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Stars Who Turned Down Main Film and TV Roles: Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow and Extra
Gwyneth Paltrow in Titanic? Brad Pitt in Virtually Well-known? A number of the most iconic roles in movie and TV might have appeared very totally different had they gone to the unique casting selections.
Earlier than Billy Crudup introduced Stillwater singer Russell Hammond to life within the 2000 music drama, director Cameron Crowe had his eye on Pitt, who was “simply beginning out” in his now-legendary profession. “He simply actually had one thing,” Crowe gushed throughout the premiere episode of the “Origins: Virtually Well-known Turns Twenty” podcast in July 2020.
Casting director Gail Levin agreed, noting that the Advert Astra star was clearly the crew’s “first selection” for the character. “We liked that concept and he was Brad Pitt,” Levin defined on the podcast. “I imply, he was humorous and good-looking and gifted. … That form of charisma and display screen presence would’ve been actually, actually nice for that half.”
Whereas Pitt nailed his audition — and had Crowe “rolling on the ground” in laughter — it simply wasn’t the proper match for that second. Crowe even admitted that he “wept” when the Combat Membership star pulled out of the mission.
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“However I believe at the back of my mind, I knew that he had by no means totally fallen in love with the character,” Crowe mentioned. “He had fallen in love with the thought of the character. However, possibly there simply wasn’t sufficient on the web page.”
The As soon as Upon a Time in Hollywood actor is not the one one who turned down the chance to take a soon-to-be iconic position. In 2015, Paltrow admitted that she might have starred in 1997’s field workplace hit, Titanic.
“I look again on the selections I’ve made and assume, ‘Why the hell did I say sure to that and no to that?'” she informed Howard Stern on the time. “And you understand, you take a look at the large image and assume, ‘There is a common lesson right here. What good is it to carry onto roles?'”
The Nation Robust actress went on to joke that her mom, actress Blythe Danner, would not be happy with her for spilling business secrets and techniques. “My mom will kill me that I am speaking about turning down film roles,” she teased. “She says it isn’t ladylike.”
Scroll down to seek 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 Superb Spider-Man’
The “Burnin’ Up” singer revealed that he nearly portrayed the long-lasting superhero within the 2012 film.
“Within the second, you are destroyed otherwise you’re defeated. However you notice this individual was good. I bear in mind years in the past I used to be up for Spider-Man and I used to be so, so excited and it was the 12 months Andrew Garfield bought it,” Jonas recalled throughout a November 2022 “Only for Selection” podcast episode. “Clearly, he was the fitting one.”
The Devotion actor added that it was a “massive factor” getting known as again — and thought he may need a leg up within the audition course of attributable to director Mar Webb initially making his identify in music movies earlier than switching to function movies.
“I used to be like, ‘I bought an in right here,'” the DNCE musician mentioned. “However you understand what? I really like the method of auditioning and placing your self on the market and having to show your self.”
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Kristen Stewart: The First Sufferer in ‘Scream 4’
The administrators of Scream 4 wished 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 will get killed to start with,” the Oscar nominee informed Slant in March 2022 concerning the half she was provided within the horror franchise. “And so they created a complete sequence the place lots of people bought killed to emulate the Drew factor. Nevertheless it was simply going to be one individual, and I used to be like, ‘I can’t do a Drew. I can’t contact that.'”
The screenwriters in the end selected a “bigger sequence” with multiple sufferer. Regardless of turning Scream down the primary time, Stewart is open to doubtlessly showing in one other sequel down the road. “I might learn the script. I really like Neve Campbell a lot,” she mentioned. “I really like that film. I’ve watched it lately, as an grownup although. It’s so gnarly. … It’s not only a slasher flick. It’s a phenomenal film.”
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Russell Crowe: Michael O’Neal in ‘My Greatest Pal’s Marriage ceremony’
Director P.J. Hogan’s first selection for the main man wasn’t Dermot Mulroney.
“My first selection was truly Russell Crowe,” Hogan informed Vulture in February 2022. “Russell was, I assumed, most likely probably the most wonderful actor I had ever encountered. I form of knew Russell was going to be a very massive star.”
He bought so far as a desk learn with Julia Roberts — and that is the place all of it went fallacious. “It was one of many worst desk reads I’ve ever skilled,” Hogan revealed. “Russell was seated reverse Julia. He gripped that script, and he stared at that script, and he didn’t take a look at her as soon as. He learn each line in a monotone. At one level, Julia was actually leaning over the desk, staring, like, inches from Russell’s face, attempting to make eye contact. And he wouldn’t take a look at her. On the finish of the studying, Russell got here as much as me and mentioned, ‘I assumed that went fairly properly.’ After which I knew: Russell was not going to be in My Greatest Pal’s Marriage ceremony.”
