10 Actors Who Were Too Scared To Accept Movie Roles

8. Denzel Washington Was Scared About Working With A Rookie Director On Michael Clayton

The Equalizer 2 Denzel Washington
Sony

Michael Clayton was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2007. It didn't come out of nowhere, per say (how could it, with George Clooney leading the charge), but few would've predicted it would earn a whopping seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director.

That latter nomination was particularly impressive considering that Michael Clayton was Tony Gilroy's feature debut. Though he'd written several big movies prior to this (including the Bourne trilogy) he'd never directed any, and it was his lack of experience behind the camera that prompted Denzel Washington to turn down the title role.

Before Clooney became Clayton, the part was actually offered to Washington, who promptly flipped the bird due to fears about working with a newbie director:

"With Clayton, it was the best material I had read in a long time, but I was nervous about a first-time director, and I was wrong. It happens."

You can sort of understand Washington's concern, but considering Gilroy's established writing prowess, it was perhaps a little foolish to not have any faith in him.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!