When a movie becomes a massive success, it can be hard to imagine other actors playing the lead roles. Yet oftentimes, a massive star — or sometimes several massive stars — has already turned down that role.
Here are 19 times that a famous actor passed on a film, only to have that role go on to be iconic:
2.
Before Keanu Reeves landed the role of Neo in The Matrix, the Wachowskis offered it to Will Smith. However, Smith later revealed that he was a bit confused by the plot of The Matrix (fair enough) and so passed on it to star in Wild, Wild West instead.
3.
After she finished playing a "dumb blonde" in Married...With Children, Christina Applegate turned down the role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde out of fear of being typecast. "I got scared of kind of repeating myself," she said, before adding, "What a stupid move that was." The role would ultimately become Reese Witherspoon's most iconic.
4.
While Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger would eventually go on to earn Oscar nominations for their roles in the gay romance Brokeback Mountain, a number of actors passed on those roles first. Those include Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Ryan Philippe, Josh Hartnett, and Joaquin Phoenix.
5.
Back in the 1970s, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas tried to convince Al Pacino to play the role of Han Solo in Star Wars. However, Pacino turned down the part (and what would ultimately have been a massive payday) because he didn't fully understand the script. Harrison Ford would then go on to star in five Star Wars films, earning millions.
6.
When Marvel came to offer Emily Blunt the role of the Black Widow in Iron Man 2, she was contractually obligated to star in Gulliver's Travels instead. Despite not wanting to be in Gulliver's Travels, she turned down what would have eventually led to millions to avoid breaking her contract.
7.
The role of Sister Mary Clarence in Sister Act was originally written for Bette Midler. The powerhouse vocalist, however, turned down the role, saying, "My fans don't want to see me in a wimple." That role would ultimately go to Whoopi Goldberg instead.
8.
When Ghost premiered in 1990, the film's star, Demi Moore, was married to Bruce Willis. Producers had initially asked both actors to star in their supernatural romance, but Willis turned down the part because he didn't think a romance with a ghost made sense. Patrick Swayze ended up opposite Moore instead.
9.
Director Cameron Crowe set up a meeting with Tom Hanks about starring in Jerry Maguire, the film that would eventually star another famous Tom: Mr. Tom Cruise. While Hanks passed on the role in order to shoot his directorial debut, he was so effusive in his praise for the script that Crowe later said, "The Tom Hanks elixir was so strong I didn’t even realize he passed until after I’d hung up."
10.
Before Bill Murray landed the lead role in Groundhog Day, producers offered the part to Michael Keaton, who turned it down because he "didn't get it." He'd already played similar roles and didn't see what was special about the film. He also believes Murray was ultimately better for the role, saying, "You can't do that better than Bill Murray did it."
11.
"You will never meet an actor who turned down more money than me," Matt Damon said about passing on the lead role in Avatar, which ultimately went to Sam Worthington. Damon says he turned down 10% of Avatar's sales, but director James Cameron doesn't quite remember it the same way, saying that the role was never formally offered to Matt Damon because he passed so quickly due to a scheduling conflict.
12.
Halle Berry was offered the lead role in Speed before Sandra Bullock ended up accepting the part. However, Halle says that the bus never left the parking lot in the version of the script she read. Had she read the final action-packed script, things might have ended differently.
13.
Legendary actor Sean Connery turned down many roles over the course of his career — one important one was Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He passed on the part because he didn't understand all of the fantasy elements. "I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it," he said years later.
14.
Connery also passed on the role of cannibal Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, a role that won Anthony Hopkins an Oscar. According to the film's director Jonathan Demme, "Word came back shortly that he thought it was disgusting and wouldn’t dream of playing that part."
15.
Michelle Pfeiffer also passed on The Silence of the Lambs, with her role going to Jodie Foster. "With Silence of the Lambs, I was trepidatious," she said. "There was such evil in that film." When asked what exactly it was about the project that made her not want to take part in it, Pfeiffer added: "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."
16.
Billy Crystal was offered the role of Buzz Lightyear in the original Toy Story film, but passed on the role because he didn't feel like he had the right voice for an astronaut action figure. The part ultimately went to Tim Allen, but the Pixar connection would eventually lead to Crystal lending his voice to Monsters, Inc. instead. "I'm the schmuck who turned down Toy Story," he said years later.
17.
Amanda Seyfried owns the fact that she didn't have a good read on Guardians of the Galaxy. She was offered the role of Gamora (ultimately played by Zoe Saldana), but passed. "I didn't want to be part of the first Marvel movie that bombed," Seyfried said on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast. "I said, 'Who wants to see a movie about a talking tree and a raccoon?' Which is clearly — I was very wrong."
18.
Denzel Washington turned down Brad Pitt's role in Se7en because he thought that the script was "too demonic." Several years later, he had a change of heart. "Then I saw the movie," he says. "I was like 'Oh, I blew it!' But, you know, it worked out alright."
19.
And last, but not least, Meg Ryan was the first choice for the role of Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman. After she passed, it went to Julia Roberts, who earned her second Oscar nomination for playing the sex worker with a heart of gold.
Which one of these surprised you the most? Any more actors who passed on huge roles to add to this list? Tell us in the comments below!
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