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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 damage modified her plans. The position finally went to Jodie Foster.
“We had been meant to work collectively,” Kidman informed Kristen Stewart throughout Selection’s Actors on Actors sequence in January 2022. “I bear in mind [director] David Fincher saying, ‘Oh, my God, we’ve found probably the most unbelievable actress.’ After which I bought injured and ended up not taking part in your mama.”
Stewart, for her half, recalled Kidman’s transient time on set fondly, including, “We spent a pair weeks rehearsing. I’ve a vivid reminiscence of it, as a result of the way in which you deal with youngsters is so telling. I felt like I used to be buds with you. It was two or three weeks, however I used to be at all times like, ‘She’s one in every of my mates.’ 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 position, Blanchett was introduced because the star. Finally, the Thor: Ragnarok actress backed out of the biopic, citing scheduling conflicts. She has no regrets, although.
“It turned the film it wanted to be,” Blanchett mentioned throughout an look on Selection‘s “Awards Circuit” podcast in January 2022, days after Kidman received a Golden Globe for her efficiency.
She continued, “These issues occur in the fitting approach, on the proper time. In the very best approach, you don’t at all times envisage the identical factor; after which it goes on to turn out to be a distinct entity.”
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Kristin Davis: Monica in ‘Buddies’
“I believe I used to be one in every of, like, 8,000 younger women who learn for Monica and Courteney Cox bought her,” Davis recalled throughout an look on The Late Late Present with James Corden in December 2021. “Courteney and I had been in the identical yoga class on the time and we used to hang around. The remainder of us had been, like, unemployed actor waitresses varieties and we’d hang around after class.”
She continued: “Someday, Courteney was like, ‘Hey, guys. Do you need to come automobile buying with me? We had been like, ‘Wow, automobile buying!’ [Courteney] mentioned, ‘I did this pilot, I am feeling actually good about it. I believe I’ll purchase a Porsche.’ We had been like, ‘Wow, is she for actual?’ It was Buddies, and it did go very properly.”
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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. “Sadly, I used to be going to do Brokeback Mountain. I had a contract with The Black Dahlia that I needed to movie, so I needed to drop out of it,” Hartnett informed Australia’s Information.com.au, revealing that Joaquin Phoenix was purported to play Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, Jack Twist, earlier than he too dropped out. “I at all times wished to kiss Joaquin. In order that’s my largest remorse,” he joked.
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Stephen Colbert: ‘Intercourse and the Metropolis’
The previous Colbert Report host revealed throughout a December 2021 episode of The Late Present With Stephen Colbert that he as soon as auditioned to play a man who goes on a date with Miranda, performed by Cynthia Nixon. Sadly, the fictional suitor was combating gastrointestinal points after consuming spicy biryani — however even worse, Colbert’s performing stunk up the joint so badly that he misplaced the position. “Evidently I didn’t have the performing chops to behave like I’ve diarrhea,” he confessed.
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Zachary Levi: Star-Lord in ‘Guardians of The Galaxy’
“James [Gunn] and I knew one another, we had been mates, we’d have recreation nights at one another’s properties, had plenty of mutual mates,” the Chuck alum recalled on “The Fourth Wall” podcast in November 2021. “And so he had requested me to return in and browse for Star-Lord, and I did, after which that led to the subsequent step, after which abruptly I used to be digital camera testing. Oh man, I wished that position so dangerous, like, so, so, so, so dangerous.”
Levi added on the time: “However finally, and I believe well, [Chris Pratt] determined to take the job and so it didn’t go my approach, however I hoped I left sufficient of a superb impression with James that once I was auditioning for Shazam, [after] his very pricey good friend and supervisor, Peter Safran, calls up James as a result of that is how our business works. Fortuitously, I used to be in good standing with James … and I believe between that and the way properly James thought I did within the Star-Lord check, he mentioned, ‘Yeah man, you actually ought to give Zach a chance at this. I actually assume he might be nice.’”
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Shia LaBeouf: Oliver in ‘Name Me By Your Title’
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, Stable Ivory, in keeping with GQ. “The studying by the 2 younger actors had been sensational; they made a really convincing scorching couple.”
Nonetheless, LaBeouf’s “dangerous publicity” on the time in the end led the film’s director to go in a distinct route. “Luca forged Armie Hammer and by no means spoke to, or of, Shia once more,” Ivory famous.
