10 Actors Who Turned Down Movie Roles Because Of Spite
Robin Williams hated being used as "bait" to secure Jack Nicholson as The Joker.
It's tough for audiences to appreciate the sheer amount of effort that goes into locking down actors for movie roles.
The back-and-forth negotiations can go on for weeks or even months in extreme cases, as interests are balanced and everyone tries to come to an amicable agreement on the nature of the role and the salary paid.
Actors often end up turning down roles for a multitude of reasons - scheduling conflicts, "creative differences," and so on - but sometimes the reason is a little more passive-aggressive than that.
Sometimes actors will reject a role out of spite, whether justified or not, to thumb their nose at a filmmaker or producer who they perhaps felt slighted by during the process.
In some cases it's easy to understand the actor's mindset, that they weren't feeling sufficiently valued by the people offering them the gig, while in others it seems clear that they simply couldn't get out of the way of their own ego.
Whether things worked out for the best or we'll forever be wondering "what if?," these 10 actors all said no to major roles because they had a major bone to pick with somebody...
10. Beyoncé Wanted An Offer Without An Audition - The Princess & The Frog
The Princess and the Frog featured the first-ever Black Disney princess, and so in order to ensure full justice was done to such a ground-breaking character, Disney underwent an extensive casting process.
In her 2014 book "Confessions of a Casting Director," the film's casting director Jen Rudin revealed that the esteemed likes of singers Tyra Banks, Jennifer Hudson, and Alicia Keys had auditioned for the part.
But Rudin's top pick for Tiana was in fact Beyoncé, yet those plans were scuppered because the pop icon wanted an upfront offer without having to audition. In Rudin's own words:
"Beyoncé expected an offer, but wouldn't audition and so she didn't get one."
Ultimately the part went to Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose, who Rudin confessed was ultimately "the most qualified" regardless of the added visibility and star power Beyoncé would've brought to the film.
While one can appreciate a mega-busy superstar of Beyoncé's stature perhaps not wanting to spend time going through a prolonged audition process, being an extremely successful pop star doesn't automatically you the perfect fit for every role you're in consideration for.
Though the film surely would've performed better at the box office with Bey's involvement, Rose's casting was a refreshingly un-cynical decision, picking the right person for the job above all other concerns.