10 Movie Roles Harrison Ford Turned Down

4. Josh (Big)

Far from the gruff, stone-faced, finger-pointing Harrison Ford that has so often appeared on screens over the last few decades, the actor's younger days saw him give off a vibrant, energetic charm that helped him to become one of the biggest names of his generation. Whether the lead role in Big would've been a little too jokey for Ford to pull off is the big question here - and we so nearly got to find out. At one point in time, Ford was actually signed on to play the role of 'adult' Josh in a Steven Spielberg-helmed version of the film. Given that Josh was a child who'd wished himself 'big', the manchild-esque adult version of the character would've certainly given Ford something to get his comedic teeth sunk into. Despite the actor having brought a sense of humour to certain characters of his over the years, most notably Han and Indy, it remains to be seen whether the plot of Big and the character of Josh would've been a little too hokey and jokey for Ford to pull off. When all was said and done, Ford and Spielberg both dropped out of the film, with Penny Marshall coming in to replace the legendary director. She'd eventually convince Tom Hanks to take the lead in what became a childhood favourite of many.
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.