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Anthony Michael Corridor: Ferris Bueller in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’
The Halloween Kills actor turned down the starring position 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 Membership, wrote the position of Ferris Bueller for him, however “due to the work [Hughes] gave me, he gave me a profession as a child, I used to be busy with different work. So I wasn’t in a position to do Ferris,” he informed Insider.
It was a operating theme for Corridor in these days. The Bizarre Science actor additionally mentioned he handed up taking part in Ducky in Fairly in Pink, one other Hughes-written movie, due to his hectic schedule.
Nonetheless, he needs he would have discovered the time to make Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. “I assumed there was an actual 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 Convey It On star auditioned for a job within the 1999 movie alongside “everybody and their mom” so she knew she needed to stand out. “To me, I wanted to really feel like probably the most highly effective, lovely, and wonderful lady on the earth,” she mentioned on The Late Late Present With James Corden in October 2021. “So in fact, I wished to channel Janet Jackson.”
To turn out to be the “Rhythm Nation” singer, Union spared no expense. “I wished to get the great hair, the Janet hair, from the weave emporium,” she mentioned. “I actually [found] the precise outfit from her album cowl. I [drew] within the rattling mole. I [was] totally dedicated.”
When she went to the tryout, she felt assured. “Then in walks Janet,” the You Bought Something Stronger? creator mentioned. The R&B icon was additionally auditioning for a job within the Keanu Reeves film “and I’m cosplaying as Janet, with a bizarre drawn-on mole,” Union joked.
Each girls misplaced out on the position and the Being Mary Jane alum believes she is aware of why. “I believe we canceled one another out,” she mentioned. “I’m fairly positive there was a restraining order of kinds.”
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Jennifer Aniston: Sara in ‘Serendipity’
Director Peter Chelsom says that Aniston met with him about Kate Beckinsale’s position within the 2001 romance, however the Morning Present star wished to strive totally different genres since Buddies already gave her a lot rom-com materials.
“I bear in mind when she got here in, she mentioned, ‘I do a romantic comedy as soon as per week,’ her being on Pals on the time, so she clearly had different issues on her plate and it was her resolution to not do it,” Chelsom recalled to Insider in October 2021 for the movie’s twentieth anniversary. “She had come to fulfill with me in good religion with out a suggestion, however we positively would have made her a suggestion if she wished to make it.”
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Jake Gyllenhaal: Hansel in ‘Zoolander’
Owen Wilson was at all times the primary selection for Hansel, however Ben Stiller recalled practically 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 one one which I bear in mind clearly was a younger Jake Gyllenhaal doing this wide-eyed model of Hansel that was actually humorous,” the actor informed 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 position of Tony Soprano on the HBO drama are false. Nonetheless, 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]. However by no means Tony,” Liotta informed The Guardian in September 2021.
Whereas selling his movie The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to The Sopranos, Liotta defined that he turned down the position within the unique sequence. “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 Darkish Thirty actress revealed that she turned down the position attributable to scheduling conflicts. “I really like [director] David O. Russell … love, love, love, and I’ve at all times wished to work with him. And I bought provided American Hustle, the Jennifer Lawrence half,” Chastain revealed on the “Blissful, Unhappy, Confused” podcast in September 2021. “I wished to do it. It conflicted with [director] Liv Ullmann and Miss Julie. I had been connected to that for a very long time and I worship Liv Ullmann, so I needed to say, like, ‘Sorry, there’s battle’. And it did not work out.”
Chastain has no regrets, regardless of Lawrence’s Oscar nomination. “All the things occurs for a cause as a result of Jennifer was additionally approach higher than I ever would’ve been in that half,” she added.
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Rachel Leigh Cook dinner: Rogue in ‘X-Males’
Anna Paquin performed Rogue within the X-Males franchise, however the position was first provided to Cook dinner. The She’s All That actress revealed in an August 2021 interview with the New York Instances that she thought she ought to keep away from capturing on a inexperienced display screen and wished to work on a number of smaller movies as an alternative.
She knew it was a “enormous 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’
Earlier than Charles Michael Davis joined TVD as Originals vampire Marcel, he had some competitors for the half. Present creator Julie Plec informed Leisure Weekly in August 2021 that in addition they thought-about the Mandalorian star for the half.
“One of many different individuals who learn reverse Charles for that half was Pedro Pascal, who I liked,” she recalled to the outlet on the time. “I used to be obsessive about him, however he was simply on the older facet.”
It was the Youthful alum who in the end received the half, which the Legacies creator credited to Davis’ “swagger.” Plec defined that Marcel wanted swag to “function and breathe in the identical 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 well-liked to see Beyoncé and Will Smith seem as the primary couple of 2018’s A Star Is Born.
