10 Recent Movie Roles Almost Played By Other Actors
9. Anya Taylor-Joy - Ellen Hutter (Nosferatu)
When Robert Eggers was first prepping his Nosferatu remake in 2017, his regular collaborator Anya Taylor-Joy was cast to portray female lead Ellen Hutter, but scheduling conflicts ultimately caused her to vacate the role.
In 2022, it was announced that Taylor-Joy had been replaced by Lily-Rose Depp - a casting choice that vast swaths of the Internet angrily deemed a "massive downgrade".
Given Taylor-Joy's prior work with Eggers on The Witch and The Northman, she seemed like a perfect fit for Ellen, while Depp's prior work on the calamitous HBO series The Idol left many questioning her ability to rise to the occasion. But Depp ultimately acquitted herself beyond any doubt, giving a mesmerising, gruelling physical and emotional performance as Ellen that made it incredibly difficult to question her casting at all.
While Taylor-Joy clearly would've also been fantastic in the role, Lily-Rose Depp ends up feeling like anything but second choice.