8. Sir Ian McKellen - Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
Sir Ian McKellen put in such a resounding performance as the erudite wizard Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings, that the makers of Harry Potter, (after the death of Richard Harris,) were desperate to see him return to the world of Wizardry and play the equally legendary sorcerer of Albus Dumbledore. However understandably, McKellen was not zealous in playing such a comparable role to that of The Lord Of The Rings and he is quoted as saying this: "I've had enough trouble living up to one legend, It'd too much of an ask to live up to another one." So instead, the Potter makers had to settle for another British thespian in Michael Gambon, who it has to be said, emblazoned his own distinctive personality on the role and he wound up recieving rave reviews for his portrayal. Of course though, the die hard Potter fans were disappointed that an actor of McKellen's eminence had passed up the chance to appear in the franchise. When they got wind of the rumours that McKellen was approached for the role of Dumbledore in" The Prisoner of Askaban," they were pracitally salivating over the exciting prospect of seeing yet another famed British actor appear within the borders of Hogwarts. However instead Mckellan opted to turn the film down, likely as the character had too much in common with Gandalf.