The history of film is cluttered with stories about stars who were an inch away from playing
roles that got embedded into the hearts and minds of movie audiences. When actors look
back into some of their career mishaps, the ones they'll probably notice the most are
the glaring errors they made in passing up on important roles. Are you curious to see
which memorable characters were almost played by different actors? I'm Mike with List25
and Check out these 25 Actors Who Passed Up On Iconic Roles.
25.
Citing that he â€œdidnâ€™t get fantasy,â€
Sean Connery passed up on playing Gandalf in Peter Jacksonâ€™s adaptation of The
Lord Of The Rings. The role that was eventually given to Ian McKellen earned the actor an
award (Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture) and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting
Actor.
24. Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw, played
by Sarah Jessica Parker, is one of the most popular female TV and movie characters of
all time, at least in the â€œchick flickâ€ genre. The role was originally offered to
Dana Delany. She later claimed not to regret her decision to turn it down.
23. Molly Ringwald was one of the most sought-after
actresses in the 80's. However, since the 90's she's been plagued with obscurity. Things
might have been different had she accepted the role of Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman. The
movie earned over $463 million at the box office and Julia Roberts received an Oscar
nomination and became regarded as one of the biggest movie stars in the world.
22. Will Smith was initially offered the role
of Neo in The Matrix. He turned it down on account of the concept being too complicated,
and he didnâ€™t see the film performing well at the box office. Well, we all know
how the movie fared.
21. Henry Winkler was approached to play Danny
Zunko in Grease. When he turned it down, John Travolta took on the role. Grease earned $694
million at the box office.
20. Michelle Pfeiffer was offered the role of
Clarice Sterling in The Silence Of The Lambs. She turned it down because she found the movie
to be too violent and disturbing. Jodi Foster won the role, and it gave her a second Academy
Award for Best Actress.
19. Al Pacino was offered the role of Han Solo
in Star Wars. He said he wasnâ€™t interested in playing the role. Harrison Ford took over,
and the movie franchise went on to become one of the most successful film series in
history, establishing Fordâ€™s superstar status.
18. Kim Basinger passed up on playing Catherine
Tramell in Basic Instinct and it was subsequently handed to Sharon Stone. The film became one
of the highest grossing films of 1992, earning $352 million at box office. The role is highly
regarded as the one responsible for giving Sharon Stone her much needed break.
17. Jeremy Irons was initially appraoched to play
Hannibal Lecter in The Silence Of The Lambs. Just like Michelle Pfeiffer, Irons cited the
filmâ€™s violent content as his reason for turning down the role. Anthony Hopkins
took over, and it became one of the most defining moments of his career.
16. Tom Selleck didnâ€™t exactly turn down
the role of Indiana Jones. He was very interested. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas both picked
Selleck, but a deal couldnâ€™t be reached with Universal Studios, with whom Selleck
was set to do another film. As we all know, the role eventually went to Harrison Ford
(whom George Lucas was initially reluctant to cast).
15. Although Hugh Jackman is now exclusively associated
with Wolverine, the role was intially meant to be portrayed by Dougray Scott. However,
Scott was handpicked by Tom Cruise to play the villain in Mission Impossible 2, and MI2's
filming overran X-Men's filming by two months. Scott was forced to drop out of production,
which cost him a major Wolverine franchise.
14. When Jack Nicholson was approached to play
Michael Corleone, he knew that The Godfather would be a great movie. However, at that time,
he felt that â€œIndians should play characters written for Indians.â€ In the same thread,
Nicholson felt that the role of Corleone should be played by an Italian, so he passed up on
playing the iconic role.
13. John Travolta passed up on playing Forrest
Gumpâ€¦huge mistake. In 1994, the film became the highest grossing movie in North
America. Tom Hanks was acclaimed for his portrayal, giving him an award for Best Performance by
an Actor in a Leading Role at the Oscars. Travolta has since admitted to regretting
the decision he made.
12. Sarah Michelle Gellar turned down the opportunity
to star in the 1995 sleeper hit, Clueless. The character, Cher Horowitz, the rich, spoiled,
yet sweet girl became so endearing to fans that it brought the then-unknown Alicia Silverstone
worldwide recognition.
11. The producers of Sister Act agreed that Bette
Midler was best suited for the role of "Sister Mary Clarence". Later on, Midler declined,
expressing concerns about her fans not wanting her to play the role of a nun. The part was
eventually given to Whoopi Goldberg. The film was widely successful, spawning one sequel
and a Broadway musical.
10. Thinking that it was just another B-Horror
movie, Reese Witherspoon refused to audition for the role of Sidney Prescott in Scream.
The role was played by Neve Campbell instead.
9. Had Jake Gyllenhaal proceeded to play the
role of Jake Sully in James Cameronâ€™s Avatar, he would now be holding the honor
of starring in the highest grossing film of all time.
8. When the production of Million Dollar Baby
was met with delays, Sandra Bullock packed her bags and left the role of Maggie Fitzgerald
behind. Unfortunately for her, the film was not only a commercial success, it also was
universally acclaimed by critics. Its star, Hilary Swank, earned her second Best Actress
award at the Oscars.
7. Mel Gibson was initially approached to play
the role of Batman in Tim Burtonâ€™s 1989 adaptation. Thinking that the movie would
be a flop, Gibson passed. In line with Tim Burton films, Batman was criticized for being
â€œtoo darkâ€ but that didnâ€™t stop the film from being a massive box office
success, earning a reported $411 million.
6. Kate Winslet was offered the role of Viola
de Lesseps in 1998's Shakespeare in Love. Had she accepted the role, Winslet might have
won an Oscar for Best Actress much earlier in her career rather than having to endure
5 losses before winning her first Academy Award in 2009.
5. The Twilight film series brought international
attention to its stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. Stephenie Meyer
has stated that Emily Browning was her â€œideal Bella.â€ However, she refused to even audition.
In an interview, Browning said, â€œThe author at one point stated that I would be
her ideal Bella, but I chose not to audition because I was at a point in my career where
I wasnâ€™t sure I wanted to work.â€
4. Julia Roberts might have won her 2nd Best
Actress award had she accepted the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side. Roberts
turned down the role to do Valentineâ€™s Day, a film directed by Garry Marshallâ€“
the man who gave her the career-defining role of Vivian in Pretty Woman.
3. When Bruce Willis turned down the role of
Sam Wheat inÂ Ghost, he missed the opportunity to play a part opposite his then real-life
spouse, Demi Moore, as well as starring in the highest grossing film of 1990. Ghost reportedly
earned $505 million at the box office.
2. When Sigourney Weaver turned down the role
of Sarah Tobias in the 1988 film The Accused, Jodi Foster took over the role. It earned
her the first of two Oscars for Best Actress.
1. Jim Carrey turned down the role of Edward
Scissorhands, and it was eventually handed over to Johnny Depp. It turned out to be a
groundbreaking roll for him.
So, if you could recast your favorite movie, who would you put in the roles and why? Let
us know in the comments below, or tweet your answer to us @List25.
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