Stars Who Turned Down Major Movie and TV Roles

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Stars Who Turned Down Major Movie and TV Roles: Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow and More

Gwyneth Paltrow in Titanic? Brad Pitt in Almost Famous? Some of probably the most iconic roles in movie and TV might have regarded very totally different had they gone to the unique casting selections.

Before Billy Crudup introduced Stillwater singer Russell Hammond to life within the 2000 music drama, director Cameron Crowe had his eye on Pitt, who was “just starting out” in his now-legendary profession. “He just really had something,” Crowe gushed throughout the premiere episode of the “Origins: Almost Famous Turns Twenty” podcast in July 2020.

Casting director Gail Levin agreed, noting that the Ad Astra star was clearly the group’s “first choice” for the character. “We loved that idea and he was Brad Pitt,” Levin defined on the podcast. “I mean, he was funny and handsome and talented. … That kind of charisma and screen presence would’ve been really, really great for that part.”

While Pitt nailed his audition — and had Crowe “rolling on the floor” in laughter — it simply wasn’t the proper match for that second. Crowe even admitted that he “wept” when the Fight Club star pulled out of the venture.

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“But I think in the back of my brain, I knew that he had never fully fallen in love with the character,” Crowe mentioned. “He had fallen in love with the idea of the character. But, maybe there just wasn’t enough on the page.”

The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor is not the one one who turned down the chance to take a soon-to-be iconic function. In 2015, Paltrow admitted that she might have starred in 1997’s field workplace hit, Titanic.

“I look back at the choices I’ve made and think, ‘Why the hell did I say yes to that and no to that?'” she instructed Howard Stern on the time. “And you know, you look at the big picture and think, ‘There’s a universal lesson here. What good is it to hold onto roles?'”

The Country Strong actress went on to joke that her mom, actress Blythe Danner, would not be happy with her for spilling business secrets and techniques. “My mother will kill me that I’m talking about turning down movie roles,” she teased. “She says it’s not ladylike.”

Scroll down to search out out which stars nearly performed a few of the most iconic roles in movie and TV!

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Joe Jonas: Peter Parker in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’

The “Burnin’ Up” singer revealed that he nearly portrayed the long-lasting superhero within the 2012 film. 

“In the moment, you’re destroyed or you’re defeated. But you realize this person was brilliant. I remember years ago I was up for Spider-Man and I was so, so excited and it was the year Andrew Garfield got it,” Jonas recalled throughout a November 2022 “Just for Variety” podcast episode. “Obviously, he was the right one.”

The Devotion actor added that it was a “big thing” getting known as again — and thought he might need a leg up within the audition course of because of director Mar Webb initially making his identify in music movies earlier than switching to characteristic movies. 

“I was like, ‘I got an in here,'” the DNCE musician mentioned. “But you know what? I love the process of auditioning and putting yourself out there and having to prove yourself.”

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Kristen Stewart: The First Victim in ‘Scream 4’

The administrators of Scream 4 needed to kick off the movie with an homage to the long-lasting cold-open homicide sequence within the first Scream film, and requested Stewart to play Ghostface’s first sufferer.

“It’s the Drew [Barrymore] character that gets killed in the beginning,” the Oscar nominee instructed Slant in March 2022 in regards to the half she was provided within the horror franchise. “And they created a whole sequence where a lot of people got killed to emulate the Drew thing. But it was just going to be one person, and I was like, ‘I can’t do a Drew. I can’t touch that.'”

The screenwriters finally selected a “larger sequence” with multiple sufferer. Despite turning Scream down the primary time, Stewart is open to doubtlessly showing in one other sequel down the road. “I would read the script. I love Neve Campbell so much,” she mentioned. “I love that movie. I’ve watched it recently, as an adult though. It’s so gnarly. … It’s not just a slasher flick. It’s a beautiful movie.”

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Russell Crowe: Michael O’Neal in ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’

Director P.J. Hogan’s first alternative for the main man wasn’t Dermot Mulroney.

“My first choice was actually Russell Crowe,” Hogan instructed Vulture in February 2022. “Russell was, I thought, probably the most amazing actor I had ever encountered. I kind of knew Russell was going to be a really big star.”

He acquired so far as a desk learn with Julia Roberts — and that is the place all of it went unsuitable. “It was one of the worst table reads I’ve ever experienced,” Hogan revealed. “Russell was seated opposite Julia. He gripped that script, and he stared at that script, and he didn’t look at her once. He read every line in a monotone. At one point, Julia was literally leaning over the table, staring, like, inches from Russell’s face, trying to make eye contact. And he wouldn’t look at her. At the end of the reading, Russell came up to me and said, ‘I thought that went pretty well.’ And then I knew: Russell was not going to be in My Best Friend’s Wedding.”

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Nicole Kidman: Meg Altman in ‘Panic Room’

Kidman revealed that she was initially forged because the lead in 2002’s Panic Room earlier than an harm modified her plans. The function ultimately went to Jodie Foster.

