10 Actors Who Must Regret Turning Down Major Movie Roles
8. Chevy Chase - Lester Burnham (American Beauty)
Chevy Chase has a history of turning down roles that went on to win Oscars, as he infamously refused to star in Forrest Gump, deeming the script not good enough.
He was then offered the lead role of middle-class sad sack Lester Burnham in American Beauty, but rejected it as he felt that its dark subject matter would tarnish his family-friendly image.
It of course went to Kevin Spacey, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his superb performance and is now recognised as one of the best actors of his generation, while Chase spent most of the late 90s and 2000s starring in critical and commercial flops until Community revitalised his career in 2009.
Would It Have Worked?: Hard to say for sure, but it doesn't seem massively likely. Chase hasn't ever really proven himself in dramatic fare, so he almost certainly wouldn't have given an Oscar-caliber performance.