10 Potential Castings We're SO Glad Didn't Happen
Some of the most beloved roles ever were almost played by a completely different actor.
Even for the biggest of actors, auditions are a normal part of the industry. Sometimes actors read for roles they’re so obviously wrong for, and the studio has the good sense to look elsewhere. Of course, sometimes they go ahead and cast them anyway.
Bonfire Of The Vanities for example sees Bruce Willis play a dweeby nerd opposite Tom Hanks’ more grizzled, hard nosed character.
However, this list isn’t about highlighting the picks which went wrong, but instead highlighting the ones which went right. Times when actors read for or were even cast in roles that they eventually missed out on, only for their replacement to knock it out of the park.
Some of them went on to have fruitful careers afterwards, while it seems like others missed their big break. Likewise, some of these involve massive names passing roles between them, while others are lesser lights for whom crucial casting is even more important.
Though we’ll never know what these films might have been like with this lot in the driving seat, let’s just say we’re grateful we we’ll never need to find out.
10. Tom Selleck As Indiana Jones (Raiders Of The Lost Ark)
There’s some castings here where the potential candidate just seems like a daft choice when you see the real deal. When it comes to Tom Selleck as Indy though, one has to admit it would be interesting to see him in the role.
Still glad it didn’t happen, given Harrison Ford’s huge success in the role, but a compelling thought none the less.
A huge star in the ‘80s, Selleck was Spielberg’s first choice for the role of Indiana Jones. However, with shooting due to take place at the same time as Selleck’s ongoing Magnum, PI series, he had to turn it down.
Spielberg turned his attention elsewhere and eventually Harrison Ford made Indy one of the most iconic characters ever. The worst part for Selleck was that Magnum ended up delaying for months due to a strike, and his schedule would have been free enough for him to do both.
Thankfully, he’s continued to have television success in the likes of Friends and Blue Bloods, so he can still look back on his career with great fondness, despite missing out on Indiana Jones.