18. Brad Pitt - Jason Bourne (The Bourne Series)
Evidently, snubbing the role of Jason Bourne hasn't exactly hindered Brad Pitt's scintillating career to date. Since declining the role, he has become one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, figuring in several other prominent films during the mid noughties, such as Ocean's Eleven, Inglourious Basterds and Mr and Mrs Smith, and Oscar nominations for Moneyball and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Pitt turned down the Bourne franchise in 2002, as he favoured portraying another secret agent in the film Spy Game. Now this may seem a misjudged decision by Pitt, bearing in mind that the Bourne Franchise has emerged as a worldwide critical and commercial success, a status which Spy Game has not been able to emulate. Pitt was replaced in the title role by fellow Oceans star, Matt Damon, who produced a robust performance as Bourne, the expert secret agent and a role which has gone down as one of his most distinguished to date. Taking another away from Damon, I feel that if Pitt had agreed to the role, his genial charisma and charm that Damon doesn't wholly possess, could have added a greater deal of depth to the character of Jason Bourne and in so doing, could have realistically thrust the franchise nearer to potential Oscar contention.