“At first, once I heard it was going to be executed once more, it was purported to be Will Smith and Beyoncé, and I assumed, that is fascinating,” Streisand informed The Sunday Mission in August 2021. “Actually make it totally different once more, totally different form of music, built-in actors, I assumed that was a terrific concept. So, I used to be stunned once I noticed how alike it was to the model that I did in 1976.”
Though the rumored casting wasn’t meant to be, the singer admitted that her view of the remake was affected by Bradley Cooper and Girl Gaga taking on these roles.
“I don’t know. I assumed it was the fallacious concept,” she added on the time. “However hey, look, it was a giant success, and I can’t argue with success however I do not care about a lot success as I do originality.”
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Debra Winger: Dottie Hinson in A League of Their Personal
The actress was forged as Dottie, the character in the end performed by Geena Davis, and she or he even spent three months coaching with the Chicago Cubs. Nonetheless, she stop after Madonna was forged as Mae Mordabito, claiming the film can be “an Elvis movie.” She informed The Telegraph she nonetheless bought paid for the position.
“The studio agreed with me … as a result of it was the one time I ever collected a pay-or-play on my contract. In different phrases, I collected my pay regardless that I didn’t play, and that’s very exhausting to get in a court docket,” 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 stroll away going ‘Wow, these girls did that,’” she added. “You form of go ‘Is that true?’”
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Alan Cumming: Gilderoy Lockhart in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and techniques’
The Broadway alum nearly performed the Hogwarts professor within the 2002 sequel, however wage disputes took him out of the operating.
“They wished me and Rupert Everett to do a display screen check, and so they mentioned they couldn’t pay me greater than a sure sum, they only didn’t have any more cash within the funds,” the Scottish actor informed The Telegraph in August 2021. “And I had the identical agent as Rupert, who in fact, they had been going to pay extra. … I mentioned, ‘Inform them to f—okay proper off.’ … After which 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 greatest referred to as Imaginative and prescient within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, auditioned for the position. Nonetheless, he misplaced the half as soon as producers determined they wanted an actor who was born within the states. “I liked Paul Bettany for the Luke position, however he was British, and so they felt prefer it wanted to be an actual American,” casting director Joseph Middleton informed the New York Instances in July 2021. Finally, producers realized the half they known as “the Luke Wilson position” wanted to be performed by the Texas native.
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Jennifer Lawrence: Squeaky Fromme in ‘As soon as Upon a Time in Hollywood’
The Starvation Video games star was in talks for Dakota Fanning’s position of Squeaky Fromme within the Oscar-winning drama, in keeping with creator Quentin Tarantino. “Early on, within the pre-production of As soon as Upon A Time In Hollywood, I flirted round with the thought of — and [by the way], I couldn’t be happier with what Dakota Fanning did, it’s the most effective performances within the film. She’s wonderful as Squeaky Fromme,” Tarantino mentioned on a June 2021 episode of Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast. “She turns into [her]. However early on, I investigated the thought of Jennifer Lawrence taking part in Squeaky. She got here right down to the home to learn the script trigger I wasn’t letting it out. So, she got here right down to the home and I gave her the script and mentioned, ‘Go in my lounge or go outdoors by the pool and browse it.’”
The Pulp Fiction director recalled Lawrence being “” within the position after she learn the script however famous that “one thing didn’t work out” when it got here to closing casting choices. “She’s a really good individual, and I respect her as an actress,” he added.
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Rachel McAdams: Andy Sachs in ‘The Satan Wears Prada’
“We provided it to Rachel McAdams 3 times. The studio was decided to have her, and she or he was decided to not do it,” director David Frankel defined to Leisure Weekly in June 2021. After back-to-back hits with The Pocket book and Imply Women, the actress wished to deal with much less mainstream movies, clearing the way in which for Anne Hathaway to play the half within the 2006 movie.