“We were meant to work together,” Kidman instructed Kristen Stewart throughout Variety’s Actors on Actors collection in January 2022. “I remember [director] David Fincher saying, ‘Oh, my God, we have discovered the most incredible actress.’ And then I got injured and ended up not playing your mama.”

Stewart, for her half, recalled Kidman’s temporary time on set fondly, including, “We spent a couple weeks rehearsing. I have a vivid memory of it, because the way you treat kids is so telling. I felt like I was buds with you. It was two or three weeks, but I was always like, ‘She’s one of my friends.’ You gave me walkie talkies for Christmas.”

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Cate Blanchett: Lucille Ball in ‘Being the Ricardos’

Nicole Kidman performed the I Love Lucy star in Amazon’s Being the Ricardos, however earlier than she took on the function, Blanchett was introduced because the star. Eventually, the Thor: Ragnarok actress backed out of the biopic, citing scheduling conflicts. She has no regrets, although.

“It became the movie it needed to be,” Blanchett mentioned throughout an look on Variety‘s “Awards Circuit” podcast in January 2022, days after Kidman gained a Golden Globe for her efficiency.

She continued, “Those things happen in the right way, at the right time. In the best possible way, you don’t always envisage the same thing; and then it goes on to become a different entity.”

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Kristin Davis: Monica in ‘Friends’

“I think I was one of, like, 8,000 young ladies who read for Monica and Courteney Cox got her,” Davis recalled throughout an look on The Late Late Show with James Corden in December 2021. “Courteney and I were in the same yoga class at the time and we used to hang out. The rest of us were, like, unemployed actor waitresses types and we would hang out after class.”

She continued: “One day, Courteney was like, ‘Hey, guys. Do you want to come car shopping with me? We were like, ‘Wow, car shopping!’ [Courteney] said, ‘I did this pilot, I’m feeling really good about it. I think I’m going to buy a Porsche.’ We were like, ‘Wow, is she for real?’ It was Friends, and it did go very well.”

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Josh Hartnett in ‘Brokeback Mountain’

The Pearl Harbor star revealed in December 2021 that he was set to play Heath Ledger’s character, Ennis Del Mar, in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain earlier than having a scheduling battle. “Unfortunately, I was going to do Brokeback Mountain. I had a contract with The Black Dahlia that I had to film, so I had to drop out of it,” Hartnett told Australia’s News.com.au, revealing that Joaquin Phoenix was supposed to play Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, Jack Twist, before he too dropped out. “I all the time needed to kiss Joaquin. So that is my greatest remorse,” he joked.

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Stephen Colbert: ‘Sex and the City’

The former Colbert Report host revealed throughout a December 2021 episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that he as soon as auditioned to play a man who goes on a date with Miranda, performed by Cynthia Nixon. Unfortunately, the fictional suitor was scuffling with gastrointestinal points after consuming spicy biryani — however even worse, Colbert’s appearing stunk up the joint so badly that he misplaced the function. “Evidently I did not have the acting chops to act like I have diarrhea,” he confessed.

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Zachary Levi: Star-Lord in ‘Guardians of The Galaxy’

“James [Gunn] and I knew each other, we were friends, we would have game nights at each other’s homes, had a lot of mutual friends,” the Chuck alum recalled on “The Fourth Wall” podcast in November 2021. “And so he had asked me to come in and read for Star-Lord, and I did, and then that led to the next step, and then all of a sudden I was camera testing. Oh man, I wanted that role so bad, like, so, so, so, so bad.”

Levi added on the time: “But eventually, and I think smartly, [Chris Pratt] decided to take the job and so it didn’t go my way, but I hoped I left enough of a good impression with James that when I was auditioning for Shazam, [after] his very dear friend and manager, Peter Safran, calls up James because this is how our industry works. Fortunately, I was in good standing with James … and I think between that and how well James thought I did in the Star-Lord test, he said, ‘Yeah man, you really should give Zach an opportunity at this. I really think he could be great.’”

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Shia LaBeouf: Oliver in ‘Call Me By Your Name’

Screenwriter James Ivory revealed that the Honey Boy actor nearly starred alongside Timothée Chalamet within the 2017 movie.

After LaBeouf’s audition with the Dune star, director “Luca [Guadagnino] and I had been blown away,” he wrote in his 2021 memoir, Solid Ivory, in keeping with GQ. “The reading by the two young actors had been sensational; they made a very convincing hot couple.”

However, LaBeouf’s “bad publicity” on the time finally led the film’s director to go in a distinct path. “Luca forged Armie Hammer and by no means spoke to, or of, Shia once more,” Ivory famous.

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Anthony Michael Hall: Ferris Bueller in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’

The Halloween Kills actor turned down the starring function within the 1986 teen comedy written and directed by his longtime collaborator John Hughes — and he nonetheless regrets it.

In an October 2021 interview, the Brat Pack alum revealed that the writer-director, who he labored with on Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, wrote the function of Ferris Bueller for him, however “because of the work [Hughes] gave me, he gave me a career as a kid, I was busy with other work. So I wasn’t able to do Ferris,” he told Insider.

