20 Actors Who Turned Down Major Movie Roles

Thanks to a hilarious and energetic performance in Risky Business, Tom Cruise was the first star approached to take the lead role in Footloose. Cruise was becoming a big deal in Hollywood at the time, and also found himself approached for a role in the football flick All the Right Moves. As it was a turning point in his career, he said, he went with the role that would work best for him and took the role of Stef in the latter film.

The role of Footloose's Ren went to Kevin Bacon, who beat fellow actors Kevin Costner and Rob Lowe to the punch.

Funnily enough, Kevin Bacon also almost turned down the role, as he had been offered the lead in the Stephen King horror adaptation Christine. He went with Footloose, though, which was the right move (sorry).

Still, Cruise may have worked quite well. As a younger actor, before becoming an action staple, he had a string of hyper and playful roles to his name. If he had taken on Footloose, who knows where his career would be now...