33 Actors Who Rejected Iconic Roles

Ever given the opportunity of a lifetime and turned it down? Well, these actors turned down the most iconic roles, and they probably regret it often. 1. Christopher Walken In Star Wars Star Wars creator, George Lucas disliked the idea of reusing actors from his previous films. Lucas’ original pick for the nerf herder was Christopher Walken. Luckily for Harrison Ford, Walken turned down the role. 2. Jack Nicholson In Godfather The now-classic mafia film in 1972 offered the role to many big names in the business as Paramount reportedly thought the project to be a risky venture and they wanted a more established star to play the lead. Apart from Nicholson, Robert Redford, Ryan O’Neal, and Dustin Hoffman were all offered the role, but they each declined. Al Pacino accepted it, and it became one of the best performances in movie history. 3. Michelle Pfeiffer In Silence Of The Lambs When you think about it, it’s hard not to imagine Clarice Starling being played Jodie Foster, but Michelle Pfeiffer was hot on everyone’s lips in 1991, so naturally, she was Jonathan Demme’s first choice to tangle with Hannibal Lecter. MajorTen Could you have seen this NEXT star as Forrest Gump? 4. John Travolta In Forrest Gump In 1994, “Forrest Gump” became the highest grossing movie in North America, and Tom Hanks nabbed the Oscar for his portrayal of the beloved and unique character that year. However, Hanks wasn’t the first choice for the role — John Travolta was, followed by Bill Murray and Chevy Chase. Travolta has since admitted that declining the role was a mistake on his part. MajorTen 5. Warren Beatty In Kill Bill Quentin Tarantino wrote Bill with the Bonnie & Clyde star in mind. However, Beatty had become increasingly picky with roles by the early 2000’s — he still hasn’t starred in a movie since 2001’s money-hemorrhaging flop Town & Country — and turned down the part. QT turned to another one of his faves, former Grasshopper David Carradine instead. But seriously, Beatty would rather appear in Love Affair but not Kill Bill? MajorTen 6. Sean Connery In Lord Of The Rings Peter Jackson offered the original James Bond character the part of Gandalf. But apparently, Connery declined because he “didn’t understand the script.” After LOTR’s runaway success, Connery had decided to accept the lead role in the next movie script he didn’t completely understand: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Actually, no one understood that one. Regret? We think so. MajorTen Can you see Matt Damon in this NEXT role? 7. Matt Damon In Star Trek Director J.J. Abrams confirmed that he originally approached Matt Damon to take on the part in the new Star Trek remake, as Captain Kirk — however, the actor turned him down. But he was glad to have given the chance to hire little-known star Chris Pine. MajorTen 8. Al Pacino In Pretty Woman Pacino was Pretty Woman’s director Garry Marshall’s first choice to play the John who was taken on by Richard Gere. Would definitely have been quite a different feel to the movie. MajorTen 9. Tom Selleck In Indiana Jones Tom Selleck chose to take up the role to work on Magnum P.I. rather than the Raiders of the Lost Ark part. But we don’t really see Indy sporting a mustache, either. MajorTen Click NEXT for Brokeback Mountain possibilities 10. Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix In Brokeback Mountain Both Wahlberg and Phoenix were approached by director Ang Lee to play gay cowboys in the critically acclaimed 2005 film, but Wahlberg rejected the role, later saying he was “creeped out” by the graphic script. This comment obviously created some controversy and doubts about his range as an actor, but he’s since admitted that he has no regrets about passing up the part (the roles eventually went to Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.) MajorTen 11. Denzel Washington In Michael Clayton Washington passed on the lead role in 2007’s “Clayton,” but has since has admitted it was a mistake. “With Clayton, it was the best material I had read in a long time, but I was nervous about a first-time director, and I was wrong. It happens,”. The part went to George Clooney in the end. Washington turned down Brad Pitt’s role in 1995’s “Se7en as well. MajorTen 12. Leonardo DiCaprio In Boogie Nights Take a moment just to imagine the fangirl explosion that would have followed if Leo had immediately taken up Jack Dawson with Dirk Diggler in Paul Thomas Anderson’s porn epic. Apparently he was in love with the role, but in the end’ the rubber appendage went to Mark Wahlberg. Major Ten Chevy Chase is NEXT 13. Chevy Chase In American Beauty Chase did not only pass on “Forrest Gump,” but he also said no thanks to the lead role in “American Beauty” fearing that it would hurt his family-friendly image. Unfortunately, that image hasn’t won him any prizes or accolades as a serious actor yet, and Kevin Spacey ended up nabbing the Oscar for his role of the angry suburban father and husband in “Beauty.” 14. Whitney Houston In The Cosby Show Whitney Houston was this close to playing the eldest Huxtable daughter in the hit 1980s sitcom. In fact, “Cosby” director Jay Sandrich even told The Daily Mail that Houston had stopped just before signing to play Sondra, saying “I just want to be a singer. I can’t be in every show. I have to be in every tour.'” The role went to Sabrina LeBeauf in the end. MajorTen 15. Melanie Griffith In Thelma And Louise Griffith turned down one of the title roles in the 1991 mega-hit, which eventually made stars Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon successful. Major Ten Who could you see in the Sopranos? Click NEXT to find out... 16. Ray Liotta In The Sopranos Considering Liotta made a career out of playing the wiseguy types, it’s not terribly shocking that he was approached for the main role of conflicted mob boss Tony Soprano in the HBO hit. However, Liotta reportedly turned it down to focus on his