2. Kevin Costner - The Shawshank Redemption
Let's face it, Kevin Costner is kind of the poster child of turning down juicy roles. But for the purposes of this article, I'd like to focus on his biggest and most egregious error in judgment. Back in the early 90s, Costner decided against taking the role of Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, a character which Tim Robbins ended up playing in the Oscar-nominated modern classic. His reason? He was busy making Waterworld. As far as I'm concerned, "I'm busy making Waterworld" is one of the worst excuses I've ever heard of not to do something, right up there with "I'm having my carpets shampooed," or "I think I'm getting oral surgery that day." Because at least either of those excuses don't threaten to ruin your credibility as an actor/director. Seriously, Kevin...Waterworld?