Shock jock Howard Stern as the voice of a Decepticon? Jonah Hill as the comedic relief
in "Revenge of the Fallen?" The Transformers franchise could have looked a whole lot different.
For all his success, it's surprising that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson doesn't have a long-running
signature franchise role of his own. The man who Forbes once called "franchise Viagra" has
used his star power to reinvigorate other film sagas, joining sequels to "Journey to the Center
of the Earth," "G.I. Joe," "The Fast and the Furious," and even an episode of "Star Trek:
Voyager" early in his career when the show needed a ratings bump.
"You're no bigger than a Tarkanian field mouse.
Penk's insulting me by putting you in the pit to face me."
And in 2013, Johnson almost joined the "Transformers" series when it needed a boost.
At the time, producers knew that Shia LaBeouf wasn't coming back for the fourth installment,
and so the film needed a new lead. Before Michael Bay settled on Mark Wahlberg, however, he had
a different man in mind. Given Johnson's mix of beefy brawn, earnest charm, and loads of charisma,
it's no surprise he was Bay's first choice. The star said on Twitter in April of 2013:
"Michael Bay offered me Transformers,
but I was unavailable due to Hercules. Then Wahlberg was offered the role."
When Johnson missed out, Wahlberg was rewarded with a pair of films, including "Transformers:
The Last Knight." Unfortunately, both movies underperformed, forcing the studio to pivot
to a prequel, leaving us to wonder if Johnson could have saved the "Transformers" franchise
had he accepted the role. Johnson is still technically an official part of the franchise — he
voiced an Autobot named Cliffjumper in an episode of "Transformers Prime" in 2010.
"You want the horns? You got 'em."
Before Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg were considered to lead the fourth "Transformers" film,
the series was less focused on brawny musclebound heroes. Instead, it focused on more ordinary
everymen like Shia LaBeouf, so it actually sort of makes sense that producer Steven Spielberg
came very close to casting a young Jonah Hill in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Hill was
hot off "Superbad" at the time and a major rising star, known for goofball comedies and still years
away from more serious dramas like "The Wolf of Wall Street." Appearing in "Transformers"
could have altered the trajectory of his career had he not turned it down.
Enter Seth Rogen, writer, actor, and close friend to Hill, who evidently was responsible
for convincing Hill to pass up a role in the first "Transformers" sequel. In an
interview with The New York Times in 2021, Rogen recounted the conversation where he said to Hill:
"You want to make a movie about fightin' robots? Make your own
movie about fightin' robots. You can do that. That's on the table now."
With Hill a hot name at the time, Rogen stressed that he didn't have to take the
first big franchise movie that came along and shouldn't be tempted just
because a legendary filmmaker came calling. As Rogen went on to say:
"I can see if Steven Spielberg's calling you,
asking you to do something, how that's hard to turn down."
Ultimately, the role Hill was being considered for went to actor Ramon
Rodriguez and Hill chose instead to have a cameo in Ben Stiller's "Night at the Museum" sequel.
Thankfully, passing on the "Transformers" franchise probably didn't give Hill much
to regret, since he went on to star in plenty
of hits — even getting a pair of Oscar nominations along the way.
Many actors over the years have passed up opportunities for roles in iconic franchises
and come to regret it. However, sometimes an actor has no regrets at all and turns down
a part out of principle. That's exactly what happened in the case of Aziz Ansari,
star of "Master of None" and "Parks and Recreation," who passed on an offer to
play a small but racially-objectionable role in the very first "Transformers" film in 2007.
"Okay, we'll talk soon. There was no one on the other end of that phone call."
Ansari revealed to Vulture in 2015:
"It was a role for, like, a call-center guy who has an accent,
And I was like, 'No, I'm not doing it.'"
Eventually, the role wound up being played by Ansari's friend
and future "Master of None" co-star Ravi Patel. Though he harbored no ill will,
Ansari still isn't happy with Hollywood's racial stereotyping and token diversity.
"That's a real thing that happens. When they cast these shows, they're like, 'We already have
our minority guy or our minority girl.' There would never be two Indian people in one show."
When it comes to radio shock jocks, the undisputed king is Howard Stern. Known for his raunchy radio
antics and wild, raucous guests, he went from a nationally syndicated morning show
to an anchor of satellite radio. Along the way, he wrote a memoir that he turned into
a big-screen movie when he starred as himself in the 1997 biopic "Private Parts." However,
he also came close to adding the role of a Transformer to his lengthy resume.
