10 More Best Actor Replacements In Movies

10. James McAvoy - Split

Up until a few weeks before M. Night Shyamalan's Split started shooting, the role of Kevin Wendell Crumb - a man with dissociative identity disorder whose psyche harbours 24 distinct identities - was set to be played by Shyamalan's regular collaborator Joaquin Phoenix.

It was never explained why Phoenix departed so late in the day, though given his history of bailing on films last-minute, it may very much have been a "him problem."

Either way, Shyamalan quickly replaced Phoenix with James McAvoy, who had just two weeks to prepare to play the challenging, multi-faceted role.

And yet, McAvoy went on to receive rave reviews for his performance, with even many of the film's detractors lauding the actor for his nuanced and persuasive portrayal of a man with DID.

Now of course, Phoenix is an incredible actor who would've absolutely done something fascinating with the character, but given what brilliance McAvoy gave us in the end, it's tough to lament what we missed out on much at all.