Things normal people are afraid of: zombies, the dark, spiders, and whether or not the
waiter spit in our food.
"Take it back!
If I wanted something your thumb touched I'd eat the inside of your ear!"
Things celebrities are afraid of?
Sketchy acting jobs.
Sometimes actors pass up blockbusters because of the overall creepiness of the movie, a
fear of awful writing, or just because they're afraid of disappointing their fans.
Here are a few famous actors who have turned down incredible roles for totally legitimate
reasons — and some who lived to totally regret it.
Michelle Pfeiffer: Silence of the Lambs
Even a legend like Michelle Pfeiffer isn't afraid to admit she was too afraid to take
on the subject matter of Silence of the Lambs.
As Empire revealed in its look at the making of the movie, she was turned off by overwhelming
darkness and violence in the script — a letdown for director Jonathan Demme, who'd
worked with her previously and made Pfeiffer his first choice for the role of Clarice Starling.
He went through a number of other actresses before hiring Jodie Foster.
Honestly, we wouldn't want to be face-to-face with Hannibal Lecter even if we were just
on a movie set, so it's easy to sympathize with Pfeiffer.
Meanwhile, another big star passed on a role in Silence of the Lambs: Jeremy Irons.
Apparently, playing a cannibal serial killer is just a little worse than the creepy dude
he played in Lolita.
Josh Hartnett: Superman Returns
At the ripe age of 22, Josh Hartnett was afraid of being pigeonholed when he was asked to
wear the red cape in the 2006 film Superman Returns.
So he turned down the role, partially because he valued his free time, but also for fear
of damaging his career.
Also in Hartnett's "thanks, but no thanks" pile: opportunities to play both Batman and
Spider-Man.
As he later admitted to Playboy, choosing not to put on the tights is what ultimately
hurt his career after all, saying,
"I've definitely said no to some of the wrong people.
I said no because I was tired and wanted to spend more time with my friends and family.
That's frowned upon in this industry.
People don't like being told no."
Jude Law: Superman Returns
English actor Jude Law grappled with the same offer as Hartnett.
Director Bryan Singer considered going with the British star, but Law wasn't sure pinning
on the cape was a good idea.
He was worried about his nationality, thinking an Englishman shouldn't play the guy who stands
for the American way — and he also wasn't crazy about putting on the tights.
Hoping to sway the actor, Singer had the costume sent over, and Law tried it on for size.
"I take the suit into the bathroom and I'm putting it on…and I look around… and I
look in the mirror, and suddenly I'm Superman."
Law even started hearing the original film's John Williams theme — but the fantasy didn't
last long.
"And then I had this picture of that..of me in that you know on posters all around the
world and I thought… 'no way' and I unzipped it."
Suddenly, there was "no way" he could play the part, although he did have the satisfaction
of pretending to be Superman for a few moments.
And as Law put it, "That was enough."
Bette Midler: Sister Act
It's hard to picture anyone but Whoopi Goldberg as Sister Mary Clarence in Sister Act, but
the role was first offered to Bette Midler.
As she later told Metro, she turned down the opportunity because she was afraid of how
her fans would react to her portrayal of a nun, saying,
"My fans don't want to see me in a wimple."
Who wants to break the news to Midler that the character wasn't actually a nun?
That's kinda what the "Act" part in the title meant.
Jennifer Hudson: Precious
Dreamgirls star Jennifer Hudson was offered the title role in Precious, but turned it
down — a decision she initially attributed to a reluctance to gain the weight necessary
for the character.
She later insisted the decision actually had more to do with what was on the page than
what would've shown up on the scale, telling The Huffington Post,
"I'm a firm believer that what is meant for you is meant for you.
I did not turn the role down because of the weight situation.
I just felt the character was doing things, at least in my script that I got, that were
places I did not want to go and not where I needed to go."
Mark Wahlberg: Brokeback Mountain
Originally offered the role of Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain, Mark Wahlberg declined
the part after feeling, quote, "creeped out" by the script, and letting his fear of the
movie's homosexual themes outweigh the potential of the role.
The National Enquirer doubled down on the rumors and stated that Wahlberg was simply
told 'no' by his priest.
It's acting, Mark!
"What?
No!"
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger signed on, and Gyllenhaal's Oscar nomination for the
film must have been fun for Wahlberg to read about.
Brad Pitt: 12 Years a Slave
As one of the most acclaimed dramas to come out of the major-studio system in recent years,
12 Years a Slave almost starred Brad Pitt in the villainous role of Edwin Epps.
Pitt told The Mirror that he refused the role because he was afraid of what his children
would think if they saw him as a slavemaster in the film.
He opted for a cameo role — because, as one of the producers on the movie, you get
to do things like that.
John Lithgow: The Fly
David Cronenberg's The Fly is pretty much a perfect horror movie.