It was a running theme for Hall in those days. The Weird Science actor also said he passed up playing Ducky in Pretty in Pink, another Hughes-written film, because of his hectic schedule.

However, he wishes he would have found the time to make Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. “I thought there was a real uniqueness to Ferris,” the Edward Scissorhands actor defined. “I assumed that will have been plenty of enjoyable.”

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Gabrielle Union: The Matrix

The Bring It On star auditioned for a job within the 1999 movie alongside “everyone and their mother” so she knew she needed to stand out. “To me, I needed to feel like the most powerful, beautiful, and amazing woman in the world,” she mentioned on The Late Late Show With James Corden in October 2021. “So of course, I wanted to channel Janet Jackson.”

To change into the “Rhythm Nation” singer, Union spared no expense. “I wanted to get the good hair, the Janet hair, from the weave emporium,” she mentioned. “I literally [found] the exact outfit from her album cover. I [drew] in the damn mole. I [was] fully committed.”

When she went to the tryout, she felt assured. “Then in walks Janet,” the You Got Anything Stronger? writer mentioned. The R&B icon was additionally auditioning for a job within the Keanu Reeves film “and I’m cosplaying as Janet, with a weird drawn-on mole,” Union joked.

Both girls misplaced out on the function and the Being Mary Jane alum believes she is aware of why. “I think we canceled each other out,” she mentioned. “I’m pretty sure there was a restraining order of sorts.”

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Jennifer Aniston: Sara in ‘Serendipity’

Director Peter Chelsom says that Aniston met with him about Kate Beckinsale’s function within the 2001 romance, however the Morning Show star needed to strive totally different genres since Friends already gave her a lot rom-com materials.

“I remember when she came in, she said, ‘I do a romantic comedy once a week,’ her being on Friends at the time, so she clearly had other things on her plate and it was her decision not to do it,” Chelsom recalled to Insider in October 2021 for the movie’s twentieth anniversary. “She had come to meet with me in good faith without an offer, but we definitely would have made her an offer if she wanted to make it.”

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Jake Gyllenhaal: Hansel in ‘Zoolander’

Owen Wilson was all the time the primary alternative for Hansel, however Ben Stiller recalled almost having to recast him when scheduling conflicts got here up. They even began the audition course of, and Stiller says the one audition for the 2001 movie that he can recall was the Velvet Buzzsaw actor.

“The only one that I remember clearly was a young Jake Gyllenhaal doing this wide-eyed version of Hansel that was really funny,” the actor instructed Esquire in September 2021.

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Ray Liotta: Ralphie Cifaretto in ‘The Sopranos’

The Goodfellas star mentioned rumors he was up for James Gandolfini’s function of Tony Soprano on the HBO drama are false. However, he’d been approached to play one other character on the hit. 

“David [Chase, creator of ‘The Sopranos’] as soon as talked to me about taking part in Ralphie [eventually played by Joe Pantoliano]. But by no means Tony,” Liotta instructed The Guardian in September 2021.

While selling his movie The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to The Sopranos, Liotta defined that he turned down the function within the unique collection. “I didn’t need to do one other mafia factor, and I used to be capturing ‘Hannibal.’ It simply didn’t really feel proper on the time,” he mentioned. 

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Jessica Chastain: Rosalyn in ‘American Hustle’

The Zero Dark Thirty actress revealed that she turned down the function because of scheduling conflicts. “I love [director] David O. Russell … love, love, love, and I’ve always wanted to work with him. And I got offered American Hustle, the Jennifer Lawrence part,” Chastain revealed on the “Happy, Sad, Confused” podcast in September 2021. “I wanted to do it. It conflicted with [director] Liv Ullmann and Miss Julie. I had been attached to that for a long time and I worship Liv Ullmann, so I had to say, like, ‘Sorry, there’s conflict’. And it didn’t work out.”

Chastain has no regrets, regardless of Lawrence’s Oscar nomination. “Everything occurs for a cause as a result of Jennifer was additionally manner higher than I ever would’ve been in that half,” she added.

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Rachel Leigh Cook: Rogue in ‘X-Men’

Anna Paquin performed Rogue within the X-Men franchise, however the function was first provided to Cook. The She’s All That actress revealed in an August 2021 interview with the New York Times that she thought she ought to keep away from capturing on a inexperienced display and needed to work on a number of smaller movies as a substitute. 

She knew it was a “huge misstep” when she noticed the advertising and marketing marketing campaign for the blockbuster. “As quickly as I noticed the posters for it, I knew that I’d made a mistake,” she recalled.

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Pedro Pascal: Marcel in ‘The Vampire Diaries’

Before Charles Michael Davis joined TVD as Originals vampire Marcel, he had some competitors for the half. Show creator Julie Plec instructed Entertainment Weekly in August 2021 that in addition they thought of the Mandalorian star for the half.

“One of the other people who read opposite Charles for that part was Pedro Pascal, who I loved,” she recalled to the outlet on the time. “I was obsessed with him, but he was just on the older side.” 

It was the Younger alum who finally gained the half, which the Legacies creator credited to Davis’ “swagger.” Plec defined that Marcel wanted swag to “operate and breathe in the same place as Klaus.”

