Movies are a fickle business, and getting a role locked down can be hell: penny-pinching studios can ruin great deals, sometimes actors just don't believe in themselves, and then there's the ever-dreaded "scheduling conflicts" which prevent so many deals from going through. These 10 actors, for a multitude of reasons, turned down parts in 10 of the year's biggest and most acclaimed movies, from one of cinema's most iconic villains to a reprise of a classic character from a legendary franchise. These 10 performers left us wondering what might have been, regardless of whether or not their successor killed the role. In retrospect, though, due to each film's success and the opportunities it would've afforded the original actor, they surely must've regretted rejecting these offers, as in most cases they weren't exactly cranking out the box office hits and prestige pics in place of it.
10. Steve Buscemi - Ant-Man
The Role: Hank Pym aka the original Ant-Man, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and scientist who takes thief Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) under his wing. Ultimately played by Michael Douglas after Buscemi's schedule forced him to turn down Marvel's offer. Why They Regret Turning It Down: Steve Buscemi joining the MCU, can you imagine? Plus, looking at Buscemi's current slate of upcoming releases, it looks like the scheduling conflict wasn't with anything Earth-shattering. Hopefully he didn't make a promise to Adam Sandler to appear in The Ridiculous 6 and then not have the heart to bail on his buddy for Marvel. Surely the business-savvy Sandler would've understood, right? Considering the doors this could've opened for Buscemi in terms of endearing him to a much younger audience than usual, he's probably kicking himself right about now. Would It Have Worked?: This is a tough one. Douglas is so excellent in the part that it's hard to imagine any other actor as Pym, especially one as distinct as Buscemi. We'll go with yes, but it probably would have been very different and we suspect not quite as smooth and charismatic.