10 Actors Who Turned Down Billion Dollar Movies
8. Denzel Washington - Furious 7
Of the 57 movies that have grossed over $1 billion, the vast majority come from huge blockbuster franchises. The Fate of the Furious hit the mark in 2017, two years after Furious 7, which at the time of writing is the 13th highest-earning movie of all time.
The franchise is infamous for the sheer amount of star power it can boast, including the likes of Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Charlize Theron, Brie Larson, Jason Momoa, John Cena, and Gal Gadot to name just a few, but there was almost a name bigger than all of them added to the ranks.
Denzel Washington, one of the biggest names in the history of Hollywood, reportedly turned down a role in Furious 7, believed to be that of Mr. Nobody. Certainly not the most important character in the franchise, it arguably would have been more surprising had Washington taken the role.
Though Mr. Nobody was ultimately portrayed by another bona fide legend in Kurt Russell, it's hard to imagine Washington in such a small role regardless of the film's success. Surely this would have been a waste of the man's talents, right? Sometimes saying no to all that money makes all the sense in the world.