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Beyoncé and Will Smith: Jackson “Jack” Maine and Ally Maine

Barbra Streisand revealed that she would have most popular to see Beyoncé and Will Smith seem as the primary couple of 2018’s A Star Is Born.

“At first, when I heard it was going to be done again, it was supposed to be Will Smith and Beyoncé, and I thought, that’s interesting,” Streisand instructed The Sunday Project in August 2021. “Really make it different again, different kind of music, integrated actors, I thought that was a great idea. So, I was surprised when I saw how alike it was to the version that I did in 1976.”

Although the rumored casting wasn’t meant to be, the singer admitted that her view of the remake was affected by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga taking on these roles.

“I don’t know. I thought it was the wrong idea,” she added on the time. “But hey, look, it was a big success, and I can’t argue with success but I don’t care about so much success as I do originality.”

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Debra Winger: Dottie Hinson in A League of Their Own

The actress was forged as Dottie, the character finally performed by Geena Davis, and she even spent three months coaching with the Chicago Cubs. However, she stop after Madonna was forged as Mae Mordabito, claiming the film could be “an Elvis film.” She instructed The Telegraph she nonetheless acquired paid for the function.

“The studio agreed with me … because it was the only time I ever collected a pay-or-play on my contract. In other words, I collected my pay even though I did not play, and that’s very hard to get in a court,” she revealed.

Winger watched the ultimate movie, however she thought the forged was not convincing as “As entertaining as [the final film] was, you don’t walk away going ‘Wow, those women did that,’” she added. “You kind of go ‘Is that true?’”

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Alan Cumming: Gilderoy Lockhart in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’

The Broadway alum nearly performed the Hogwarts professor within the 2002 sequel, however wage disputes took him out of the operating. 

“They wanted me and Rupert Everett to do a screen test, and they said they couldn’t pay me more than a certain sum, they just didn’t have any more money in the budget,” the Scottish actor instructed The Telegraph in August 2021. “And I had the identical agent as Rupert, who after all, they have been going to pay extra. … I mentioned, ‘Tell them to f—okay proper off.’ … And then they f—king gave it to Kenneth Branagh, got here out of the shadows.”

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Paul Bettany: Emmett Richmond in ‘Legally Blonde’

Reese Witherspoon’s love curiosity in 2001’s Legally Blonde might’ve been fully totally different. Paul Bettany, who’s now finest often called Vision within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, auditioned for the function. However, he misplaced the half as soon as producers determined they wanted an actor who was born within the states. “I loved Paul Bettany for the Luke role, but he was British, and they felt like it needed to be a real American,” casting director Joseph Middleton instructed the New York Times in July 2021. Eventually, producers realized the half they known as “the Luke Wilson role” wanted to be performed by the Texas native.  

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Jennifer Lawrence: Squeaky Fromme in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’

The Hunger Games star was in talks for Dakota Fanning’s function of Squeaky Fromme within the Oscar-winning drama, in keeping with creator Quentin Tarantino. “Early on, in the pre-production of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, I flirted around with the idea of — and [by the way], I couldn’t be happier with what Dakota Fanning did, it’s one of the best performances in the movie. She’s amazing as Squeaky Fromme,” Tarantino mentioned on a June 2021 episode of Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast. “She becomes [her]. But early on, I investigated the idea of Jennifer Lawrence playing Squeaky. She came down to the house to read the script cause I wasn’t letting it out. So, she came down to the house and I gave her the script and said, ‘Go in my living room or go outside by the pool and read it.’”

The Pulp Fiction director recalled Lawrence being “interested” within the function after she learn the script however famous that “something didn’t work out” when it got here to remaining casting choices. “She’s a very nice person, and I respect her as an actress,” he added.

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Rachel McAdams: Andy Sachs in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’

“We offered it to Rachel McAdams three times. The studio was determined to have her, and she was determined not to do it,” director David Frankel defined to Entertainment Weekly in June 2021. After back-to-back hits with The Notebook and Mean Girls, the actress needed to concentrate on much less mainstream movies, clearing the best way for Anne Hathaway to play the half within the 2006 movie.

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Tom Selleck: Indiana Jones in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’

Harrison Ford took the lead function within the franchise because the archeologist, but it surely might’ve been Tom Selleck. Karen Allen, who performed Marion Ravenwood reverse Ford as Indiana Jones, revealed the Friends alum’s TV profession compelled him to show down the gig. “Tom Selleck had been cast, and then it turned out Magnum P.I. got picked up,” she instructed Variety in June 2021. “They wouldn’t let him out of his contract, and so he was heartbroken. I only know that way after the fact because I sat with him many years later and he told me how heartbroken he was.”

Allen additionally revealed that Sam Elliot, Jeff Bridges, Tim Matheson and John Shea auditioned for Steven Spielberg’s 1981 hit.

