George Clooney once said that he knew he’d made it as a filmstar when he started recieving movie scripts with no coffee stains on them. More than anything else this just goes to show that being first choice for a role is of great value to many actors, however as this list proves, not all actors use this privilege to good effect…
There’s a saying in the film world that “actors turn down more roles than they accept.” Whilst this may be accurate, turning down countless roles isn’t always a fruiful exercise. Some of the films that actors disregard transpire in becoming massive critical and profitable sensations. What’s worse for an actor is when they instead opt to partake in a project which results in becoming a colossal critical and commercial flop. An example of such a catastrophic decision would be Will Smith’s choice to turn down the legendary role of Neo in The Matrix, in favour of appearing in Wayward Western Wild Wild West.
Although, undeniably, in a number of cases these refusals could be due to scheduling clashes with other productions, leaving actors with no choice in the matter. However this is not always the instance as some actors, such as the brilliant Daniel Day-Lewis, are notorious for their selectivity over which roles they do or don’t accept.
I confess that it is easy to sit here with the benefit of hindsight and criticize these stars for turning down amazing roles (which is partly why I’ve written the article), because arriving at a calculated conclusion on which project to follow on the back of one scan of the script and a quick meeting with the director, isn’t always a straightforward decision to make.
Sometimes they get it wrong and sometimes they get it right, and this article is a homage to those occasions when actors get it horribly wrong and end up, not only losing millions and million of dollars but they also end up living the rest of their lives in deep regret over passing up the opportunity to appear in career defining roles.
So without much further ado and in no particular order, here are the 20 actors who passed on legendary roles.
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27 Comments
Thanks for this! Real eye-opener.
Tom Selleck as Indie would have sucked big time!
As would Gibson as Maximus!
Actually, Selleck was under contract to CBS if the pilot for Magnum PI sold, and in the meantime he did the screentests as Indy for Lucas and Spielberg. Both wanted to sign him for the role, but CBS gave the green light for Magnum, and Harrison Ford was a last minute replacement for the Indy role. Cooincidentally, Selleck could have done the part, because a writers’ strike kept Magnum PO from being shot, all while the opening scenes from Raiders were being filmed in Hawaii.
I find Selleck too… cheesy. Not that Indie doesn’t require *some* cheese. But maybe just a touch of cheddar. Selleck is pure Stilton.
Damn. Someone has a grudge against actors for turning down these roles.
I agree with some things you say. Tom Selleck would have made a fine (if different) Indiana Jones.
But many of those actors turned down these roles not because they were crazy, but because they WERN’T CRAZY ! They just recognized they were completely unsuited to these roles being offered, and besides, had enough going on for them already.
Jack Nicholson as Michael Corleone in the first Godfather? He does not look italian at all, and was too old and overtly mean-looking for the part (Even if Pacino’s not much younger, he looked so at the time).
Oscar-Winner Al Pacino as “space-swashbuckler” Han Solo, in a movie no one was certain wouldn’t turn out to be a massive flop?
Mel Gibson probably figured he’d already done a role similar enough to “Gladiator” in “Braveheart”, besides from probably “becoming too old for this s**t” This decision was by no means as regrettable as some of those he’s since made.
As for Sean Connery, of course he would have made a great Gandalf. But I think he was semi-retired already at the time, and mussht have figured he already had both box-office fame and bucks aplenty.
“Never has there been such an epic role in the history of cinema than that of Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings?”
I can think of hundreds.
Very enlightening-thank you! I don’t believe that many of these movies would have been greatly improved by the inclusion of the first choice actor. Tom Sellack would have been equally good, if different Indy, but it would have been equally as great as it ended up. Some if them I think would have been disastrous. Pacino as Solo? Catastrophic-”that’s great, Kid-dont get cocky! Hoo-ah!” No…Sean Connery and Day Lewis I think are too recognizable for LOTR. Part of what made it so immersive is that it was filled with people that were great actors that you maybe haven’t noticed as much. Having those two titanic thespians in those roles would have taken me out if it-I would have just been paying attention to Connery’s buttery brogue…
BS on Ford’s CV being mediocre without Star Wars and Indie. I present: American Grafitti, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, Witness, Working Girl, Frantic, The Mosquito Coast, The Fugitive, Patriot Games, Clear & Present Danger, Bladerunner, Air Force One, and What Lies Beneth. this filmography includes 1 non franchise Lucas film, 2 Peter Weir films, 2 FF Coppola films, 1 Roman Polanski, 2 Phillip Noyce films, 2 Mike Nicholes Films, 1 Ridley Scott, 2 Sydney Pollack Films, 1 Alan Packula, and 1 Robert Zemeckis film. That is work with 10 great filmakers before you get into those franchises.
