10 Actors Who Must Regret Turning Down Major Movie Roles

4. Kevin Costner - Andy Dufresne (The Shawshank Redemption)

Michelle Pfeiffer The Silence Of The Lambs
Columbia Pictures

Kevin Costner turned down the lead part in The Shawshank Redemption in order to work on his own mega-blockbuster production Waterworld, which of course infamously flopped critically and commercially, and killed Costner's immense hot streak for the decade prior.

Tim Robbins instead took the Shawshank role, with the movie ending up scoring seven Oscar nominations and being popularly accepted as one of the greatest movies of all time. Quite the opposite of fortunes for Costner's two choices, then.

Would It Have Worked?: Definitely. Costner may have been more famous than Robbins at the time but he still had that everyman grit that the part necessitated. Costner may've even snagged an Oscar nod, which Robbins in fact didn't.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.