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Tom Selleck: Indiana Jones in ‘Raiders of the Misplaced Ark’
Harrison Ford took the lead position within the franchise because the archeologist, nevertheless it might’ve been Tom Selleck. Karen Allen, who performed Marion Ravenwood reverse Ford as Indiana Jones, revealed the Buddies alum’s TV profession pressured him to show down the gig. “Tom Selleck had been forged, after which it turned out Magnum P.I. bought picked up,” she informed Selection in June 2021. “They wouldn’t let him out of his contract, and so he was heartbroken. I solely know that approach after the actual fact as a result of I sat with him a few years later and he informed 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-Males’ Franchise
Throughout a dialog on the “Blissful Unhappy Confused” podcast in February 2021, Mortensen recalled how his son, Henry, had a hand in his resolution to surrender the position of superhero Wolverine earlier than Hugh Jackman in the end secured the gig. “The factor that bothered me on the time was simply the dedication of infinite films of that very same character time and again. I used to be nervous about that,” Mortensen recalled of early conferences with director Bryan Singer. “And likewise there have been some issues — I imply, they straightened most of them out, however I did take Henry to the assembly I had with the director as my form of good luck appeal and information. Behind my thoughts, I used to be pondering he might study one thing, too, as a result of I did let Henry learn the script and he goes, ‘That is fallacious. That is not how it’s.'”
Henry had sturdy emotions about the way in which Wolverine can be portrayed on the large display screen. “Impulsively, the director is falling throughout himself after which the remainder of the assembly was him explaining intimately to Henry why he was taking sure liberties,” the actor mentioned. “We walked out of there and Henry asks if he’ll change the issues he informed him about, and I say, ‘I do not assume so. I am not going to do it anyway, as a result of I am undecided I need to be doing this for years. After which, a few years later, I am doing three Lord of the Rings [movies].”
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Rob Lowe: Dr. Derek Shepherd on ‘Gray’s Anatomy’
It’s exhausting to think about anybody aside from Patrick Dempsey portraying McDreamy on the ABC medical drama, however the half practically went to the Parks and Recreation alum. “That is what longevity, expertise and restoration offer you. There aren’t any accidents,” Lowe mentioned to Selection in February 2021 of passing on Gray’s Anatomy for the short-lived sequence Dr. Vegas. “No matter resolution you come to, when you come to it from the fitting place, it is by no means fallacious.”
The 9-1-1: Lone Star actor added, “Me in that half is not as fascinating as Patrick in that half. If it’d been me, [the fans] wouldn’t have known as me ‘McDreamy,’ they’d have known as 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 used to be trepidatious,” Pfeiffer informed The New Yorker in January 2021. “There was such evil in that movie. The factor I most remorse is lacking the chance to do one other movie with [director Jonathan Demme]. It was that evil received in the long run, that on the finish of that movie evil dominated out. I used to be uncomfortable with that ending. I did not need to put that out into the world.”
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James Marsden: Stripper in ‘Magic Mike’
The Pocket book star revealed in January 2021 that he handed on a job in 2012’s Magic Mike as a result of he had a “concern I might be edited out of the film.” Marsden informed James Corden that he was nervous that “all my traces can be reduce out and I’d be an additional simply speeding round in a G-string, so I believe it was a scarcity of braveness on my half.” In the end, 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 might have jumped in and had enjoyable with that,” Marsden added, noting his family and friends, nevertheless, “didn’t need to see me like that.”
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Devon Sawa
The Ultimate Vacation spot star revealed in December 2020 that there is one position he did not declare that also leaves him feeling “heartbroken:” Anakin Skywalker within the Star Wars prequel trilogy. “There have been 5 of us going for it, after which they ended up going with Hayden Christensen from Vancouver,” Sawa informed Leisure Tonight on the time. “Particularly as a child, to assume, to play younger Darth Vader in what was going to be the most important factor ever … no one knew what these movies had been going to be, nevertheless it was, like, everyone wished these elements and I need to say I got here shut.”
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Amanda Seyfried: Gamora in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
The Mamma Mia! star anxious that the 2014 Marvel flick would bomb on the field workplace, so she handed on the position of Gamora, which in the end went to Zoe Saldana. “I mentioned, ‘Who desires to see a film a couple of speaking tree and a raccoon?’ Which, clearly, I used to be very fallacious,” she mentioned on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast in December 2020.
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George Clooney: Noah Calhoun in ‘The Pocket book’
In October 2020, George Clooney revealed that he and Paul Newman had been initially going to play the younger and outdated Noah, respectively, within the 2004 adaptation of The Pocket book, however he felt too intimidated. “He’s one of many handsomest guys you’ve ever seen. We met up [again] and I mentioned, ‘I can’t play you. I don’t look something such as you. That is insane,’” the actor mentioned throughout the sixty fourth BFI London Movie Pageant. “We simply wished to do it as a result of we wished to work collectively, [but] it ended up being not the fitting factor for us to do.”
The roles in the end 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 position within the 1988 movie Mystic Pizza, which in the end went to Julia Roberts. Throughout a September 2020 look on Watch What Occurs Reside With Andy Cohen, she was requested whether or not she’s turned down songs that later turned enormous hits. “Not a music as a result of I normally write most of my songs and I recorded most of them, however I’ll let you know a film position I handed on — Mystic Pizza,” the “Get on Your Toes” singer mentioned.
