Just because an actor has landed their next big role doesn’t necessarily mean they’re
going to make it to the big screen.
Some of Hollywood’s biggest actors have been kicked off projects for any number of
reasons, from egotistical feuds to executive meddling to frustrations with the direction
the movie is taking.
One way or another, here are a few actors who were fired after filming began.
Belgian actor Jean-Claude Van Damme was right on the cusp of superstardom when he landed
a role opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987's Predator.
It sounds like perfect casting, with the renowned martial artist seeming like he'd be able to
easily stand alongside the likes of co-stars Carl Weathers and Jesse Ventura.
But while that may be true, Van Damme was never up for a part on Predator’s special
ops team.
Instead, he was meant to play the Predator itself.
Steve Johnson, the special effects artist behind Predator's alien creature, described
the movie's brief relationship with Van Damme as a hilarious comedy of errors, in which
no party knew exactly what the other was expecting.
According to Johnson, no one had informed Van Damme that the role of the Predator was
practically a glorified stuntman.
"I told them it wouldn’t work.
They wanted to just tell the guy to hop around like a frog, and it was Jean Claude Van Damme,
who had no idea what he was getting into."
Johnson explained that Van Damme was furious and dispirited about spending the entire movie
inside of a clunky, ridiculous-looking suit, and was replaced shortly into the production
with Kevin Peter Hall.
If you ask a million people what their favorite Disney animated movie is, you'll likely hear
the words ‘Chicken Little’ a grand total of zero times.
The 2005 theatrical feature is the 46th animated movie from the House of Mouse, and holds the
distinction of being the first fully computer-animated movie in the studio's library.
Disney got pretty far into production with actress Holly Hunter voicing the lead role
of Chicken Little before the decision was made to pivot the movie into more of an action-packed
adventure, and subsequently reimagine the protagonist as a boy instead of a girl.
After eight months of voiceover work on Hunter's part, she was replaced by Scrubs star Zach
Braff, whose voice was pitched up in post-production.
But if Hunter has any hard feelings about being kicked out of the coop by Disney, they
haven't soured her relationship with the company.
She would later return to Disney/Pixar for another go-around as Elastigirl in the 2018
sequel to 2004’s The Incredibles.
1974’s The Lords of Flatbush originally starred Richard Gere as part of an ensemble
cast of leather jacket-wearing hoodlums, along with Sylvester Stallone and Henry Winkler.
Reportedly, Gere was removed from the production as the result of a feud with Stallone that
spun out of control.
As you might expect, Stallone’s side of the story places the blame on Gere, who, according
to Stallone, was impossible to deal with.
But Gere's departure was ultimately triggered by a sloppy lunch on set, with Gere spilling
mustard onto Stallone's pants while they were scarfing down food in the backseat of a Toyota.
In a 2006 interview with Ain’t It Cool News, Stallone explained:
"I elbowed him in the side of the head and basically pushed him out of the car.
The director had to make a choice: one of us had to go, one of us had to stay.
Richard was given his walking papers and to this day seriously dislikes me."
Playing a masked character in a movie is always a risky proposition.
If the audience can't see your lips move, there's a serious risk that your performance
will go the way of David Prowse's Darth Vader, with your vocals overdubbed by another actor
who then gets all the credit.
And that’s exactly what happened to James Purefoy in 2005’s V For Vendetta.
"Beneath this mask, there is more than flesh.
Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof."
Purefoy was originally cast in the Wachowski-produced political movie as the masked revolutionary
known as V. However, he quit before filming could be completed.
While no reasons for his departure were given at the time, it was later reported that the
actor quit due to frustration with his costume.
According to a later interview Purefoy gave to Total Film, these rumors are untrue.
Purefoy stated that his departure came down to "genuine creative differences" that eventually
became "intolerable."
Though he was replaced by Hugo Weaving, some of his performance was left in the finished
film.
Hugh Jackman single-handedly made Wolverine into an icon through his soulful, sorrowful
portrayal of the nigh-unkillable mutant in the X-Men franchise.
But when the first movie entered production in 1999, Jackman had yet to enter the picture.
Originally, the cigar-chomping role of Logan was to be played by Scottish actor Dougray
Scott, but his participation in the superhero movie was held up by production delays on
John Woo's Mission: Impossible II.
Production on X-Men had already begun while Scott was working on the Mission: Impossible
sequel, but the combination of that movie's delays and a shoulder injury Scott sustained
made it impossible for him to make it to work on time.
After a month's worth of filming with the rest of X-Men’s cast, Scott was set to join
the production.
Just over a week before his expected arrival, however, it became clear that the arrangement
wouldn't work, so Fox began a speedy search for a replacement Wolverine.
"Patience isn’t my strongest suit."
A relatively unknown Hugh Jackman was cast in the role soon after, and the rest is history.