10 Actors Who Rightly Turned Down Iconic Roles
6. Reese Witherspoon - Sidney Prescott (Scream)
Scream might look a little campy and dated now, but back in 1996 it was revolutionary for the horror genre. Part of that was casting a huge name like Drew Barrymore, then killing her off in the opening scene.
Barrymore was originally slated to play lead character Sidney Prescott, but it was her who suggested recasting her as the first scene victim, to keep audiences on their toes. Director Wes Craven loved this idea, but it meant he had to cast another actress as Sidney at the last minute.
A then relatively unknown Reese Witherspoon was sought, but she turned it down as she didn’t want to do a horror film. 23 years later, she still hasn’t been in one.
The role of Sidney Prescott eventually went to Neve Campbell, who’s appeared in all four instalments of the franchise and has pretty much been known as ‘that Scream girl’ since 1996.
Though she’s been in other things as well, arguably her biggest non-Scream role came even earlier, in The Craft, which came out just a couple of months prior. Given how iconic she made Sidney and how well Witherspoon’s career has done since, this decision seems like it worked out best for all concerned.