“I had that position. I didn’t even should audition for it, however on the time I felt like I used to be not a adequate actor and I wished to cement my profession in music,” she continued. “I assumed, at some point I’ll do performing, however I’m not going to throw myself into this and never be good at it.”
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Brad Pitt: Russell Hammond in ‘Virtually Well-known’
He might have been a “golden God!” Director Cameron Crowe revealed that the Oklahoma native was on the high of his thoughts whereas “within the early levels” of casting the beloved 2000 movie. “I had a very good assembly with him across the time of Say Something,” Crowe defined throughout a July 2020 episode of the “Origins: Virtually Well-known Turns Twenty” podcast. “And he was simply beginning out, and he simply actually had one thing.” Pitt learn for the position of Russell Hammond, which later went to Billy Crudup, with early Penny Lane favourite Natalie Portman (the position finally went to Kate Hudson). In the end, each Crowe and Pitt realized it wasn’t the fitting match. “I believe at the back of my mind, I knew that he had by no means totally fallen in love with the character,” the director mentioned. “He had fallen in love with the thought of the character. However, possibly there simply wasn’t sufficient on the web 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 Skilled” that she had “zero” regrets about not starring within the blockbuster 1997 romance alongside her Romeo + Juliet costar Leonardo DiCaprio. “There was sturdy curiosity, however actually, I’d simply made this romantic epic with Leo in Mexico Metropolis, which is the place they had been going to shoot Titanic, and I simply didn’t have it in me. … I used to be simply feeling desperate to have totally different inventive experiences. That felt like a repeat.”
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Brad Pitt: Neo in ‘The Matrix’
Throughout an look on the 2020 Santa Barbara Worldwide Movie Pageant, Pitt revealed that he turned down the chance to seem in The Matrix. “I actually imagine it was by no means mine. It’s not mine. It’s another person’s and so they go and make it. I actually do imagine in that,” the As soon as Upon a Time in Hollywood actor mentioned throughout a panel dialogue. “I actually do. However I did cross on the Matrix. I took the pink tablet.”
Keanu Reeves starred as Neo in The Matrix, which has spawned a number of sequels for the reason that unique movie premiered in 1999.
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Woody Harrelson: Jerry Maguire in ‘Jerry Maguire’
It’s exhausting to think about anybody aside from American treasure Tom Cruise portraying the titular position in Jerry Maguire, however equally celebrated actor Woody Harrelson revealed that the half practically went to him. “I used to be provided Jerry Maguire, and I mentioned to Jim [producer James L. Brooks], ‘No one goes to present a s–t about an agent,’” the Cheers alum informed Esquire for its September 2019 cowl story. Nonetheless, Harrelson couldn’t have been extra fallacious concerning the 1996 movie, which went on to earn favorable critiques from critics and drummed up $273.5 million on the world field workplace.
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Anna Nicole Smith: Tina Carlyle in ‘The Masks’
It’s no secret that Cameron Diaz made her star flip as Jim Carrey love curiosity Tina Carlyle in The Masks, however the half was practically performed by a really totally different blonde actress. Forward of the movie’s twenty fifth anniversary, director Chuck Russell revealed to Selection on July 28 that he initially wished Smith for the position. “Anna was charming and effervescent, however didn’t produce other qualities wanted for the position,” he informed the publication of the late actress. “I by no means took the subsequent step to run scenes along with her.” Though Diaz had no prior performing credit, Russell wound up asking her to return learn for the half after coming throughout her 8×10 picture 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 throughout the superhero style earlier than, starring as Cliff Steele/Robotman in Doom Patrol. His resume can also be stacked with motion film credit, largely attributable to his involvement within the Mummy franchise. Nonetheless, he revealed to Yahoo! Leisure in June 2019 that he practically donned a cape to play the Kryptonian hero, which he, actually, tried on for dimension. “You are feeling form of invincible, [like] ‘I can fly,’” he mentioned, describing his expertise carrying the long-lasting Superman go well with. “The cape truly makes you assume you might have the facility of flight regardless that you understand you don’t.”
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Sandra Bullock: Neo in ‘The Matrix’
The Oscar winner was provided the position of Neo earlier than Keanu Reeves landed the gig. “We went out to so many individuals I don’t bear in mind. We had been getting determined,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura informed The Wrap in March 2019 forward of the movie’s twentieth anniversary. “We went to Sandy Bullock and mentioned, ‘We’ll change Neo to a lady.’ [Producer] Joel Silver and I labored with Sandy on Demolition Man and she or he was and continues to be an excellent good friend of mine. It was fairly easy. We despatched her the script to see if she was enthusiastic about it. And if she was enthusiastic about it, we’d attempt to make the change.”
