10 Roles Famous Actors Wish They Said “Yes!”
To
Some actors get to a point in their careers where they are so successful they get to pick
and choose which roles they want to take.
Sometimes they choose poorly and essentially give away millions of dollars to another actor,
not to mention the fame that comes with it.
Here are 10 roles famous actors wish they said, “Yes,” to:
Actors have their reasons for turning down roles, but sometimes those reasons bite them
in the butt.
Famous actors have lost out on millions, as well as the opportunity to be cast in iconic
roles.
Sometimes they move on to bigger and better things, and sometimes they regret the decision
for the rest of their lives.
Here are 10 roles famous actors wish they said, “Yes!” to.
John Hawkes – The Governor You may know John Hawkes from HBO’s “Deadwood,”
but you could have also known him from AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”
Before David Morrissey got the part, Hawkes was offered the role of the show’s most
iconic baddie to date, the Governor.
He was sent the graphic novel along with seasons one and two, but ultimately turned it down.
He claimed the role just wasn’t right for him.
Hawkes was great as Sol in Deadwood, and had equally great performances in other movies
and short films.
He could have made a great Governor.
We’re not too bummed, though.
Morrissey’s portrayal of the comic book villain was phenomenal, and easily our favorite
bad guy to date.
Although we are still waiting to see what Negan and Lucile have to bring to the table.
Tom Selleck – Indiana Jones The Indiana Jones we know and love and hold
so dear was very close to having a big, bushy mustache.
Tom Selleck was a front-runner for the role, especially because George Lucas had already
used Harrison Ford as Han Solo and he didn’t want to keep using the same actor for all
his movies.
However, Selleck already had a contract in the works for the classic TV show Magnum,
P.I.
Although he may have been able to do both, he waited to long to make a decision and Harrison
Ford snatched up the role.
Selleck did an amazing job on the TV show, and his Magnum is probably one of the most
famous fictional private investigators on television.
But Indiana Jones is by far one of the coolest and most iconic adventurers in cinema history,
and spawned an incredible trilogy.
Yes, trilogy.
Crystal Skull is a myth, it never happened.
Mathew Broderick – Walter White Mathew Broderick certainly has an iconic movie
role under his belt with “Farris Bueller’s Day Off”, but he could have added an iconic
television role to his name too.
He and John Cusack were both up for the part, but when neither of them took it, Bryan Cranston
was able to secure the role of the meth-cooking chemistry teacher.
Turns out he was actually one of the show’s first choices after seeing his work on an
“X-Files” episode.
It was just challenging for the studio execs to see past the goofy persona of the dad from
“Malcolm in the Middle.”
We are over joyed they gave him a shot, although it would be interesting to see how Broderick
would have turned out.
Ferris Buller cooking meth in his tighty whities.
Now that would be a sight to behold.
John Travolta – Forrest Gump John Travolta hit it big in the 70’s, peaking
with his work in “Saturday Night Fever” and “Grease.”
He quickly lost steam at the turn of the decade though and nearly became irrelevant.
But as luck would have it, the film gods smiled upon him and offered him a role he couldn’t
refuse.
But he refused it anyway.
He could have starred as the lead role in the award-winning masterpiece “Forrest Gump”.
Instead, he opted for the role of Vincent Vega in “Pulp Fiction”.
To be fair, Pulp Fiction has become a cult classic that will live on for generations,
but even he was kicking himself for turning down such an amazing opportunity.
This may be only entry on this list though that we are 100% happy with the actor’s
dumb decision.
Dominic West – Mance Rayder Mance Rayder, played by Ciarán Hinds, is
the King-Beyond-the-Wall, leader of the wildlings.
This role could have gone to Dominic West, but he was too busy playing the part of “Palace
Guard” in the worst Star Wars movie ever, the Phantom Menace.
Of course this timeline doesn’t match up, we just wanted to point out another one of
his big mistakes.
Actually, The “Wire” star was working on just a couple small projects at the time
and could have taken the role, but he turned it down to spend more time with his family.
Funny enough, his nephew is one among others who were disappointed that he’s not on HBO’s
most popular show.
However he is a talented actor, and there are a couple seasons left.
He may just have time to redeem himself.
Al Pacino – Han Solo Why does Harrison Ford get all the good roles?
Because everyone else keep turning them down!
Al Pacino was offered the role of Han Solo, but he couldn’t understand the script.
He was hot off the “Godfather” at the time, and according to him, he was in high
demand and had offers pouring in.
So he wrote this one off as just another random offer.
He, along with Burt Reynolds, Jack Nicholson, James Caan, and Robert De Niro all missed
an opportunity and turned down the role, leaving the door open for Harrison Ford to portray
the sexy smuggler in a galaxy far, far away.
Although we are more than satisfied with Ford’s performance, we can’t help but wonder what
could have been.
“Say hello to my little blaster pistol!”
Katie Holmes – Buffy the Vampire Slayer Katie Holmes has been the victim of bad judgment
a couple times in her career.
Most recently, she turned down the lead role of Piper in the popular Netflix series, “Orange
is the New Black.”
But she made the same mistake nearly twenty years earlier when she turned down the opportunity
to play Buffy in the WB series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
Apparently she wanted to use the time instead to finish high school.
Psh, nerd.
Lucky for us, Sarah Michelle Gellar took the part in the late 90’s TV show and showed
us all how to properly kick some vampire ass.
Unlucky for Sarah Michelle Gellar, she later turned down the role of Elle Woods in “Legally
Blonde.”
Oops.
Sean Connery – Gandalf How weird would it be to hear that, Gandalf
with a Scottish accent?
The former James Bond star was offered the role of Middle Earth’s greatest wizard,
but ultimately turned it down.
In doing so, he turned down six million dollars per movie, along with a 15% stake in box office
revenue.
Unfortunately, it was another case of the actor just not understanding the script.
He said he read the script, the book, and eventually saw the movie and still doesn’t
understand it.
He did say however that Ian McKellen was marvelous, and we agree!
Ian McKellen rivals some of the best wizards in film, including Harry Potter, Merlin, the
Wizard of Oz, and Mickey Mouse when he puts that hat on.
Paul Giamatti – Michael Scott The part was his for the taking, in fact he
was the first choice for the role, but Paul Giamatti declined the invitation, allowing
for Steve Carell to play on of the funniest bosses on television: Michael Scott.
Giamatti has a great reputation, but that’s why it might have taken away from the charm
of a lesser-known actor taking on the role.
We doubt Paul Giamatti his hurting for cash, but surely he would have appreciated the $300,000
per episode salary.
Steve Carell did a near perfect job, so much so that many find him even funnier than his
original British counterpart; David Brent played and created by Ricky Gervais.
Josh Hartnett – Batman Quite possibly the biggest blunder on this
list goes to Josh Hartnett who turned down the chance to be the caped crusader in Christopher
Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
He was so terrified of being type cast for the rest of his career that he said no to
what turned out to be some of the best Batman movies of all time, and, not to mention, tens
of millions of dollars.
Then to add insult to injury, Nolan turned him down for his film “The Prestige,”
who starred, you guessed it, Christian Bale.
After seeing Christian Bale be Batman and move on to other roles, Hartnett was really
kicking himself.
It seems he’s learned his lesson though, as he already has three or four projects in
the works for 2017.
Hindsight is 20/20 for these actors.
Which ones did we miss?
Let us know in the comments below.
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