13 Movie Villains You Didn't Know Almost Played The Hero

3. James Franco Was Almost Spider-Man Before He Was Harry Osborn

Toby Maguire was far from the clear cut original choice to be Spider-Man for Sam Raimi, and he had to negotiate the threat posed by other auditionees, including Heath Ledger, who was apparently offered the role but turned it down for fear of being type-cast as a superhero.

He also faced competition from James Franco, the actor who would go on to play Harry Osborn, and then the Green Goblin's heir in the sequels, as Franco originally tested for the role of Peter Parker. Franco revealed that the screen test prowess was hugely impressive - and probably expensive - and that he had to wait for six weeks before finding out he wasn't successful, but that he and Raimi had clicked, and the director wanted him in the movie.

Nobody else auditioned for the role of Harry, and in hindsight it's hard to imagine Franco's darker, cocky charisma translating as well as Toby Maguire's more clean-cut dorkiness.