15 Actors Who Were FIRED From Movies During Production

Harvey Keitel was a rising star in the 1970s with stellar performances in films like Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Taxi Driver. After being cast in the lead role of Francis Ford Coppola's war epic, Apocalypse Now, it looked like Keitel hit the big time.

But it wasn't meant to be. Coppola wanted the lead character, Captain Willard, to come across as calm and collected to contrast the chaos he was bearing witness to. Because Keitel was too manic in the role, he was replaced with Martin Sheen after less than a week of filming.

Despite the fact Keitel left the project on good terms with Coppola, being discharged by a prestigious director soured the actor's reputation. Keitel didn't get a single gig for two years, since he was considered, in his own words, "bad news in Hollywood". Things got so bad for a while, he strongly considered quitting acting entirely.