Carrie Bradshaw. Don Draper. Michael Scott. Some TV characters are so iconic that it's impossible
to imagine anyone else playing them. But networks have had other ideas… and other actors lined up.
In addition to being a musical icon, Houston also scored a number of high-profile acting gigs
in movies like The Bodyguard and The Preacher's Wife. But there was a moment in the 1980s where
her artistic trajectory would've been dramatically altered. Who would Whitney Houston have been if
she'd taken the offer to star as Sondra, the oldest Huxtable daughter, in The Cosby Show?
Houston wasn't just in contention for the role. She came extremely close to signing
on for part. We can imagine Houston would have had far less time to headline movies or deliver
hit songs if she'd been busy working on one of the most popular sitcoms of the
era. Cosby Show director Jay Sandrich remembers that was actually Houston's
motivation for not signing on the dotted line. As he explained to the Daily Mail,
"She said, 'Well, I want to be a singer. [...] I
can't be in every show [...] I have to be in every tour.'"
"God had given me a gift."
Sabrina Le Beauf would end up taking on the role of Sondra Huxtable while the subsequent success of
Houston's music career proved that her decision to turn down The Cosby Show was the right one.
Nowadays, when people think of Natasha Lyonne and television,
they probably think of her unforgettable performance in the Netflix show Russian
Doll. Or perhaps they think of her work as Nicky Nichols in Orange Is the New
Black. Maybe some even associate her with her childhood role as Opal on Pee-Wee's Playhouse.
While Lyonne has created many memorable TV characters, her resume could've been all the
more impressive if she'd ended up taking on the iconic role of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
"I don't have a destiny. I'm destiny-free, really."
The first mention of Lyonne passing on the opportunity to appear in Buffy came in 2000, her
reason being a desire to focus on smaller-scale projects. Of course, the matter didn't end there.
Since Lyonne never specified what role she turned down, there was wild speculation among the Buffy
fanbase. After more than a decade of guessing, the truth finally came out in 2013. Lyonne made
an offhand comment to Entertainment Weekly about how her mother said she should've done
Buffy before Lyonne made a joke that revealed she'd been offered the title role herself.
While Sarah Michelle Gellar made for a widely beloved vampire slayer,
Lyonne's track record for creating characters you can't turn away from
makes it impossible not to wonder what her incarnation of Buffy would've looked like.
For all seven seasons, FX's The Shield took viewers on some of the darkest stories to ever
grace the airwaves. This brutal show needed an actor to play Vic Mackey who could handle
bleak material without batting an eye. The Shield got just that with Michael Chiklis,
an actor who made viewers both hate and sympathize with a complex,
corrupt cop. But Chiklis wasn't the first pick for the role.
FX originally wanted another actor for the part,
a fact Shield creator Shawn Ryan revealed on Twitter in July 2012, tweeting,
"FX wanted Eric Stoltz to play Vic Mackey. Made him an offer, almost took it."
No further details have surfaced on why Stoltz turned the show down. This makes
Vic Mackey the second iconic role to slip through Stoltz's fingers after losing out
on the role of Marty McFly in the first Back to the Future movie. But this time,
Stoltz intentionally turned down the part. Considering how critical Chiklis would
end up being to making The Shield work, Stoltz's pass was ultimately a blessing.
Ray Liotta's greatest film role was Henry Hill,
the gangster protagonist of Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. Liotta played plenty of tough guys
and mobsters over the years in movies ranging from Wild Hogs to Killing Them
Softly. He had another chance to explore the territory when he was offered a part
on HBO's The Sopranos. Today considered one of the greatest TV series ever made,
it would've seemed like a no-brainer for Liotta to join the Sopranos universe, especially since
the show already made use of so many Goodfellas actors like Michael Imperioli and Lorraine Bracco.
But Liotta turned down a chance to be a part of this beloved TV program. This
wasn't due to concerns over typecasting but rather worries about the time that
would have been required. In 2001, Liotta commented that,
"It was for a two-year commitment, and I didn't really want to give up that time now."
"I never really watched it."
"You didn't watch The Sopranos?" "Shhh."
While he opted not to be a part of the Sopranos TV show,
that didn't mean Liotta was locked out of the franchise forever. As it turned out,
Liotta was cast in the Sopranos prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark,
bringing this icon of the modern gangster genre into the Sopranos franchise at long last.
Between Ed O'Neill, Ty Burrell, and Julie Bowen, Modern Family's lead actors had plenty
of experience headlining network TV comedies. However, another veteran of this domain almost
made it into the show's cast. Former Coach star Craig T. Nelson was offered the role of Jay,
ultimately played by O'Neill. But he refused the role in no uncertain terms.
Considering what a massive hit Modern Family turned out to be,
it sounds ludicrous to have turned down such a big job. But speaking to Access Hollywood,
Nelson said that, while he liked the script, it came down to the size of the paycheck, saying,
"I just felt disrespected to tell you the truth."
