20 Actors You Didn't Know Almost Played X-Men

7. Johnny Depp Was Almost Wolverine...

In any historical near-miss casting articles, it's likely that Johnny Depp will come up sooner or later: back when he was still not interested in becoming a star, the character actor for a penchant for pantomime silliness and grotesque characterisation, he developed a reputation for turning roles - and especially mainstream ones - down in the interest of his image. Roles, apparently like the tasty opportunity to play Wolverine.

Perhaps the casting director at the time had been a particularly big fan of Edward Scissorhands, and saw in Depp an actor with the brooding, sullen angst and valuable experience handling sharp claws needed to pull off the character. Either way, Depp is said to have turned down the role - probably to concentrate on less mainstream fair like Chocolat and Pirates Of The Caribbean...

Make no mistake, though Depp is capable of many acting layers, the idea of him playing the infamous berserker is particularly jarring, and it's a good thing that he turned the opportunity down.