20 Actors Who Turned Down Major Movie Roles

Back in the '70s Jack Nicholson seemed to be everywhere. From leading and critically acclaimed roles in Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces and Carnal Knowledge, it seems almost expected that Francis Ford Coppola wanted the young up and comer for his new family sage gangster epic, The Godfather.

Nicholson was offered the role of Michael Corleone, son of Don Vito (Marlon Brando) and heir to his empire. Nicholson took one look over the script, though, and turned it down, stating that he was "too old" for the part and he wasn't a good fit.

The role itself went to Al Pacino, who gave a career defining performance. Though this might seem like an unfortunate loss, it's fair to say that missing out on the role hasn't negatively effected Nicholson's career. That same decade, he went on to star in The Last Detail, Chinatown, and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which he won his first of three Oscars.

Nicholson would have be electric as Michael Corleone, but if he had taken it he might not have received the roles that defined him as the actor we know today.