10 Actors Who Refused To Make Sacrifices For Movie Roles

How to miss out on a massive payday because of your hubris.

By Rob Leane /

For actors, picking the right role can be the difference between rising astronomically to the heady heights of Hollywood superstardom or fizzling out on a downward spiral of obscurity. And sometimes they really don€™t make the right call in these situations. They often let personal bias get in the way and refuse to make the necessary sacrifices that could make their career represents. Some just don€™t want to go to all that effort of getting into character, or fear being typecast further down the road. And then there's those who hubristically think they€™re too big for the part on offer. Crazy, right? Well were are some of the worst instances of Hollywood A-listers refusing to make sacrifices for roles, missing out on what could have been career-defining films as a result€

10. The Hulk Was Too Much Commitment For Ed Norton

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Louis Leterrier€™s Ed Norton-starring The Incredible Hulk from 2008 was the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Four years later, the heroes of the MCU united in Joss Whedon€™s The Avengers, with one notable recasting €“ Norton has been replaced by Mark Ruffalo. So why did Norton step away from the role that could have continued to make him millions? According to Marvel, this behind-the-scenes decision was €œrooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members." But, in Norton€™s words, €œI think you can sort of do anything once, but if you do it too many times, it can become a suit that€™s hard to take off, in other people€™s eyes.€ By the sounds of it, then, he wasn€™t willing to sacrifice the necessary time and saw the Hulk as too much of a commitment. Both Norton and Marvel have continued down their separate paths, and continued to make plenty of cash. Norton, notably, has teamed up repeatedly with renowned arty filmmakers between big blockbuster gigs. To be fair on him, he might not have had time for that if he€™d stuck with Hulk.