10 Actors Who Passed On Iconic Movie Roles

The fact that The Shawshank Redemption did not win a single Oscar upon its release in 1994 is one of the single greatest injustices in cinema history.

Even though it was up against juggernauts like Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump and Four Weddings and a Funeral, it surely deserved to walk away from the Academy Awards that year with something.

It is perhaps all the more ironic that Tom Hanks, the star of the movie that beat it for Best Picture, turned down the role of Andy Dufresne to be Forrest Gump instead.

Yes, Hanks was initially part of the laundry list of actors that director Frank Darabont was considering for the role of Dufresne. Other names you might recognise from that list include Tom Cruise and Kevin Costner, who both passed on the role. Costner turned it down for Waterworld of all things.

Still, Darabont clearly didn’t hold a grudge against Hanks for his refusal, as he later cast him as the lead in his 1999 hit The Green Mile, also set in a prison. It looks as though being patient has its advantages.