"You have got to be kidding me."
O'Neill would play Jay for over a decade. Meanwhile,
Nelson would find himself another sizable role on NBC's Parenthood.
The chemistry between its four leading ladies was crucial to making Sex and the City a phenomenon.
However, there almost was an entirely different dynamic between the cast members of this show,
given that Dana Delany was nearly cast in Sarah Jessica Parker's role of Carrie Bradshaw.
Delany has opened up about her decision in recent years. At the time,
she was concerned about being typecast. In an interview with Irish Central, she said,
"I had done a movie called Live Nude Girls with Kim Cattrall that was somewhat similar.
It was women sitting around talking about sex. [Sex and the City creator] Darren Star
was a friend of mine [...] and he asked if I'd be in it. [...] I just said to Darren,
'I cannot do a show with sex in the title. People will lynch me if I do one more thing about sex.'"
Delany's decision made way for the eventual rapport between the four leads of Sex and the
City to flourish. Plus, we've got to think that Parker is pretty appreciative of Delany's pass.
No matter how many Oscar nominations he racks up or dramas he appears in,
Steve Carell will always be Michael Scott.
"We'll put down our weaponry on the count of three."
He goes as perfectly with the role as Jim does with Pam. But initially,
Carell wasn't set to play the part. Back when the American version of The Office was first
getting off the ground, a number of other actors were in the mix for the character.
Everybody from Philip Seymour Hoffman to Bob Odenkirk were considered for the part.
Among those actors in contention to play Michael Scott was Paul Giamatti. In fact,
the star of Sideways was outright offered the role of the Dunder Mifflin boss.
"Only someone who really takes the time to understand pinot's potential
can then coax it into its fullest expression."
Reportedly, this was due to Giamatti's hesitation about working in television.
In fact, Giamatti appeared almost exclusively in movies in the 2000s.
One exception to this was the prestige HBO miniseries John
Adams. But that project required only a seven-episode commitment,
whereas each season of The Office ran for between 22 and 24 episodes. It all worked out.
Giamatti's refusal paved the way for Carrell to create his most iconic character to date.
It's hard to imagine Mad Men without its individual cast members. Elisabeth Moss,
Christina Hendricks, John Slattery — none of them are dispensable. Each performer
brought something unique and critical to the ensemble in their performances. In the process,
this cast of actors all coalesced to help make Mad Men one of the
most acclaimed dramas of all-time. This is especially true of the show's leading man,
Jon Hamm, who was essential in making protagonist Don Draper so compelling.
"'Eat life by the bowlful.' Little kid. Big bowl. Big spoon."
Hamm is tied so directly to Draper that it's hard to imagine another actor playing him. Originally,
though, the producers of Mad Men were eyeballing not Hamm
but a veteran of 2000s genre movies for the role.
"Let's take it a little slower. I don't want to wake up pregnant."
In October 2011, Hamm revealed to Entertainment Weekly that The Punisher and The Mist leading man,
Thomas Jane, was the first actor approached to play Draper, recalling,
"I think they went to Thomas Jane for it,
and they were told that Thomas Jane does not do television."
While a disdain for small-screen work kept Jane from headlining Mad Men, it wasn't a rule he would
adhere to for his entire career. At the time of the interview, Jane had just signed on to star
in HBO's Hung, indicating that he'd gotten over his trepidation as the years went on.
Lost is a show famous for its twists and turns, including ones that make about as
much sense as a polar bear showing up on a tropical island. Perhaps more shocking than
anything that happened in the show, though, is that the character of Jack wasn't always
meant for Matthew Fox. In fact, the first pick for the role was actor Michael Keaton,
who was initially excited to be a part of the Lost universe. Keaton originally signed on to the role
because Jack was supposed to die at the end of the pilot episode. Intrigued by a show killing
off what seemed to be its lead character at the end of a pilot, Keaton hopped on board.
As the series developed, producers decided that killing off Jack was no longer in the
best interest of the show. With Jack set to be a regular for the entire program,
well, in the words of Keaton himself,
"That didn't interest me."
Keaton left, and Fox went down in Lost history.
Sam Elliot helped kick off the broader universe of Yellowstone spin-offs by playing the character
Shea Brennan in the Paramount+ program 1883. This critical role made Elliot the face of the first of
several extensions of the expansive Yellowstone universe. Despite Elliot being such a prominent
figure in the saga's mythos now, though, he once shot down an opportunity to appear in Yellowstone.
Originally, Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan reached out to Elliot about the possibility of
appearing on the show. For undisclosed reasons, Elliot passed but the two western fans kept in
touch. As time went on, Elliot became more and more impressed with just how much Sheridan was
juggling as an artist. Eventually, the opportunity for Elliot to play one of the lead roles in 1883
came up, and that's when he leapt at the chance to join the Yellowstone universe, at last.