Nonetheless, Bullock wasn’t . “It simply wasn’t one thing for her on the time,” di Bonaventura defined. “So actually, it didn’t go wherever.”
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Katie Holmes: Kat Stratford in ’10 Issues I Hate About You’
Julia Stiles’ iconic position nearly went to Katie Holmes! Casting director Marica Ross informed The New York Instances in March 2019 that Holmes was in talks for the half, however “she was about to get Dawson’s Creek and we needed to decide actually quick.”
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Kate Hudson: Kat Stratford in ’10 Issues I Hate About You’
Earlier than 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 informed The New York Instances in March 2019 that she “liked” Hudson, however the actress’ mother, Goldie Hawn, “didn’t just like the script for her, so she handed.”
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Rob Lowe: Dr. Derek ‘McDreamy’ Shepherd in ‘Gray’s Anatomy’
The Parks & Rec actor initially mentioned how he turned down the foremost TV position in his 2011 memoir, Tales I Solely Inform My Buddies. Lowe divulged that he was already in contract negotiations to star on an upcoming CBS present known as Dr. Vegas when he bought a name from the ABC producers. “I agreed to fulfill with the individuals making Gray’s Anatomy. I had learn it and liked it — the writing was crisp, actual and really entertaining — and it is at all times been a good suggestion to listen to out gifted individuals,” he recalled. “‘We might be thrilled when you would play Dr. Derek Shepherd,’ they mentioned proper off the bat. I used to be torn. Gray’s was a significantly better script; actually, there was no comparability.”
Throughout a March 2019 podcast episode of “WTF With Marc Maron,” the Californication actor introduced it up once more. “Dude, I turned down Gray’s Anatomy … to play McDreamy.” He added, “That most likely value me $70 million {dollars}!” The About Final Evening star defined, “However on the finish of the day, I watched it when it got here out, and once they began calling the good-looking physician ‘McDreamy,’ I mentioned, ‘Yeah, that’s not for me.’” The position finally 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 position, which finally went to Leonardo DiCaprio. “I wished that,” he mentioned on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. “I auditioned with Kate Winslet. Had a superb audition. Walked away from there fairly assured that I had it. I did not get it. I by no means bought provided that.”
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Jonah Hill: Sean Parker in ‘The Social Community’
Hill nearly took on Justin Timberlake’s position as Fb’s first president within the hit 2010 flick. “Low-key, [director] David Fincher, or high-key, David Fincher didn’t need me in Social Community,” the actor claimed throughout his look on The Invoice Simmons Podcast in October 2018. “It was between me and Justin Timberlake for that half. Clearly, [Fincher’s] the person, however he was not having me. The studio wished me, I believe, after which Justin Timberlake was wonderful in it. Social Community is the one which I used to be truly, like, years later, was like, ‘F—okay, like, I’m so bummed.’”
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Charlie Hunnam: Christian Gray in ‘Fifty Shades of Gray’
Again in 2013, Hunnam was set to star within the erotica film, however dropped out shortly filming started began attributable to scheduling conflicts. The Sons of Anarchy actor, who was changed by Jamie Dornan, informed Selection in September 2015 that leaving the position behind affected him. “Oh, it was the worst skilled expertise of my life,” he mentioned. “It was probably the most emotionally damaging and tough factor that I’ve ever needed to take care of professionally.”
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Emma Watson: Mia in ‘La La Land’
The Harry Potter alum nearly performed the position that received Emma Stone a Greatest Actress Oscar in March 2017. Throughout an interview with SiriusXM’s City Corridor that very same month, Watson defined that she backed out of the mission attributable to scheduling conflicts with Magnificence 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’
Damaged forged! “I used to be engaged on it, and I felt we would have liked a very sturdy forged, like a well-known forged. That wasn’t understanding. I requested the same old suspects: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Ryan Phillippe. All of them mentioned no,” unique director Gus Van Sant informed IndieWire. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger later signed on for the roles beneath director Ang Lee.
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Christina Applegate: Elle Woods in ‘Legally Blonde’
The Unhealthy Mothers actress talked about turning down Reese Witherspoon’s star-making position within the 2001 comedy in an interview with Leisure Tonight. “The script got here alongside my approach and it was proper after I had simply completed Married [With… Children] and it was, you understand, a blonde who was, in that first script, dim-witted however finally ends up going to Harvard,” she mentioned in July 2015. “It was simply, I bought scared. I bought petrified of form of repeating myself.”