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Viggo Mortensen: Wolverine within the ‘X-Men’ Franchise

During a dialog on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in February 2021, Mortensen recalled how his son, Henry, had a hand in his determination to surrender the function of superhero Wolverine earlier than Hugh Jackman finally secured the gig. “The thing that bothered me at the time was just the commitment of endless movies of that same character over and over. I was nervous about that,” Mortensen recalled of early conferences with director Bryan Singer. “And also there were some things — I mean, they straightened most of them out, but I did take Henry to the meeting I had with the director as my sort of good luck charm and guide. In the back of my mind, I was thinking he could learn something, too, because I did let Henry read the script and he goes, ‘This is wrong. That’s not how it is.'”

Henry had robust emotions about the best way Wolverine could be portrayed on the large display. “All of a sudden, the director is falling all over himself and then the rest of the meeting was him explaining in detail to Henry why he was taking certain liberties,” the actor mentioned. “We walked out of there and Henry asks if he will change the things he told him about, and I say, ‘I don’t think so. I’m not going to do it anyway, because I’m not sure I want to be doing this for years. And then, a couple of years later, I’m doing three Lord of the Rings [movies].”

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Rob Lowe: Dr. Derek Shepherd on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

It’s laborious to think about anybody aside from Patrick Dempsey portraying McDreamy on the ABC medical drama, however the half almost went to the Parks and Recreation alum. “This is what longevity, experience and recovery give you. There are no accidents,” Lowe mentioned to Variety in February 2021 of passing on Grey’s Anatomy for the short-lived collection Dr. Vegas. “Whatever decision you come to, if you come to it from the right place, it’s never wrong.”

The 9-1-1: Lone Star actor added, “Me in that part isn’t as interesting as Patrick in that part. If it’d been me, [the fans] wouldn’t have called me ‘McDreamy,’ they would have called me Rob Lowe.”

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Michelle Pfeiffer: Clarice Starling in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’

The Maleficent: Mistress of Evil actress was initially provided to play FBI agent Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs earlier than Jodie Foster signed on for the 1991 movie, which went on to win 5 Oscars. “With The Silence of the Lambs, I was trepidatious,” Pfeiffer instructed The New Yorker in January 2021. “There was such evil in that film. The thing I most regret is missing the opportunity to do another film with [director Jonathan Demme]. It was that evil won in the end, that at the end of that film evil ruled out. I was uncomfortable with that ending. I didn’t want to put that out into the world.”

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James Marsden: Stripper in ‘Magic Mike’

The Notebook star revealed in January 2021 that he handed on a job in 2012’s Magic Mike as a result of he had a “fear I would be edited out of the movie.” Marsden instructed James Corden that he was nervous that “all my lines would be cut out and I’d be an extra just rushing around in a G-string, so I think it was a lack of courage on my part.” Ultimately, the actor doesn’t remorse taking part in one of many strippers within the franchise, which stars Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer and Joe Manganiello. “I could have jumped in and had fun with that,” Marsden added, noting his mates and household, nonetheless, “didn’t want to see me like that.” 

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Devon Sawa

The Final Destination star revealed in December 2020 that there is one function he did not declare that also leaves him feeling “heartbroken:” Anakin Skywalker within the Star Wars prequel trilogy. “There were five of us going for it, and then they ended up going with Hayden Christensen from Vancouver,” Sawa instructed Entertainment Tonight on the time. “Especially as a kid, to think, to play young Darth Vader in what was going to be the biggest thing ever … nobody knew what those films were going to be, but it was, like, everybody wanted those parts and I want to say I came close.”

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Amanda Seyfried: Gamora in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

The Mamma Mia! star fearful that the 2014 Marvel flick would bomb on the field workplace, so she handed on the function of Gamora, which finally went to Zoe Saldana. “I said, ‘Who wants to see a movie about a talking tree and a raccoon?’ Which, clearly, I was very wrong,” she mentioned on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast in December 2020.

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George Clooney: Noah Calhoun in ‘The Notebook’

In October 2020, George Clooney revealed that he and Paul Newman have been initially going to play the younger and previous Noah, respectively, within the 2004 adaptation of The Notebook, however he felt too intimidated. “He’s one of the handsomest guys you’ve ever seen. We met up [again] and I said, ‘I can’t play you. I don’t look anything like you. This is insane,’” the actor mentioned throughout the sixty fourth BFI London Film Festival. “We just wanted to do it because we wanted to work together, [but] it ended up being not the right thing for us to do.”

The roles finally went to Ryan Gosling and James Garner.

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Gloria Estefan: Daisy Arujo in ‘Mystic Pizza’

Estefan revealed that she was initially provided the main function within the 1988 movie Mystic Pizza, which finally went to Julia Roberts. During a September 2020 look on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, she was requested whether or not she’s turned down songs that later turned big hits. “Not a song because I usually write most of my songs and I recorded most of them, but I will tell you a movie role I passed on — Mystic Pizza,” the “Get on Your Feet” singer mentioned.

“I had that role. I didn’t even have to audition for it, but at the time I felt like I was not a good enough actor and I wanted to cement my career in music,” she continued. “I thought, one day I will do acting, but I’m not going to throw myself into this and not be good at it.”

