10 More Actors Who SAVED Their Careers By Turning Down Movie Roles

Mads Mikkelsen was still a relatively unknown actor outside of his native Denmark in the mid-2000s, but he very nearly became a blockbuster star in all the wrong ways when he auditioned for 2005's Fantastic Four movie.

Mikkelsen was in the mix to play the superhero supergroup's leader Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic, though in various interviews has discussed the experience, revealing that he attended a "humiliating" audition which caused him to walk out and never look back.

Mikkelsen stated that he resented being asked to pretend that he had long arms, prompting him to apologise to the producers and walk out, knowing he was a poor fit for the gig.

The role of Mister Fantastic was instead played by Ioan Gruffud, while Mikkelsen instead avoided getting locked into a duo of critically panned superhero movies and was cast instead as Le Chiffre, the villain of Casino Royale, the very next year.

The James Bond role is what firmly put Mikkelsen on the map, almost certainly playing a major part in him being cast as Hannibal Lecter in the Hannibal TV series years later.

Gruffud has certainly maintained steady employment over the years, though it's safe to say that Fantastic Four didn't really do his career any favours.