In his career as an actor, Paddy Considine has largely acted in films and TV shows that
are incredibly grounded, with minimal forays into the highly stylized. He hasn't entirely eschewed
genre fare, as seen by his notable presence in projects like The World's End or The Outsider.
But more often than not, he's quite comfortable acting in productions that are all about normal
human beings navigating everyday scenarios, like Pride, rather than resurrected dinosaurs.
But that norm was upended when Considine took on the role of King Viserys in House of the Dragon,
a series packed with dragons and other trappings of fantasy storytelling.
Considine wasn't always so open to working with the world established by George R.R. Martin,
though. He was actually approached years ago to be in the original Game of Thrones,
though he never seriously considered it. The actor recalled to The Sunday
Times that he was sent the script for Game of Thrones, but, upon seeing that
it was a fantasy program, dismissed it so quickly that he never even read it.
"What will they say of me when the histories are written?"
Of course, Game of Thrones went on to become a pop culture phenomenon. And,
on second thought, Considine didn't hesitate to sign up when the chance
to headline House of the Dragon came around.
With acting credits that date back to the 1960s, it's an understatement to say
that Brian Cox has been a tremendously notable actor for decades. Of course,
even with such a stellar reputation, Cox still rose to a new level of fame and award-season
recognition when he took on the role of devious Logan Roy on HBO's Succession.
"Nothing is a line. Everything everywhere is always moving forever. Get used to it."
But Cox very nearly showed up on HBO long before Succession kicked off.
Cox revealed in his memoir Putting the Rabbit in the Hat that he turned down the role of Robert
Baratheon in Season 1 of Game of Thrones. His reasoning for saying no was twofold:
the pay was low and the character was set to be killed off quickly. It seems to have been a
wise choice, considering the multiple seasons and accolades his run on Succession have brought him.
Lil Nas X has already done a lot in his music career after breaking out
with the 2019 global hit "Old Town Road." The artist's ambitions extend far beyond music,
however. Lil Nas X has shared his aspirations of being an actor, looking to the likes of Lady
Gaga as a blueprint for a singer moving into the acting world. Lil Nas X revealed
that he'd already had one brush with the small screen: a role in the second season of Euphoria.
It's easy to see why the rapper would be attracted to a project like Euphoria. Both
he and the HBO series are well-known for pushing boundaries, and, more importantly,
there's an emotional rawness to Lil Nas X that seems tailor-made for the Euphoria universe. A
tune like "Sun Goes Down," an unflinching portrait of coming to terms with one's queerness while
experiencing the slings and arrows of adolescence, is a fitting expression of the show's willingness
to tackle hard issues relevant to teenagers. However, Lil Nas X passed on the opportunity
to appear in Euphoria due to his desire to focus solely on his album Montero, at the time. All is
not lost, however. Lil Nas X has expressed interest in appearing in the third season.
The Sopranos is an iconic show for countless reasons, but one of its
greatest assets is its impeccable casting. Not only are the lead actors of the show,
like Edie Falco and James Gandolfini, perfectly placed, but even the show's briefest cameos are
interesting. Look at Michael K. Williams, for instance, who showed up in Season 3 and
demonstrated the kind of acting chops he'd get to regularly employ later on in The Wire. The
list of impressive guest stars on this show almost included a very unexpected face in the
form of Chris Rock, though the comedian turned down multiple offers to appear on The Sopranos.
Saying no to a role in a show that big may sound like lunacy,
but Rock had a very specific reason for his response. He confessed in a Hollywood Reporter
panel that he was worried about spoiling a show he was deeply passionate about.
"Please lower your expectations. It's not gonna be that good."
One can't help but wonder what roles Rock was offered, and what he would have done with them.
The Walking Dead wasn't just another gig for Jon Bernthal. It was a turning point in his career,
one that put him on more people's radars than ever before. Since his time on that show,
Bernthal's been able to parlay his work as Shane on The Walking Dead into roles ranging
from Marvel's The Punisher to parts in movies directed by filmmakers like Martin Scorsese,
James Mangold, and Steve McQueen. However, his career could've taken a wildly different
path if Bernthal had ended up headlining a CBS procedural rather than the zombie apocalypse.
Bernthal turned down a chance to be on NCIS: Los Angeles as one of its series regulars just
so he could audition for The Walking Dead. Bernthal claims that he didn't have something
against that NCIS spin-off per se, it's just that he was so committed to being on the AMC
series that he didn't want another project to take up his time and energy. In hindsight,
the lengthy time commitment of shooting a show like NCIS: Los Angeles, which produces seasons
that typically run for over 20 episodes each, could've also prevented Bernthal from taking on
all the exciting roles he secured after his beloved stint on The Walking Dead.