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Brad Pitt: Russell Hammond in ‘Almost Famous’

He might have been a “golden God!” Director Cameron Crowe revealed that the Oklahoma native was on the prime of his thoughts whereas “in the early stages” of casting the beloved 2000 movie. “I had a really good meeting with him around the time of Say Anything,” Crowe defined throughout a July 2020 episode of the “Origins: Almost Famous Turns Twenty” podcast. “And he was just starting out, and he just really had something.” Pitt learn for the function of Russell Hammond, which later went to Billy Crudup, with early Penny Lane favourite Natalie Portman (the function ultimately went to Kate Hudson). Ultimately, each Crowe and Pitt realized it wasn’t the proper match. “I think in the back of my brain, I knew that he had never fully fallen in love with the character,” the director mentioned. “He had fallen in love with the idea of the character. But, maybe there just wasn’t enough on the page.”

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Claire Danes: Rose Dewitt Bukater in ‘Titanic’

The Homeland star revealed in a January 2020 episode of the podcast “Armchair Expert” that she had “zero” regrets about not starring within the blockbuster 1997 romance alongside her Romeo + Juliet costar Leonardo DiCaprio. “There was strong interest, but honestly, I’d just made this romantic epic with Leo in Mexico City, which is where they were going to shoot Titanic, and I just didn’t have it in me. … I was just feeling eager to have different creative experiences. That felt like a repeat.”

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Brad Pitt: Neo in ‘The Matrix’

During an look on the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Pitt revealed that he turned down the chance to look in The Matrix. “I really believe it was never mine. It’s not mine. It’s someone else’s and they go and make it. I really do believe in that,” the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor mentioned throughout a panel dialogue. “I really do. But I did pass on the Matrix. I took the red pill.”

Keanu Reeves starred as Neo in The Matrix, which has spawned a number of sequels because the unique movie premiered in 1999.

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Woody Harrelson: Jerry Maguire in ‘Jerry Maguire’

It’s laborious to think about anybody aside from American treasure Tom Cruise portraying the titular function in Jerry Maguire, however equally celebrated actor Woody Harrelson revealed that the half almost went to him. “I was offered Jerry Maguire, and I said to Jim [producer James L. Brooks], ‘Nobody is going to give a s–t about an agent,’” the Cheers alum instructed Esquire for its September 2019 cowl story. However, Harrelson couldn’t have been extra unsuitable in regards to the 1996 movie, which went on to earn favorable opinions from critics and drummed up $273.5 million on the international field workplace.

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Anna Nicole Smith: Tina Carlyle in ‘The Mask’

It’s no secret that Cameron Diaz made her star flip as Jim Carrey love curiosity Tina Carlyle in The Mask, however the half was almost performed by a really totally different blonde actress. Ahead of the movie’s twenty fifth anniversary, director Chuck Russell revealed to Variety on July 28 that he initially needed Smith for the function. “Anna was charming and bubbling, but did not have other qualities needed for the role,” he instructed the publication of the late actress. “I never took the next step to run scenes with her.” Although Diaz had no prior appearing credit, Russell wound up asking her to come back learn for the half after coming throughout her 8×10 photograph on the casting deck. Now, the remainder is historical past!

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Brendan Fraser: Clark Kent/Superman in ‘Superman’ Franchise

Audiences have seen Fraser dabble inside the superhero style earlier than, starring as Cliff Steele/Robotman in Doom Patrol. His resume can also be stacked with motion film credit, largely because of his involvement within the Mummy franchise. However, he revealed to Yahoo! Entertainment in June 2019 that he almost donned a cape to play the Kryptonian hero, which he, actually, tried on for dimension. “You feel kind of invincible, [like] ‘I can fly,’” he mentioned, describing his expertise carrying the long-lasting Superman swimsuit. “The cape actually makes you think you have the power of flight even though you know you don’t.”

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Sandra Bullock: Neo in ‘The Matrix’

The Oscar winner was provided the function of Neo earlier than Keanu Reeves landed the gig. “We went out to so many people I don’t remember. We were getting desperate,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura instructed The Wrap in March 2019 forward of the movie’s twentieth anniversary. “We went to Sandy Bullock and said, ‘We’ll change Neo to a girl.’ [Producer] Joel Silver and I worked with Sandy on Demolition Man and she was and continues to be a very good friend of mine. It was pretty simple. We sent her the script to see if she was interested in it. And if she was interested in it, we would try to make the change.” 

However, Bullock wasn’t . “It just wasn’t something for her at the time,” di Bonaventura defined. “So really, it didn’t go anywhere.”

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Katie Holmes: Kat Stratford in ’10 Things I Hate About You’

Julia Stiles’ iconic function nearly went to Katie Holmes! Casting director Marica Ross instructed The New York Times in March 2019 that Holmes was in talks for the half, however “she was about to get Dawson’s Creek and we had to make a decision really fast.”

