10 Actors Who Turned Down Star Wars

Of all the actors to turn down the overtures of George Lucas, legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune was the one the Star Wars Director desperately wanted on board. Having largely based the Jedi off the Samurai, Lucas offered the role of Obi Wan Kenobi to Mifune, a star of such classic movies like Seven Samurai. However, as described by his daughter Mika, his father had concerns. "He was concerned about how the film would look and that it would cheapen the image of samurai, on which George Lucas had based a lot of the character and fighting style.”

Not to be deterred with Mifune knocking back this role, Lucas then offered him another significant part- none other than Darth Vader. But as Mika explained, his father still had serious misgivings. “At the time, Sci-Fi movies still looked quite cheap as the effects were not advanced and he had a lot of samurai pride. So then, there was talk about him taking the Darth Vader role as his face would be covered, but in the end he turned that down too.”

It is fascinating to ponder how different the franchise would have been had Mifune agreed to take either of the roles. Darth Vader's lightsaber fight scenes would no doubt have been greatly enhanced, and in hindsight would have been the best use of Mifune's talents. As for Obi-Wan, the character would have taken on a whole new look- seeing him take down the thugs in the cantina would have been really something!