10 Actors Who Must Regret Turning Down Major Film Roles

8. Jack Nicholson - Michael Corleone (The Godfather)

There can be no doubting that Jack Nicholson is one of the finest actors to have ever graced our screens, starring in dozens of brilliant films and winning Oscars for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and As Good As It Gets. What a lot of people don't know, however, is that he criminally decided to decline the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather. Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 masterpiece, which spawned an equally wonderful sequel and an average third film, is one of the greatest movies in history, and it's hard to imagine anyone other than Al Pacino in the role now. The fact of the matter is that Nicholson had the part for the taking, but felt he was too old for the role. He was in his mid-30s at the time, and given the fact Corleone is meant to be in his mid-20s at the start of the film, it is perhaps understandable. He opted for a role in The Last Detail instead, which earned him an Oscar nomination. Given how highly thought of The Godfather Trilogy is to this day, and how iconic the role of Michael is, there must be a nagging feeling inside Nicholson telling him that he should have said accepted the role.