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Kate Hudson: Kat Stratford in ’10 Things I Hate About You’

Before Julia Stiles landed the gig, Kate Hudson was in consideration to play Heath Ledger’s love curiosity within the 1999 romantic comedy. Casting director Marcia Ross instructed The New York Times in March 2019 that she “loved” Hudson, however the actress’ mother, Goldie Hawn, “didn’t like the script for her, so she passed.”

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Rob Lowe: Dr. Derek ‘McDreamy’ Shepherd in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

The Parks & Rec actor initially mentioned how he turned down the most important TV function in his 2011 memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends. Lowe divulged that he was already in contract negotiations to star on an upcoming CBS present known as Dr. Vegas when he acquired a name from the ABC producers. “I agreed to meet with the people making Grey’s Anatomy. I had read it and loved it — the writing was crisp, real and very entertaining — and it’s always been a good idea to hear out talented people,” he recalled. “‘We would be thrilled if you would play Dr. Derek Shepherd,’ they said right off the bat. I was torn. Grey’s was a much better script; in fact, there was no comparison.”

During a March 2019 podcast episode of “WTF With Marc Maron,” the Californication actor introduced it up once more. “Dude, I turned down Grey’s Anatomy … to play McDreamy.” He added, “That probably cost me $70 million dollars!” The About Last Night star defined, “But at the end of the day, I watched it when it came out, and when they started calling the handsome doctor ‘McDreamy,’ I said, ‘Yeah, that’s not for me.’” The function ultimately went to Patrick Dempsey, who performed the heartthrob from 2005 to 2015.

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Matthew McConaughey: Jack Dawson in ‘Titanic’

The actor revealed in November 2018 that he auditioned for the function, which ultimately went to Leonardo DiCaprio. “I wanted that,” he mentioned on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. “I auditioned with Kate Winslet. Had a good audition. Walked away from there pretty confident that I had it. I didn’t get it. I never got offered that.”

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Jonah Hill: Sean Parker in ‘The Social Network’

Hill nearly took on Justin Timberlake’s function as Facebook’s first president within the hit 2010 flick. “Low-key, [director] David Fincher, or high-key, David Fincher didn’t want me in Social Network,” the actor claimed throughout his look on The Bill Simmons Podcast in October 2018. “It was between me and Justin Timberlake for that part. Obviously, [Fincher’s] the man, but he was not having me. The studio wanted me, I think, and then Justin Timberlake was amazing in it. Social Network is the one that I was actually, like, years later, was like, ‘F—k, like, I’m so bummed.’”

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Charlie Hunnam: Christian Grey in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

Back in 2013, Hunnam was set to star within the erotica film, however dropped out shortly filming started began because of scheduling conflicts. The Sons of Anarchy actor, who was changed by Jamie Dornan, instructed Variety in September 2015 that leaving the function behind affected him. “Oh, it was the worst professional experience of my life,” he mentioned. “It was the most emotionally destructive and difficult thing that I’ve ever had to deal with professionally.”

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Emma Watson: Mia in ‘La La Land’

The Harry Potter alum nearly performed the function that gained Emma Stone a Best Actress Oscar in March 2017. During an interview with SiriusXM’s Town Hall that very same month, Watson defined that she backed out of the venture because of scheduling conflicts with Beauty and the Beast, a movie she had been dedicated to for a few years.

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Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt: Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mark in ‘Brokeback Mountain’

Broken forged! “I was working on it, and I felt we needed a really strong cast, like a famous cast. That wasn’t working out. I asked the usual suspects: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Ryan Phillippe. They all said no,” unique director Gus Van Sant instructed IndieWire. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger later signed on for the roles underneath director Ang Lee. 

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Christina Applegate: Elle Woods in ‘Legally Blonde’

The Bad Moms actress talked about turning down Reese Witherspoon’s star-making function within the 2001 comedy in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “The script came along my way and it was right after I had just finished Married [With… Children] and it was, you know, a blonde who was, in that first script, dim-witted but ends up going to Harvard,” she mentioned in July 2015. “It was just, I got scared. I got scared of kind of repeating myself.”

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Hugh Jackman: James Bond in ‘Casino Royale’

“I thought it would box me in too much,” the Aussie actor instructed The Hollywood Reporter in February 2013. “My natural instinct is to keep as many doors open as possible.” Previously portrayed by stars corresponding to Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan, the 007 function would later go to Daniel Craig.

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Emily Blunt: Black Widow within the Marvel franchise

Scarlett Johansson stepped in! The British actress handed on taking part in superhero Black Widow in 2010’s Iron Man 2. “It was never the right time, really, and it just didn’t work out scheduling-wise,” she instructed Vulture in December 2014.

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Lindsay Lohan: Jade in ‘The Hangover’

Us Weekly revealed in July 2009 that the controversial former little one star was initially requested to be within the smash 2009 comedy. She thought the screenplay “had no potential,” a supply mentioned. “The agent tried to get [director Todd Phillips] to consider her, and when he finally agreed, Lindsay said she didn’t like the script!” Heather Graham signed on as a substitute.

