Casting is one of the most important aspects of making a film.
If the director doesn’t find just the right actor for each part, the whole project could
be derailed before it even hits theaters.
And throughout the process, filmmakers will sometimes go through a number of actors before
settling on the final choice – dodging a few bullets in the process.
Here are Screen Rant’s 10 terrible movie castings that Could Have happened.
The Lord of the Rings
One of the highlights of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was Ian McKellen’s
performance as the friendly but powerful wizard Gandalf.
Actor and character are so inseparable, it’s hard to envision anyone else in the role,
but Jackson originally wanted Sean Connery to whisk Frodo away on his journey to Mordor.
Nothing against Connery’s ability as an actor, but his talents as a suave gentleman
spy don’t seem the proper fit for the part.
Not only that, Connery claimed he didn’t understand the script, so fantasy fans everywhere
were better off.
The Matrix
Keanu Reeves may seem a long shot for an avalanche of Oscars, but he’s solid gold in an action
role.
No part was more suited to his style than Neo, ‘The One’ able to unite mankind against
The Matrix.
The Wachowskis first offered the part to Will Smith, but the Fresh Prince turned it down,
unconvinced by their pitch of a Machine-ruled future.
After seeing the film, Smith admitted he wouldn’t have been as good as Reeves, so it’s for
the best he turned it down.
Donnie Darko
A young Jake Gyllenhaal turned heads with his impressive turn as the title star of the
moody Donnie Darko, but he wasn’t the first choice.
That honor goes to Vince Vaughn, who was coming off the success of Jon Favreau’s debut,
Swingers.
When offered the role, Vaughn had the common sense to turn it down.
Even if he proved he can handle dramatic roles, his age would have been a massive problem.
We doubt many moviegoers would be able to buy the 30-year old Vaughn as a high school
student.
Star Wars
Han Solo is defined by his roguish charm, and the personality fit actor Harrison Ford
like a glove, which is why the character became one of the most iconic in the Star Wars saga.
But George Lucas was initially reluctant to cast Ford in the role and tested several others
during pre-production.
One of the actors was none other than Christopher Walken.
Everyone loves the charismatic Walken, who is absolutely an awards-worthy talent, but
it’s hard to picture him as a Corellian smuggler.
Walken’s known for playing odd people who are “out there,” so it’s hard to believe
the original movie’s tone would have survived with him in the cast.
The Terminator
There’s no doubt about it: Arnold Schwarzenegger was born to play The Terminator.
He had the physique and the demeanor to convincingly play a killer cyborg, but early on, director
James Cameron had another actor in mind.
His infamous top choice was football star turned screen actor O.J.
Simpson, but producers rejected the idea, saying the charismatic Simpson was too likable
to portray a killer.
Fate had a rather ironic way of proving them wrong, but Arnold was still the right choice,
launching one of the greatest action careers in movie history.
American Psycho
In one of his breakout roles as a grown-up movie star, Christian Bale illustrated his
mesmerizing ability to lose himself in a role by playing the chilling Patrick Bateman in
American Psycho.
Originally, Leonardo DiCaprio was going to be the one talking about Huey Lewis and the
News, hot off the blockbuster Titanic.
Lionsgate wanted the heartthrob for the lead, but DiCaprio backed out to make The Beach
instead.
It’s probably for the best this didn’t pan out.
Though Leo has played a wide range of interesting characters, at the time he still had a boyish
look – hard to take seriously as a psychopathic New York yuppie.
The Shining
Jack Torrance is one of Jack Nicholson’s most famous roles, but he wasn’t Stanley
Kubrick’s first choice to head to the Overlook Hotel.
He initially considered Robin Williams for the part, but changed his mind after seeing
the actor’s famous turn on the TV show Mork and Mindy.
Apparently, the show convinced Kubrick that Williams was “too psychotic” for Torrance
and he went in a different direction.
Williams eventually turned in some incredible dramatic roles, but at the height of his comedy
success, it may have been jarring for viewers to see the zany funnyman chase his wife with
an axe.
Dirty Harry
With his trademark scowl and growl, few actors have put a stamp on a character like Clint
Eastwood did with “Dirty” Harry Callahan.
But what if Frank Sinatra was the one asking punks if they felt lucky?
The legendary crooner was Warner Bros.’s first pick for the role, but Sinatra had to
drop out when a broken wrist made holding Harry’s signature magnum impossible.
Sinatra’s a star in his own right, but a no-nonsense action hero is more Eastwood’s
forte.
He was legitimately frightening in character, and it’s hard to imagine Sinatra inspiring
an equal amount of fear.
Bad Boys
Will Smith didn’t turn down every blockbuster role that came his way, going down in action
movie history alongside Martin Lawrence in Michael Bay’s Bad Boys series.
However, the movie could have gone in a completely different direction, since it was originally
written with Saturday Night Live alums Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz under the title: Bulletproof
Hearts.
Those plans apparently fell through when Carvey witnessed some… questionable behavior by
producer Don Simpson at a Las Vegas party.
Movie fans are probably thankful for Simpson’s wilder days, since Smith and Lawrence turned
in a truly refreshing dose of buddy cop comedy.
Rocky
One of the main reasons Rocky’s underdog story became such a hit was just how clearly
Sylvester Stallone embodied the down-on-his-luck boxer – after all, he wrote the script himself.
But the studio wanted to see a more established star in the lead, with Robert Redford and
Burt Reynolds two names offered.
That may have been a tough sell for audiences, since an A-lister went against what the role
was all about.
Stallone refused to sell his script unless he could play Rocky, and history was made.
The decision cut the film’s budget by $1 million, but in the end, was the secret to
the entire franchise’s success.
Those are our picks for terrible casting decisions that almost happened.
Do you agree with our list?
Which near-misses are you happy didn’t come through?
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