It's disgustingly awesome, and Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis totally kill it as the two
leads.
It's hard to imagine anyone else playing their parts, but shockingly, Goldblum wasn't the
only actor in consideration for this grotesque manimal.
As it turns out, John Lithgow was also up for a trip through the teleportation pods.
Lithgow is no stranger to playing monsters.
But despite his penchant for playing scary characters, Lithgow didn't have the stomach
to morph into a man-sized fly.
In an interview with In Magazine, the actor admitted his agent wanted him to play the
doomed scientist Seth Brundle, but Lithgow thought The Fly was an "icky story," and he
"didn't want to play something so grotesque."
" Oh.
That's disgusting."
And if the guy who played the Trinity Killer thought a movie was too gross, then you should
probably be afraid of watching that film.
Be very afraid.
Will Ferrell: Reagan
Even before the film Reagan began filming, the project was dead in the water due to public
outrage.
In this alternate history take on Ronald Reagan's last four years in office, the 40th commander-in-chief
is suffering from Alzheimer's during his second term, and one intern's given the job of tricking
Reagan into thinking he's still an actor, and is actually playing the president in a
film.
When word leaked out that Will Ferrell, no stranger to playing presidents, was considering
playing the dementia-stricken Reagan, the internet went absolutely insane.
Most notably, the movie also drew criticism from the Reagan family, who claimed the film
was offensive to people suffering from Alzheimer's.
Things got so intense that director Adam McKay claimed people were calling the production
offices and leaving threatening voicemails.
Soon, anger at the project reached such a fever pitch that Ferrell essentially killed
the film by announcing he was no longer interested in the part.
Probably for the best.
Toshiro Mifune: Star Wars
By now, everybody knows the original Star Wars was a brilliant mash-up of George Lucas's
favorite stuff.
Throw in some Flash Gordon, mix in a bit of World War II footage, add a dash of The Searchers,
and presto, you've got A New Hope.
But perhaps the biggest influences on the Star Wars saga were the films of Akira Kurosawa.
Of course, you can't have a Kurosawa film without Toshiro Mifune, a superstar who appeared
in 16 Kurosawa films.
He made such an impression on Lucas that the director wanted him to play Obi-Wan Kenobi.
There's no denying Mifune would've made an excellent Jedi knight, but according to his
daughter, Mifune was worried that the film, quote, "...would cheapen the image of the
samurai.
At the time, sci-fi movies still looked quite cheap as the effects were not advanced, and
he had a lot of samurai pride."
Mifune waved his hand and told Lucas to move along, to both the roles of Kenobi and Darth
Vader, according to his daughter.
If that's true, his samurai pride cost him a pretty hefty paycheck.
Chris Evans: Captain America
It's pretty hard to imagine anyone other than Chris Evans playing Captain America.
Evans seems to embody Cap's innate goodness, nobility, and heroism.
It's really a case of having just the right actor in just the right role, and that makes
it all the more surprising when you realize Evans initially turned down the Marvel super
serum.
On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Evans admitted that he was afraid of the whole thing.
"I was scared because you know at first it was some nine-picture contract, and there
are parts of me that have a little bit of social anxiety with this industry."
He turned Marvel down…twice.
As he explained to The Scotsman, he just enjoyed doing smaller films and staying under the
radar.
But eventually, the star-spangled actor realized he was "saying no out of fear," and he finally
picked up the vibranium shield after realizing he was turning it down for the wrong reasons.
"...whatever you're scared of, push yourself into it."
Which sounds just like something Captain America might say.
Chris Pratt: Guardians of the Galaxy
We know Chris Pratt eventually took the starring role of Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy,
but before he helped save the universe, he originally passed on the part.
As he told Entertainment Weekly, he thought he was too fat to play a superhero, and he
was ultimately afraid of the same feelings of rejection he dealt with when he was passed
over for Star Trek and Avatar.
A huge fan of the action movie genre, Pratt later faced his fears and won the hearts of
Guardians fans everywhere.
That right there is a real-life superhero story.
Denzel Washington: Se7en
Speaking with GQ, Denzel Washington admitted he regretted turning down the chance to star
in Se7en, the David Fincher classic about a serial killer who uses the seven deadly
sins as a template for his murders.
As he explained, he found the script "too dark and evil" — although now that we've
all had a couple of decades to love Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman in the movie, he feels
a little better about the film.
If you ever see Washington, don't forget to ask him "what's in the box."
"What's in the boooox?"What's in the boooox?"
"Because I envy your normal life, David."
"Put the gun down put the gun down, David"
"Seems that envy is my sin."
Ah what's in the booooox?"
"It's a box of balloons."
"It's balloons!"
"It's just balloons."
"It's balloons."
"It's a box of balloons."
"There must be a hundred balloons in here!"
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