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Matt Damon: Matt Murdock in ‘Daredevil’

The Oscar winner was truly provided the 2003 drama (that turned out to be a box-office bomb) earlier than his BFF Ben Affleck was forged. “That’s the comic we read when we were kids,” Damon instructed the New York Daily News in September 2015. “But when that one came along (in 2003), I chickened out, because I couldn’t tell. I hadn’t seen the director’s (Mark Steven Johnson) work and I didn’t know. So I just said no. Ben was like, ‘I gotta do it.'” Affleck’s love curiosity within the movie was his future spouse, Jennifer Garner. The couple introduced in summer time 2015 that they have been ending their 10-year marriage.

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Julia Roberts: Leigh Anne Tuohy in ‘The Blind Side’

What might have been! Roberts reportedly declined to star within the 2009 soccer drama. Sandra Bullock took over and gained an Oscar in the perfect actress class for her work in 2010.

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Sarah Michelle Gellar: Cher in ‘Clueless’

Like, as if! The Buffy the Vampire Slayer alumna needed to move on the 1995 traditional comedy because of scheduling conflicts. She was taking part in Kendall Hart on the time within the TV cleaning soap All My Children.

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Molly Ringwald: Vivian Ward in ‘Pretty Woman’

Another redhead! The ’80s teen queen was reportedly near taking part in then-unknown Julia Roberts’ function within the 1990 traditional. “Julia Roberts is what makes that movie. It was her part,” Ringwald mentioned throughout a Reddit Q&A in April 2012. “Every actor hopes for a part that lets them shine like that.”

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Tom Hanks: Jerry Maguire in ‘Jerry Maguire’

Another Tom! “I took so lengthy doing the script that Hanks was now not a 35-year-old man. By the time he acquired [the script] he was nearly 40 and had two Academy Awards and needed to direct,” writer-director Cameron Crowe defined to Empire journal in 1997. Tom Cruise later signed on.

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Will Smith: Neo in ‘The Matrix’

Wild, wild casting! The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star had the prospect to play Keanu Reeves‘ half within the franchise. “In the pitch, I just didn’t see it. I watched Keanu’s performance — and very rarely do I say this — but I would have messed it up. I would have absolutely messed up The Matrix,” he instructed Wired. “At that point I wasn’t smart enough as an actor to let the movie be. Whereas Keanu was smart enough to just let it be.”

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Charlie Hunnam: Christian Grey in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

What a tease! The Sons of Anarchy hunk famously dropped out of the kinky NSFW film in September 2013 and was changed by Jamie Dornan. “It was a really, really difficult time in my life. I had already been attached to Crimson Peak for about 14 months, which I said I was going to do with Guillermo [del Toro],” he defined to Us Weekly in September 2015. “To fail on such a grand scale — because Fifty’s going to be massive, it’s going to be huge … I loved the character and I wanted to do it. I’m also a man of my word.”

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Katie Holmes: Piper Chapman in ‘Orange Is the New Black’

No jail jumpsuit for her! The Dawson’s Creek alumna nearly took on Taylor Schilling‘s function within the massively profitable Netflix collection. “I met with her,” creator Jenji Kohan instructed E! News. “She had other things to do. And also, in the beginning, no one knew what this was.”

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Paul Giamatti: Michael Scott in ‘The Office’

Sorry, Scranton! In 2006, the New York Times reported that NBC executives needed the Billions star to play the idiotic Dunder Mifflin supervisor within the American reboot of the British unique. Steve Carell took the gig after Giamatti turned it down.

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Johnny Depp: Ferris Bueller in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’

Had the hair for it! The Pirates of the Caribbean actor was reportedly one of many actors thought of for the function, which ultimately went to Matthew Broderick. Other contenders included Rob Lowe, John Cusack, Robert Downey Jr. and Michael J. Fox.

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Anne Hathaway: Tiffany in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’

Film exec Harvey Weinstein instructed Howard Stern that Hathaway dropped out of the drama that earned Jennifer Lawrence an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2013. “Silver Linings Playbook was originally going to be with Anne Hathaway and Mark Wahlberg … and then Anne wasn’t doing it. And she’s marvelous and wonderful and she was my choice, I love her,” he mentioned in January 2014. Turns out, all the things labored out! At the identical Oscars, Hathaway gained in the perfect supporting actress class for her function in Les Misérables.

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Brad Pitt: Jason Bourne in ‘The Bourne Identity’

Pitt, Russell Crowe and Sylvester Stallone have been all reportedly provided the badass function earlier than Matt Damon signed on the dotted line. Pitt and Damon beforehand labored collectively in Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and Ocean’s Twelve (2004).

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Gwyneth Paltrow: Rose DeWitt Bukater in ‘Titanic’

Bye, Jack Dawson! Paltrow nearly starred within the 1997 field workplace smash — nonetheless one of many highest-grossing movies of all time — over Kate Winslet. “I look back at the choices I’ve made and think, Why the hell did I say yes to that and no to that? And you know, you look at the big picture and think: There’s a universal lesson here. What good is it to hold onto roles?” she instructed Howard Stern in January 2015. “My mother [Blythe Danner] will kill me that I’m talking about turning down movie roles. She says it’s not ladylike.”