10 Movie Actors Who Really Couldn't Handle Casting Rejections

10. Laurence Fishburne Sued After Losing Samuel L. Jackson's Role In Die Hard With A Vengeance

Though it's tough to imagine the third Die Hard movie as anything other than a ludicrously entertaining two-hander between Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, the latter's role of Zeus Carver was originally offered to none other than the brilliant Laurence Fishburne.

Fishburne responded by asking for a larger fee, prompting producer Andy Vajna to stall negotiations, hoping that the actor would buckle.

In the meantime, Vajna attended Pulp Fiction's world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival to support his pal Bruce Willis, and after seeing Jackson's eventually Oscar-nominated performance in the film, offered him the part of Zeus instead.

As a result, Fishburne ended up suing Vajna's production company Cinergi for $2 million in damages for breach of contract, claiming that a verbal agreement was reneged upon. The outcome of the lawsuit, however, hasn't ever been stated publicly.

In an added bout of irony, Fishburne was also the first choice to play Jackson's role of Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, but Fishburne's reps talked him out of it amid concerns he'd be stuck playing supporting roles for the rest of his career. Oof.