When a movie becomes an overnight hit, or a box office bomb, it's often the cast that
gets the credit or blame. But audiences might never ask how different things could have
been if other actors or actresses were cast - or how close their favorite movies came
to being something completely different. Here are Screen Rant's 10 Amazing MovieCastings That
Almost Happened.
Face/Off The story that saw movie stars Nicolas Cage
and John Travolta swap faces is famous for its cheesy performances, but as fun as it
was, it could have been truly incredible. The script was actually written for Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, both at the top of their game at the time. Other
duos like Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin were considered, but Michael Douglas and Harrison
Ford seemed the most likely. When director John Woo decided on the leading men instead,
Douglas remained as a producer.
Finding Nemo Even Pixar makes mistakes, since they finished
the entire undersea adventure with actor William H Macy voicing the role of Nero's dad, Marlon.
The actor is no slouch, but when Disney's CEO saw the finished version, he famously
said the movie was nowhere near as good as the studio believed. They soon recruited
actor Albert Brooks to revoice the entire movie, and his energetic delivery made it Pixar's
biggest hit to date.
The Matrix It's impossible to imagine anyone other than
Keanu Reeves as the hero of this trilogy, but there was a time when another soft-spoken,
enigmatic actor was offered the part of The One: Nicolas Cage. The Hollywood veteran turned
down the part since it would be filmed far from home in Australia, leaving movie fans
to wonder how completely different the series - and the actors' careers - could have turned
out.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? It's hard to think that this mix of cartoon
and live action could have been better, but Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis' first
choice for the grouchy detective Eddie Valiant was apparently Harrison Ford. When he proved
too expensive, they turned to their second choice: comedy legend Bill Murray. Since Murray
has no agent, only a voicemail for offering roles, he didn't get the message. The worst
part? Murray later admitted that if he'd known of the offer, he would've taken it in second.
Super Mario Bros. The video game movie proved to be a but
of a joke in Hollywood, with star Bob Hoskins forever calling the part of Mario Mario his
biggest regret. But would you believe an even bigger name actually pursued the role? Tom
Hanks even got himself attached to star as the mustachioed plumber, before the studio cast Hoskins
instead, believing he was the more bankable actor. We'll let time be the judge on that
one.
The Bourne Identity He was an unlikely hero, but Jason Bourne
completely redefined the modern movie spy, and made Matt Damon a household name overnight.
The part was originally going to be played by Brad Pitt, who decided that another Spy
thriller, Spy Game, was a better choice. It's hard to argue Pitt would've ruined the series,
but with a fifth instalment in the franchise coming to theatres, it was probably for the
best.
Pulp Fiction Quentin Tarantino's breakout film was like
a Hollywood game of musical chairs, with Bruce Willis making it clear he wanted the lead
role of Vincent Vega. John Travolta ended up beating him out, along with Oscar winner
Daniel Day Lewis - Rumored to be the only role Lewis ever actively campaigned for. The
director still liked Willis for the boxer Butch, but had promised the part to Matt Dillon.
When Dillon said he needed a night to consider the offer, Tarantino cast Willis instantly,
saying that if he didn't want the part after reading the script, the director didn't want
him either.
The Avengers The Incredible Hulk's big screen history hadn't
been easy, with THREE actors playing the part in less than a decade. But that almost wasn't
the case. When talks with Ed Norton reprising his role in The Avengers fell through, director
Joss Whedon prepared a list of replacements. Mark Ruffalo was his top pick, knowing it
might be an unpopular choice with the studio. They surprised him, by admitting he was at
the top of theirs, after they had tried to cast him in the previous solo movie, making the change
to the shared universe... not a change at all, really.
Inglorious Basterds Quentin Tarantino hit a home run with his
World War 2 story, but the original planned cast would have felt completely different. It was the
German actor Christoph Waltz who brought the villain Hans Landa to life, but Tarantino
originally planned to cast Leonardo DiCaprio as the Nazi officer. He also cast comedian
Adam Sandler as Donny Donowitz, a.ka. The Bear Jewish, who dropped out. Tarantino turned
to his friend Eli Roth, and finally got to cast DiCaprio as the villain in Django Unchained years later.
Batman Begins It's never easy to cast the Batman on film,
but director Christopher Nolan managed to gather some serious talent - and didn't let
them escape once he passed them over for the part. Irish actor Cillian Murphy was a serious
frontrunner for the new Bruce Wayne, along with Aussie Heath Ledger. Christian Bale won
the part, but the competition clearly made an impression: Nolan cast them as the villains
of the first two films, as the Scarecrow and Joker, respectively.
Those are some the craziest casting close calls, we know of, but which ones are your
favourites? Let us know in the comments, and remember to subscribe to our channel for more
videos like this one!