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

18. Helen Hunt Was Almost Jean Grey

Thanks to Famke Janssen's now definitive performance as Jean Grey it's difficult to consider that anyone else might have been up for the key role in the original X-Men trilogy, but if it hadn't been for Hunt turning down the role when it was offered to her, we wouldn't have got to see Janssen's fearsome and ethereal take on Phoenix.

For most of the '90s, Hunt had starred in the gentle Mad About You, picking up cinematic roles in the likes of Twister, As Good As It Gets and Kiss Of Death and they were obviously enough to convince the producers that she had the right stuff to bring the telepath to the big screen. Though there isn't much in there that specifically translates to the vision of Grey that we ultimately got to see, Hunt's Oscar for As Good As It Gets gives the decision a basis in logic, but clearly the actress decided against pursuing it, and the role went to Janssen, who had more visible tendencies to performing darker parts.