Do actual research before laying on the snarky BS!
Wow really dude. Think about. Just think for 2 seconds. Without Han and Indy he wouldn’t have gotten any of those movies.
He was in American Grafitti and Apocalyspe Now before he gained any real fame so to act as if his career is over if he doesn’t get Han or Indy makes the incorrect assumption that he doesn’t become a star by some other means.
Id sooner play Wolverine than Bond
Hanks would have been great in Shawshank Redemption!
I’m going to report you for abuse
alright calm down mate! I’d like to see your article get 40,000 views!
Its people like you that’ll be slinging hash in diners!
Sage on the Hudson-you forgot a comma after the word, “punctuate”. Being such a stickler for proper spelling and punctuation, I thought you’d want to know so that you may edit your comment accordingly.
Given Day-Lewis’ method acting shenanigans where he’ll generally spend months ahead of a role getting “in-character” and then spend the entire shoot likewise it is mind boggling to consider what that would have meant with regards to LOTR. Given the overall length of the shoot, from pre-photography to reshoots, he would have been living as a Ranger for several years.
Still, given that he spent several years cobbling shoes, and that wasn’t even for a role, I’m sure he could have handled it. Viggo did fine but I think where Day-Lewis would have trumped him is in the business of making “kingly” speeches. Viggo was outshone by Bernard Hill in that respect and I’m sure Day-Lewis could have done the job.
Connery would have been poor as Gandalf. He basically plays Connery in most of his roles anyway whereas McKellen, in LOTR at least, literally could not be bettered imo.
Really interesting article, glad all these actors those roles down.
I could’ve overlooked the typos if it wasn’t for the blatant attack on Australian actors. If you can’t find a better reason to explain someone’s poor performance, then you have no business writing articles on the topic.
Just for future reference, the reason Sir Ian McKellen didn’t take the role of Dumbledore is because Richard Harris (the first Dumbledore) didn’t think highly of Sir Ian as an actor, hence he turned down the role out of respect for Richard Harris.
He also turned it down because he didn’t want to play such a similar role to Gandalf. I agree that that also was a factor, but im not sure he would have accepted anyway
What is your beef with Australian actors? That immature little rant against Hugh Jackman is laughable and makes you sound petulant, especially with the gravity in relation to the #1 spot on this list. “He’s Australian so he would be bad.” Get a grip.
I’m not saying he is a bad actor. In fact he’s a very good actor.
If you had read my article carefully, you’d have realised that all I said was that he wouldnt make a good Bond. I’m not being prejudice against Australian Actors rather I dont think they are suitable
playing English spies
“I’m not being prejudice against Australian Actors rather I dont think they are suitable playing English spies”
As opposed to a Scotsman playing an English spy huh?
As for Lazenby being the worst Bond, rather unfair to label it as such given that it was his first acting job.
Despite this was OHMSS the worst Bond film? Nope. It is actually one of the best.
Was it the worst Bond performance?
Nope. Moore was worse in several movies, as was Brosnan.
Even Connery was worse in Diamonds are Forever and possibly in You Only Die Twice too.
Pot shots at Tim Robbins also. Robbins has been a busy actor since the late 80s and has a conscience. Incidentally, I am an old journalist. Don’t take the criticism personally and lash out on the same site you are posting articles. It makes you look like an amateur. Rather, enjoy the traffic you are getting and the chatter you’ve generated. Vent on twitter like everyone else.
The author is so fond of the “critically acclaimed movies” expression, that he inserts it in essentially every entry of his here.
But that’s a lousy expression and doesn’t really have an actual meaning per se.
Factually spurious article as well as grammatical minefield. It borders on libellous (the way it refers to Mark Wahlberg and insinuates homophobia), makes xenophobic generalisations (Bond entry) to the plain wrong, from referring to Wild Wild West as a spaghetti western to suggesting actors gauge the success of their decisions based on award recognition to suggestions of regret despite displaying no sign of it.
Interesting idea, but check your facts, proof read it and don’t present your opinions as facts.
Yeah, this is pretty much what I was coming here to say…