While he's famous for his outsized attitude and personality, Stern is also notable for
his distinctive voice. So when Michael Bay was looking for actors to lend their vocal
talents to the roles of the Transformers themselves, Stern was a natural fit,
especially for the role of Frenzy. Vulture reports that Stern was offered the role of the slippery,
skittish, Decepticon spy who disguises himself as a radio, and it seems no
coincidence that Stern — a famed radio shock jock — would be the pick to play the part.
After turning down the role, Stern talked about why he passed it up, as reported by Dark Horizons.
"My agent gets a hold of me. It's almost like he shakes me up and smacks me. [...] He goes ... 'you
don't want to be in the movie as an f'n voice on the radio,' And I said, you know, you're right."
After Howard Stern passed, Michael Bay offered a role to Lester Green,
an entertainer and frequent guest of "The Howard Stern Show." If you don't recognize the name,
that's because he usually goes by the name Beetlejuice, and he uses the moniker across
numerous spots on Stern's radio show, as well as in movies like "Bubble Boy" and "Scary Movie 2."
"Beetlejuice in the house. This is your brains on drugs. Hee."
On an episode of Stern's show, the actor's manager Bobby Rooney talked
about how Green had been approached for a role in "Transformers: Revenge of the
Fallen" years before, leading to them going to meet with Bay. As Rooney described it,
Bay arrived with a laptop which he used to pitch Beetlejuice on the character.
"And he has a character of Beetlejuice,
with one of, you know, one of the robots with Beetlejuice's voice."
Unfortunately, the famously mercurial comedian was "in one of his moods," according to Rooney,
and it was a non-starter. As Rooney recalled, Bay was eventually put off
by Green's flippant attitude and realized it probably wouldn't be fun working with him anyway.
Corey Burton is a veteran voice artist who has contributed to a
number of "Transformer" cartoons over the years, with his most notable role being
the voice of the villainous Shockwave in the original animated series from
1984. He was also nearly recruited for the live-action "Transformers" films.
According to Burton himself on his website,
he was approached for several possible roles in the big-screen adaptations. He wrote:
"I was given the opportunity to audition for Jazz (a totally incomprehensible request for
me to even attempt), and Brawl [...] but it was just a one line 'cameo'
bit that didn't seem worth jumping through all the audition hoops."
Beyond turning down an offer to appear in the first "Transformers" film,
it doesn't sound like Burton ever really wanted to be involved with
the live-action series and was happy to stay in the animated corner of the saga.
"Ain't no one calling me a robot chicken."
Actor and rapper Ashley Walters may not have the high profile of Dwayne Johnson or Howard Stern,
but he's a highly respected star with plenty of big projects under his belt. He's appeared
on television in hits like "Hustle" and starred in the lead role in the British crime drama "Top
Boy." In the mid-2000s, he was also offered a starring role in the first "Transformers" film.
"They offered me Tyrese's role in the Transformers franchise."
Unfortunately what would have been a major role for the up-and-comer just wasn't in the cards,
since he'd already signed a contract to act in an independent drama called "Life and Lyrics." Still,
Walters didn't seem too regretful and has plenty of perspective.
"Obviously, that could have been a life changing thing. But at the same time,
if I did that I wouldn't have done 'Top Boy.'"
Before "Transformers," young actor Shia LaBeouf had practically made a career out of playing
sidekicks, with roles next to the likes of Keanu Reeves and Will Smith in movies like "Constantine"
and "I, Robot." In 2007, he'd finally play the action hero himself, starring as bumbling
teenager Sam Witwicky in "Transformers," a film that turned him into a superstar.
"Fifty years from now when you're looking back on your life,
don't you want to be able to say you had the guts to get in the car?"
He'd reprise the role in a pair of sequels, and each was more successful than the last. However,
when the time came for a fourth installment, Shia turned it down.
The actor told MTV not long after the release of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" in 2011:
"I just don't think right now there's anywhere to take Sam. I was seventeen when I met Michael,
and I'm sort of Michael Bay-raised. [...] And it's not that I don't enjoy working
with Michael. I love working with Michael. I would do any movie Michael wants to do."
Yet, the one movie he wouldn't do with Bay was the franchise's next film, "Transformers:
Age of Extinction," forcing Bay to hire Mark Wahlberg to succeed LaBeouf as the series lead.