10 Actors Who Must Regret Turning Down Major Movie Roles
3. Angela Bassett - Leticia Musgrove (Monsters Ball)
Angela Bassett said no to Monster's Ball because she felt that the lead female role was stereotypical of a black woman, and didn't want to help perpetuate that in Hollywood.
Halle Berry ended up in the role and won the Best Actress Oscar, proving that most of the Academy didn't quite share Bassett's concerns.
To date, Bassett still has just one Oscar nomination to her name (for 1994's What's Love Got to Do with It), while Berry subsequently landed huge franchise parts in Die Another Day and Catwoman, which were terrible roles but extremely lucrative regardless.
It's quite probable that Bassett saw the final movie and changed her mind, and no doubt had second thoughts when she saw Berry up at the Oscar podium.
Would It Have Worked?: Unquestionably. Bassett has the fire the part needs, so it really just came down to her personal politics.