10 Movie Roles Harrison Ford Turned Down

3. Oskar Schindler (Schindler's List)

Seemingly everybody has seen Schindler's List, and seemingly every one of those people would agree that Steven Spielberg's 1993 movie is a truly stunning masterpiece. However, the titular role of Oskar Schindler was yet another gig that Harrison Ford chose to turn down, with the part famously going to Liam Neeson. The role of Schindler himself was that of Nazi Party member who decides to do his best to save the lives of his Jewish workforce, and it was a gig that further cemented Neeson as a serious talent to watch. Whereas quite often a role is turned down due to an actor not being particularly keen on the film or part in question, with Schindler's List it was a case that Ford didn't want his stardom, name power and popularity to take away from the hard message that was at the core of Spielberg's movie. Ford was likely right in his decision, and whilst Neeson was just starting to get some form of reputation, he was nowhere near as famous as the Hollywood powerhouse that was Harrison Ford.
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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.