film career, and the part went to the late James Gandolfini instead, whose portrayal made Tony Soprano one of the greatest TV roles of all time. MajorTen 17. Anne Hathaway In Silver Linings Playbook Hathaway was originally cast as Tiffany but due to scheduling conflicts she had to drop out, resulting in Jennifer Lawrence to get the role and nab a Best Actress Oscar in 2012. Anne also won an award that year (though not quite as big), bagging a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for “Les Miserables.” MajorTen Click NEXT to see who was supposed to be Zuko in Grease 18. Henry Winkler In Grease It seems quite obvious that the producers of “Grease” would want the former “Happy Days” star to basically deliver the character of the Fonz in the 1978 movie musical. But Winkler passed for fear of being typecast, since then he has said he regrets turning down the part because he was essentially the typecast as the Fonz anyway. The role of Danny Zuko went to John Travolta. MajorTen 19. Mel Gibson In Gladiator Gibson was approached first for the part of Maximus in Gladiator before Russell Crowe, but passed reportedly because he felt he was getting a bit too old for those types of action roles. Crowe went on to win the Oscar and become a huge star. Still too old, Mel? MajorTen 20. Molly Ringwald In Pretty Woman Ringwald— still enjoying the success of iconic ’80s flicks like “The Breakfast Club” and “Pretty in Pink”— was also offered the major role that made Julia Roberts a star in “Pretty Woman.” It seems that playing a hooker wasn’t in her plans, since she turned it down. Ringwald also said declined to playing Molly Jensen in “Ghost,” a role that eventually went to Demi Moore. MajorTen 21. Bette Midler In Sister Act There’s no doubt Bette Midler—a musical theater pro and overall iconic performer—would have been excellent for the role that eventually went to actress Whoopi Goldberg, and producers of “Sister Act” agreed. Midler decided to pass on the part of the alleged Las Vegas showgirl hiding out in a convent, with concerns that her fans would react badly to her playing a nun. Let us be the first to break the news, Bette: The character isn’t really a nun. MajorTen Can you imagine the NEXT stars were supposed to be in AVATAR 22. Eminem & Matt Damon In Avatar Eminem was actually Neill Blomkamp’s first choice to play the Elysium character, but the rapper turned the role down when the director wouldn’t film it in Detroit. He wasn’t the only one to turn down the role; Matt Damon turned down the role to Sam Worthington. MajorTen 23. Johnny Depp In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Can you imagine a young Johnny Depp as Ferris Bueller instead of Matthew Broderick? It’s hard for us too. MajorTen 24. Sandra Bullock in Million Dollar Baby Bullock was actually interested in the role, but decided to pull out at the last minute. Big mistake! This boxing flick was a huge success for Hilary Swank and won her a second Oscar! MajorTen 25. Hugh Jackman in Casino Royale Jackman turned down the role of the iconic character James Bond, claiming he didn’t want to be stereotyped as an action star after earning fame as Wolverine the first X-Men movie. MajorTen Can you believe this NEXT star was supposed to be in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest? 26. James Caan in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest Caan passed on the chance to play “Mac” because he wasn’t sure of the directors vision, and the prospect of a film taking place within just 4 walls was intimidating. It didn’t seem to be an issue for Jack Nicholson! He earned himself an Oscar for his work. MajorTen 27. Bette Davis in Gone With The Wind There is a bit of discrepancy behind the story as to whether Davis was actually offered the role and gave it up ,or if she was just hotly pursuing it and was passed over. Either way, we know that Bette had recently wrapped filming for Jezebel, another movie where she played a southern belle, and hoped to add Scarlet O’Hara to her resume. MajorTen 28. Julia Roberts In The Blind Side Julia Roberts declined the lead role in The Blind Side in favor of a role in the eventual flop, Valentine’s Day. MajorTen 29. Al Pacino – Edward Lewis Famous gangster Al Pacino almost took Richard Gere’s role in Pretty Woman alongside Julia Roberts. MajorTen Can you imagine this NEXT actor as Edward Scissorhands? 30. Jim Carrey In Edward Scissorhands Funny man Jim Carrey almost played the dead-serious role of Edward Scissorhands. We can’t imagine it at all. MajorTen 31. Cher In The Addams Family Cher rejected the role of Morticia in the movie adaptation of the gothic TV show. The part went to Angelica Huston. Cher was also considered for the part of the Grand High Witch in “The Witches,” which also went to Huston. Cher has turned down other roles including Thelma in “Thelma and Louise,” and Barbara Rose in “War of the Roses”. MajorTen 32. Bruce Willis In Ghost Willis was the first to be offered the role of Sam in the 1990 mega-hit “Ghost,” and the opportunity to play alongside his then-wife Demi Moore. However, the part went to Patrick Swayze, who was excellent in the role. MajorTen This NEXT handsome actor might have been good in Shawshank 33. Kevin Costner In Shawshank Redemption Costner, one of the biggest movie stars throughout the 1980s was offered the leading role in the “Shawshank Redemption.” Costner passed up the role so he could focus on his passion project “Waterworld,” which resulted in one of the biggest flops in movie history. The role of Andy Defresne ultimately went to Tim Robbins. MajorTen SOURCE: See Major Ten's FULL Article: 40 Actors Who Rejected Iconic Roles So, do you think any of these actors or actresses would have been better for the roles? Share your comments and feedback below. If you LIKE this story, please SHARE this story! Related: ‘Grease’ What The Rydell High Students Are Up To Today 14 Delightful Behind-The-Scenes From ‘Happy Days’