A superhero role shot out of the sky. A token tough guy this network paid to protect.
These are just a few stars who made big bucks for a role they never even played!
It's no secret that movie stars get paid an obscene amount of money for their work.
Between upfront deals, on-set perks, and box office percentages, it's not uncommon for prolific
actors to earn millions of dollars per film. It’s reasonable as long as the actors are doing their
jobs and entertaining the masses. But sometimes it transpires that an actor will receive a hefty
payday and still not appear in the project they're getting paid for. Sometimes their scenes simply
end up on the cutting room floor. Sometimes the film itself doesn't come together. And sometimes
a rival studio might even bribe them to turn down an offer. Whatever the case may be, here
are some actors who found a way to make money from roles despite not appearing in the final product.
Over the course of eight years and six seasons, James Gandolfini was
best known to audiences worldwide as the lead of HBO's crime drama "The Sopranos."
One of the most acclaimed and well-regarded TV shows of all time,
the saga of gangsters, their families, and their therapy bills is often cited as
originating the modern era of peak TV. A central part of its success was Gandolfini as Tony,
a New Jersey mob boss who balanced a menacing exterior with a more sensitive inner life.
"Sounds like me alright."
After the show's controversial conclusion,
any other network would have considered his casting to be a massive coup.
As it turns out, this nearly happened with NBC and "The Office."
With Steve Carell planning to depart the hit comedy in its seventh season, the hunt was on
to find a high profile replacement to fill his shoes. Though James Spader was eventually cast,
apparently Gandolfini was close to nabbing the role. According to his "Sopranos" co-star Michael
Imperioli, the actor was so close that HBO paid him $3 million to turn down the role. The reason
given was so that Gandolfini could continue developing the limited series "The Night Of"
with the network. Tragically, it wouldn't premiere until three years after his death.
It's speculated that they also wanted to preserve the tough-guy legacy of Tony Soprano,
and were concerned that a sillier role in "The Office" might detract from that.
The "Harry Potter" franchise is no stranger to recent controversies. Between the disappointing
critical and commercial reception of the most recent film and author J.K. Rowling’s
controversial statements, the last thing these spin-offs needed was one of its primary cast
members in hot water. Yet that's precisely what happened with Johnny Depp, who had been
cast as the villainous Gellert Grindelwald in a surprise cameo at the end of "Fantastic
Beasts and Where to Find Them." He later had his role significantly fleshed out in the sequel.
Unfortunately for Depp, personal drama began to overshadow his acting career.
In the wake of a vicious and highly public court battle with his ex-wife Amber Heard,
the higher-ups at Warner Bros. decided that being associated with Depp was more trouble than it was
worth. As a result, the role of Grindelwald was recast with "Hannibal" star Mads Mikkelsen for
the third film. Still, Depp managed to pocket his full $16 million salary per his original contract.
"Contain your emotions."
With a body of work ranging from classy Oscar fare to schlocky action thrillers and
everything in between, Nicolas Cage's career is the stuff of legend. Yet one of the actor's most
infamous roles was one he never got the chance to play. This of course was the title character of
the equally legendary "Superman Lives." It was a superhero blockbuster that would have been helmed
by Tim Burton with a script by Kevin Smith. It seemed like a match made in comic book heaven.
However, the film was not to be. Though an official reason was never given,
many have speculated that it may have to do with the disastrous reception of Joel
Schumacher's "Batman & Robin." This film could have made parent company Warner Bros.
apprehensive about jumping into another big-budget movie about tights and capes.
Jonathan Gems theorized that the studio was somehow punishing the filmmaker for that film's
lackluster performance. The entire affair was eventually chronicled in the documentary
"The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?" And though Cage never got the chance to play Kal-El,
he did reportedly collect a cool $20 million for his trouble.
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