10 Actors Who SAVED Their Careers By Turning Down Movie Roles
2. Leonardo DiCaprio Turned Down The Star Wars Prequels
Before Hayden Christensen was cast as Anakin Skywalker in the latter two Star Wars prequels, George Lucas sought out none other than Leonardo DiCaprio for the part.
Despite meeting with Lucas, DiCaprio turned down the role and later said of his decision, "I don’t think I was ready for anything like that... [I] just didn’t feel ready to take that dive. At that point."
This was obviously an incredibly smart call, given not only the highly divisive response to the entire prequel trilogy but also the fact that Anakin actor Christensen has failed to escape the long shadow cast by the part ever since.
Despite being a fine actor - watch Shattered Glass if you don't believe it - Christensen has appeared in barely a dozen projects in the 15 years since, most of which have been poorly received genre films, many even going straight to VOD.
As for Leo, he instead became a "serious" actor during the years that the latter two Star Wars prequels were released, appearing in Gangs of New York, Catch Me If You Can, and The Aviator to considerable acclaim, even receiving a Best Actor Oscar nod for the latter.
Since then it goes without saying that Leo has gone from strength to strength as a performer, yet had he signed on with George Lucas, who's to say how adversely his career would've been affected?