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Hugh Jackman: James Bond in ‘On line casino Royale’
“I assumed it could field me in an excessive amount of,” the Aussie actor informed The Hollywood Reporter in February 2013. “My pure intuition is to maintain as many doorways open as attainable.” Beforehand portrayed by stars akin to Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan, the 007 position 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 by no means the fitting time, actually, and it simply didn’t work out scheduling-wise,” she informed Vulture in December 2014.
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Lindsay Lohan: Jade in ‘The Hangover’
Us Weekly revealed in July 2009 that the controversial former baby 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 contemplate her, and when he lastly agreed, Lindsay mentioned she didn’t just like the script!” Heather Graham signed on as an alternative.
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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 is the comedian we learn after we had been youngsters,” Damon informed the New York Every day Information in September 2015. “However when that one got here alongside (in 2003), I chickened out, as a result of I could not inform. I hadn’t seen the director’s (Mark Steven Johnson) work and I did not know. So I simply mentioned 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 had been ending their 10-year marriage.
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Julia Roberts: Leigh Anne Tuohy in ‘The Blind Aspect’
What might have been! Roberts reportedly declined to star within the 2009 soccer drama. Sandra Bullock took over and received an Oscar in one of the best 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 cross on the 1995 basic comedy attributable to scheduling conflicts. She was taking part in Kendall Hart on the time within the TV cleaning soap All My Youngsters.
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Molly Ringwald: Vivian Ward in ‘Fairly Girl’
One other redhead! The ’80s teen queen was reportedly near taking part in then-unknown Julia Roberts’ position within the 1990 basic. “Julia Roberts is what makes that film. It was her half,” Ringwald mentioned throughout a Reddit Q&A in April 2012. “Each actor hopes for an element that lets them shine like that.”
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Tom Hanks: Jerry Maguire in ‘Jerry Maguire’
One other Tom! “I took so lengthy doing the script that Hanks was not a 35-year-old man. By the point he bought [the script] he was nearly 40 and had two Academy Awards and wished 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 Contemporary Prince of Bel-Air star had the possibility to play Keanu Reeves‘ half within the franchise. “Within the pitch, I simply did not see it. I watched Keanu’s efficiency — and really not often do I say this — however I might have messed it up. I might have completely tousled The Matrix,” he informed Wired. “At that time I wasn’t sensible sufficient as an actor to let the film be. Whereas Keanu was sensible sufficient to simply let or not it’s.”
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Charlie Hunnam: Christian Gray in ‘Fifty Shades of Gray’
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 very, actually tough time in my life. I had already been connected to Crimson Peak for about 14 months, which I mentioned I used to be going to do with Guillermo [del Toro],” he defined to Us Weekly in September 2015. “To fail on such a grand scale — as a result of Fifty’s going to be huge, it should be enormous … I liked the character and I wished to do it. I am additionally a person of my phrase.”
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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 position within the massively profitable Netflix sequence. “I met along with her,” creator Jenji Kohan informed E! Information. “She had different issues to do. And likewise, to start with, nobody knew what this was.”
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Paul Giamatti: Michael Scott in ‘The Workplace’
Sorry, Scranton! In 2006, the New York Instances reported that NBC executives wished 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-about for the position, which finally went to Matthew Broderick. Different contenders included Rob Lowe, John Cusack, Robert Downey Jr. and Michael J. Fox.
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Anne Hathaway: Tiffany in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’
Movie exec Harvey Weinstein informed Howard Stern that Hathaway dropped out of the drama that earned Jennifer Lawrence an Academy Award for Greatest Actress in 2013. “Silver Linings Playbook was initially going to be with Anne Hathaway and Mark Wahlberg … after which Anne wasn’t doing it. And he or she’s marvelous and great and she or he was my selection, I really like her,” he mentioned in January 2014. Seems, every part labored out! On the similar Oscars, Hathaway received in one of the best supporting actress class for her position in Les Misérables.
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Brad Pitt: Jason Bourne in ‘The Bourne Id’
Pitt, Russell Crowe and Sylvester Stallone had been all reportedly provided the badass position 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 again on the selections I’ve made and assume, Why the hell did I say sure to that and no to that? And you understand, you take a look at the large image and assume: There is a common lesson right here. What good is it to carry onto roles?” she informed Howard Stern in January 2015. “My mom [Blythe Danner] will kill me that I am speaking about turning down film roles. She says it isn’t ladylike.”
