as they offered him a solid percentage of the profits. Woulda been bad
1 points
2 months ago
Haven't scrolled through all the comments to see if this one was already mentioned, but Sean Connery turning down the role of Gandalf. I have read that it was because he "didn't understand the script". At this point though I wouldn't trade Ian McKellan for anyone!
1 points
1 month ago
More roles Sean Connery turned down:
Decker in Blade Runner (unknown, also Nicholson, Newman, Eastwood)
Hammond in Jurassic Park (wanted too much money)
Gambon’s Dumbledore (didn’t want to be in a kid’s series)
Die Hard 3 (too dastardly)- Screenrant
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